Apocryphal Thomas

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The present collection includes: Title Apporximate Date of Writing 1. Acts of the Apostle Thomas 225 AD 2. The Gospel of Thomas 125 AD 3. The Infancy Gospel 150 AD 4, Book of Thomas the Contender 225 AD 5. Apocalypse of Thomas 350 AD Except for the Book of Thomas the Contender which has direct Gnostic influence, others are honest Christian attempts in writing a story in an attempt to present a Christian message by well meaning people even when they are theologically out of mark. After all that is what the story tellers do and that is what the historians do. In fact all Thomas Churches in Malabar used to have an area for presentation of mystery plays. This is because in an era where there were no printed books, the possibility of transferring core values were only through memorization techniques. So when reading through these “gospels” beware that we are reading through stories which are talking about facts that had taken place a century or more ago and that their interest is in some core statements of value. Prof. M. M. Ninan San Jose, CA 95126 Feb,. 2011
ACTS OF THOMAS : M. M. NINAN ______________________________________________________ THE ACTS OF THOMAS INTRODUCTION The scholarly consensus is that the book of The Acts of Thomas was written originally in Syriac by AD 220 by the poet Bardaisanes. ‘ Bardaisan 154-222 A.C Bardaisan was born on 11 July 154 (164?), in Edessa, a metropolis in Osroene, of wealthy Syriac parents.. On account of his foreign extraction he is sometimes referred to as "the Parthian" (by Sextus Julius Africanus), or "the Babylonian" (by Porphyrius); and, on account of his later important activity in Armenia, "the Armenian", (by Hippolytus of Rome), while Ephrem the Syrian calls him "philosopher of the Arameans" His Parthian parents, Nuhama and Nah 'siram, must have been people of rank, for their son was educated with the crown-prince of the Osrhoenic kingdom, at the court of Abgar Manu VIII. Sextus Julius Africanus says that he saw Bardaisan, with bow and arrow, mark the outline of a boy's face with his arrows on a shield which the boy held. Owing to political disturbances in Edessa, Bardaisan and his parents moved for a while to Hierapolis (Mabug), a strong centre of Babylonianism. Here the boy was brought up in the house of a heathen priest Anuduzbar. In this school, no doubt, he learnt all the intricacies of Babylonian astrology, a training that permanently influenced his mind and proved the bane of his later life. At the age of twenty-five he happened to hear the homilies of Hystaspes, the Bishop of Edessa, received instruction, was baptized, and even admitted to the dioconate or the priesthood. He had a son called Harmonius, and when Abgar IX, the friend of his youth, ascended the throne (179) he took his place at court. He was clearly no ascetic, but dressed in finery "with berylls and caftan", according to Ephrem the Syrian. Epiphanius of Salamis and Barhebraeus assert that he was first an orthodox Christian and afterwards an adherent of Valentinus. However these later stories, that he left the Church and joined the Valentinian Gnostics out of disappointed ambition, do not deserve much credit and cannot be substantiated. . According to tradition, during his youth he shared the education of a royal prince who afterwards became King of Edessa, perhaps Abgar X bar Manu (reigned Osroene 202-217). He is said to have converted the prince to Christianity, and may have had an important share in Christianizing the city. His royal friend became (probably after 202, i.e. after his visit and honourable reception at Rome) the first Christian king; and both king and philosopher laboured to create the first Christian State. Bardaisan showed great literary activity against Marcion and 1
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y Prof. M. M. Ninan A Study On Bapt
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Prof. M. M. Ninan is a Professor of
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Apocryphal Thomas

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