The Gospel of Thomas and Christian Wisdom [Paperback]

Stevan L Davies (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0974566748 | ISBN-13: 978-0974566740 | Publication Date: December 1, 2004 | Edition: 2

Discovered in Egypt in 1945 as part of the Nag Hammadi Library, the Gospel of Thomas was long considered irrelevant to the study of Jesus' teachings. Stevan Davies' influential The Gospel of Thomas and Christian Wisdom overturned this view, and enabled the Gospel of Thomas to be taken seriously as a source for the earliest Christianity. This Bardic Press edition brings a classic work of accessible scholarshp back into print. A entirely new forty page introduction discusses recent developments in scholarship, looks at Thomas' independence from the New Testament gospels, discusses the role of Mary Magdalene in the Gospel Thomas, and offers a variety of valuable insights. A fascinating additional essay speculates that Thomas may have been used as an oracle text in a similar way to the I Ching.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"The Gospel of Thomas and Christian Wisdom... first raised my interest in this debated writing." -- Risto Uro, author of Thomas: Seeking the Historical Context of the Gospel of Thomas

"The most original, challenging, and persuasive book about the Gospel of Thomas that I have ever seen." -- Morton Smith, author of Jesus the Magician and The Secret Gospel

"may well be the best yet written on the theology of Thomas... nobody has done it better than he has." -- John Dominic Crossan, author of The Historical Jesus and The Birth of Christianity

About the Author

Stevan L. Davies is Professor of Religious Studies at College Misericordia, Pennsylvania. He is the author of The Gospel of Thomas Annotated & Explained, Jesus the Healer, New Testament Fundamentals, and Revolt of the Widows. His website, The Gospel of Thomas Home Page, is the world’s leading Internet resource for the Gospel of Thomas.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Bardic Press; 2 edition (December 1, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0974566748
• ISBN-13: 978-0974566740
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.4 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,745,312 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A collection of first century Christian documents, August 14, 2005

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Gospel of Thomas and Christian Wisdom (Paperback)

Now in an updated and expanded second edition, The Gospel of Thomas and Christian Wisdom by Stevan Davies (Professor of Religious Studies, College Misericordia, Pennsylvania) focuses upon the writings known as the Gospel of Thomas which were discovered in Egypt in 1945 as part of the now famous Nag Hammadi Library, a collection of first century Christian documents that are some of the earliest written records we have available arising from the earliest days of the Christian movement. This Bardic Press edition returns to print a classic work of painstaking yet accessible scholarship and features a new forty page introduction discussing recent developments in scholarship, the distinctions of the Gospel of Thomas from the canonical gospels, the role of Mary Magdalene in the Gospel of Thomas, and additional, invaluable insights into one of the most exciting finds of the 20th Century in Biblical Studies. Not to be missed is a fascinating and provocative essay on the possible use of the Gospel of Thomas an oracle text for those early Coptic Christians thought to be responsible for the Nag Hammadi Library collection. Highly recommended reading for both scholarship and the non-specialist general reader with an interest in Christian Theology and History, The Gospel of Thomas and Christian Wisdom is an enduring work of substantial value and interest. Also very highly recommended reading are Professor Davies other works: The Gospel of Thomas Annotated & Explained; Jesus the Healer, New Testament Fundamentals, and Revolt of the Widows. Additionally recommended is Professor Davies' The Gospel of Thomas website which is a world class Internet website dedicated specifically to this subject.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Quite well argumented, but just another view among many, November 17, 2007

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Lea J. (Slovenia, Europe) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Gospel of Thomas and Christian Wisdom (Paperback)

Davies's book is quite good representation of scholars's view on gospel of Thomas. He arguments, that the GoTh's groundwork is wisdom tradition. The book thus represents one of various views abot GoTh's underlying traditions. On the other hand, one must take in consideration that The Gospel of Thomas and Christian Wisdom consentrates on just one part of the gospel. Also, one gets a feeling, that the author is overburdened with repudiation of gnostic label for GoTh (as gnosticism should be something negative). This effort seems to be the main starting point for the interpretation.. so the discussion sometimes gets quite one-sided. Nevertheless I must commend the inclusion of the paper "Does GoTh have a meaning" in this second edition of the book. Here author also acknowledges the fact that his view is just one among the many that seem equally legitimate and so puts the whole book The Gospel of Thomas and Christian Wisdom into a more objective perspective.