The Gospel of Thomas and Early Stages in the Development of the Christian Wisdom Literature

Abstract

This work addresses the theological background of the Gospel of Thomas and its relationship to personified wisdom tradition on the one hand, and to the Syriac Christian tradition of the divine redeemer on the other. The Gospel of Thomas shares a number of unique characteristics with the Syriac literature of the second and third centuries C.E. , such as interest in personal asceticism as a means to attain divine wisdom, personal deification, and view of Christ as a state of being most clearly expressed in the man Jesus, but also accessible to his followers. All of these characteristics distinguish the Gospel of Thomas from the personified wisdom tradition, which in some cases explicitly rejects them (the Gospel of John). On the other hand, the Gospel of Thomas is organized as a collection of independent sayings ( logoi sophon ) pronounced by Jesus, while the third-century Syriac writings usually have a poetic or semipoetic form ( The Hymn of the Pearl , the Odes of Solomon ). In addition, despite significant similarities, the theological message of the Syriac literature appears more "mature" and articulated than the doctrine of the Gospel of Thomas . One may conclude that the Gospel of Thomas belongs to the early stages in the development of Christian doctrine that would eventually evolve into a full-fledged theology in the later Syriac texts. Its message was either redefined in Syriac tradition of the divine redeemer or rejected as a result of adaptation of personified wisdom tradition by the mainstream church.