Comments on: VENI, LEGI, CONCIDI

by: The Librarian

Sun, 07 Aug 2005 04:48:28 +0000

I might add some thoughts about this book meme on my nascent blog this weekend. I’ve not been able to read through Good Omens either, which is quite odd since I love Gaiman & Pratchett’s work. I have read The Gospel of Thomas. I thought it was pretty interesting & from what I understand there’s major differences between those who followed “Thomas” and “John.” IIRC, John makes a dig at the Thomas followers with the Doubting Thomas story…

by: Dave

Sat, 06 Aug 2005 21:49:57 +0000

Thanks for the upgrade. Yeah, that's my understanding about Mark too. But what if the fact that the other Synoptic Gospels are based on Mark had to do more with the popularity of the work at the time, and how well it jibed with mid- to late-First Century (or even Second Century, depending on when Matthew and Luke were written) Christian thought than it's authenticity? Could it be that Thomas was accurate, but the implications of its content were unpopular, so it was just ignored?

by: Mark Hasty

Sat, 06 Aug 2005 20:04:59 +0000

Mark is generally accepted as the oldest of the Gospels, and the fact that the other two synoptics generally concur with Mark is taken as support for the Markan account over against Thomas.

One of the main reasons why Thomas’ canonicity has been questioned is the fact that no other Gospels seem to have been drawn from it. John is different from the synoptics, but it’s not as different as Thomas is.

Oh, and I hope the size of the comment box is more to your liking now.

by: Dave

Sat, 06 Aug 2005 17:16:23 +0000

Re: Good Omens - yeah, they’re being cheeky. It’s a good read, but it probably helps if you’ve read some Gaiman and Pratchett before.

Re: Gospel of Thomas - I think we all have some preconceived notions about what Jesus was like, and I know after reading the Synoptic Gospels I got the same feeling you did about John. But Thomas at least to me seemed older in a way, at least than John; it made me wonder if (and I know nothing of the historicity of the document) Mark’s was the doctored account rather than Thomas’, and people have been getting the wrong picture of Jesus all along.

Also, would it be possible to make the box I’m typing this comment into a bit taller? It’s very hard to compose when you can only see four or five lines at once.