This has definitely been a change of pace for me over the last few days, but I have been interested in reading something called the Gnostic Gospels. That is, the lost and rejected gospels attributed to Peter, Thomas, Mary Magdalene, and even Judas Iscariot. Most people are interested in a standard Bible study of the Synoptic Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John).
But I was interested in reading these “lost gospels” for a few reasons. Mostly because I wanted to see how they differed from the regular Gospels. But also because I wanted to see if there was anything I could learn from them that wasn’t in the Bible, and because I was interested to see what the Church was hiding, if anything.
This interest came from when I watched a documentary called Pagan Christ. A former Catholic priest stated that Jesus never existed, and that all the miracles, stories and sayings attributed to Him were made up, and that He was a character that represented the struggle of Man to be the best version of ourselves. I strongly disagree with him. I think he is wrong and misguided. Jesus was not only a historical person proven to exist by non-Christian sources, I believe that He is the Messiah of humanity. He is who He says He is.
But I still believed the Gnostic gospels were worth checking out, if not just out of curiosity. I’m still digesting them, but of the ones I have read, I understand why they were rejected. Here’s what I found:
Gospel of Thomas: Rejected probably because any familiar sayings in it were borrowed after Matthew, Mark, Luke and John were written, and the “unheard sayings” didn’t sound like Jesus, or didn’t make logical sense. There was also a saying in the Gospel of Thomas that inferred that Jesus wasn’t God, but merely a man. You’ve heard the “Give to Caesar that which is Caesar’s” saying. But instead of the saying we know in the Bible, it was tweaked, and instead says: “Give to Caesar that which is Caesar’s. Give to God that which is God’s. And give to me that which is mine.”
Gospel of Judas Iscariot: This was the one I was most interested in reading, because there is reportedly a conversation between Jesus and Judas, in which Jesus explicitly tells Judas to betray Him. If that indeed happened, it would paint Judas in a TOTALLY different light. Instead of being synonymous with “traitor,” Judas would be the facilitator of our salvation by helping Jesus complete His plan, and might be in Heaven, instead of Hell, where we expect him to be.
I haven’t yet read Peter and Mary Magdalene, but I am definitely interested in them as well. I encourage you to all take a look at the links to Judas and Thomas at the bottom of the page. And read them with skepticism. Keep the faith you have, but also keep an open mind, and make your own conclusions as to what they are. I am not trying to corrupt anyone. I am merely trying to share something I find interesting.
Luke's Thoughts 