Recovering the Original Gospel of Thomas A History of the Gospel and its Growth

Description

This book explores the fascinating and enigmatic collection of 114 sayings of Jesus, the 'Gospel of Thomas' that was discovered in the sands of Nag Hammadi, Egypt, in the 1940's. Since its discovery, scholars and the public alike have been intrigued to know what the Gospel says and what light it sheds on the formation of early Christianity.

Here, DeConick provides a new English translation of the entire Gospel of Thomas, which includes the original 'kernel' of the Gospel and all the sayings. A unique feature of this book is that translations to the parallels of the Gospel are also included.

Table of Contents

PART ONE: MAPPING A METHODOLOGY Chapter 1: The "New" Traditionsgeschichtliche Approach I. The Historical Contexture of Traditions II. The Communal Nature of Traditions III. The Responsive Nature of Traditions IV. The Shift of Traditions V.Streams of Traditions VI.The Transmission of Traditions Chapter 2: The Engimatic Gospel of Thomas I.Previously Proposed Compositional Models A. Literate Model B.Oral-Literate Model C.Redaction Model II.The Rolling Corpus Model A.Oral Consciousness B. Multivalency C.Structure Chapter 3: The Rolling Gospel of Thomas I.Principle of Development A. Development of Form B. Coherence to Characteristic Vocabulary and Themes C.Anachronisms II.Principle of Responsiveness A. Responses Reflecting General Christian Experiences B.Responses Reflecting Particular Community Experiences III.Principle of Constituency A.Shifts in Composition B.Shifts in Hermeneutics PART TWO:RECOVERING THE KERNEL Chapter 4An Early Christian Speech Gospel I. Five Kernel Speeches A. First Speech: Eschatological Urgency B. Second Speech: Eschatological Challenges C. Third Speech: Exclusive Commitment to Jesus D.Fourth Speech: The Selection of the Worthy Few E.Fifth Speech: The Imminent Kingdom of God II.The Prophet-Orator A. The Prophet in Conservative Christian Judaism B.The Prophet in Ebionism C. The Prophet in the Kernel Chapter 5: The Imminent Apocalypse I.The Eschatological and Mystical Dimensions of Apocalyptic II.Apocalyptic Expectations in the Kernel Sayings A.Unprecedented Chaos B. Reversal of World Order C. Destruction of the Temple D. Final Judgment III.The Son of Man Tradition IV.The Origins of the Kernel Gospel PART THREE: ASSESSING THE ACCRETIONS Chapter 6: The Collapse of the Apocalypse I. When the End Did Not Come II.Accretive Responses to the Non-Event A. The Fully Present Kingdom on Earth B. The Primordial Adam and the Encratic Ideal C. Mysticism III.The Hermeneutical Shift Chapter 7: The Restoration of Eden I.Sexuality in Second Temple Judaism II. Sexuality in Earliest Christianity III.Encratism and the Role of Eschatology IV.Encratism and the Role of Protology V.The Origins of Thomas' Encratism Chapter 8: The In-Gathering of Stories I.The Jewish Mystical Story A.The Heavenly Man of Light B.The Radiant Image and Its Loss C.The Restoration of the Lost Image II.The Hermetic Story A. The Fallen Soul B.The Recovery of the Soul Chapter 9: The Immanent Apocalypse I. Thomas' Mysticism A. The Image of God and the Divine Double B. The Fallen Condition of the Soul C. The Path of Liberation II. The Origins of Thomas' Mysticism A.Alexandrian Christian Mysticism B. The Adaptation of the Kernel Chapter 10: Thomas and Christian Origins

Author(s)

April D. DeConick, April D. DeConick is the Isla Carroll and Percy E. Turner Professor of Biblical Studies in the Department of Religious Studies at Rice University (Houston, Texas).  She specializes in early Christian history and theology, noncanonical Gospels, and gnostic and mystical traditions.  Her books include Seek to See Him: Ascent and Vision Mysticism in the Gospel of Thomas (1996); Voices of the Mystics: Early Christian Discourse in the Gospels of John and Thomas and Other Ancient Christian Literature (Sheffield Academic, 2001); Recovering the Original Gospel of Thomas: A History of the Gospel and Its Growth (T. & T. Clark, 2005); and The Original Gospel of Thomas in Translation, with Commentary and New English Translation of the Complete Gospel (T. & T. Clark, 2006) and The Thirteenth Apostle: what the Gospel of Judas really says (Continuum, 2007).  She has also edited the collection of papers, Paradise Now: Essays on Early Jewish and Christian Mysticism (SBL, 2006).

Reviews

"DeConick's book is a new and fresh look at the Gospel of Thomas in light of recent scholarship with regard to oral traditions."

Christian Marketplace,

"It's a well-written book...an interesting read for the serious biblical scholar."

Christian Marketplace,

"This reveals a Jesus remembered, not just as the author of timeless sayings (as is often thought to be the case both in Thomas and Q), but as a 'prophet-orator', giving warnings and instructions to a Christian community struggling to survive in the turbulent years of the late first century CE"

Canon Anthony Harvey,

"The value of this work is that it gives a clear presentation of one view of the Gospel of Thomas and its significance."

Theological Book Review,

"No-one who wishes to do serious historical work on this gospel will be able to ignore them"

ANVIL vol.24 no.4 2007

Andrew Gregory,