Gnostic Apostle Thomas: "Twin" of Jesus

Rating:
Summary: Read 3 Times!
Review: A fascinating and meaningful book this is. I downloaded it several years ago and read it twice before having the good fortune of being able to purchase the paperback so I could read it again. It appears to me to have been a labor of love.

Do you like a good mystery? Then you should enjoy the sleuthing that the author has done concerning a long forgotten style of Christianity which revered Thomas. The author takes as a starting point an ancient book entitled the Acts of Judas Thomas. The book was preserved by the early church and describes a missionary journey of Thomas to the east, even to India. It was written in the 3rd century CE and though it does not describe literal history (it's a romance) it shows what religious ideas were important and yields other valuable information. The structure of Merillat's book is to describe a section of this Acts and then to explore relevant tangents. That way, in thirty short self-contained chapters, we learn about the history and geography of cities in the area and philosophical and religious viewpoints. Along the journey, for instance, we learn of a gnostic religious group that has survived into the 21st century. They are the Mandeans and have sometimes in history been termed "John Christians" because John the Baptist has a special place in their devotions. They might be descendants of his followers who never embraced Christianity, at least of the form familiar to us in America. The Manichean religion is weaved into the narrative. It was another gnostic-type religion which borrowed from both Christianity and Buddhism. (Elsewhere I've read that the religion of the movie "Star Wars" may be described as Manichean.) There is usually a connection between Thomas and gnosticism in the ancient literature. And, significant parallels exist between Thomas traditions and eastern religions, particularly Buddhism. We also learn about the history of the Thomas Christians of southern India. In their tradition Thomas established their church and achieved martyrdom there. While that is very unlikely, the evidence is that the church was established there in the very early centuries of the Christian era. It is further evidence of the importance of Thomas as a spiritual leader in that part of the world.

I am a southern protestant boy who can vouch that whenever the subject of "Gnostics" comes up in Sunday school, the cliche is that they claimed superior insight and knowledge. Such snobbery is easy to dismiss with a handwave. However, the reality of what they were like is more complicated. Gnosticism is a difficult subject and this book is an aid in understanding it. One text that Merillat uses in a particularly helpful way is the Gospel of Thomas. It was among a cache of mostly gnostic manuscripts discovered in the 1940's in Egypt called the Nag Hammadi Library. It is a gospel consisting of sayings by Jesus. Many of the sayings are identical or similar to those found in the gospels of the New Testament. Approximately one third have no counterpart in the New Testament. Taken in toto, the gospel can be read and interpreted in a mystical or gnostic manner. It is a witness of the viewpoint of some very early Christians. For instance, there is an emphasis on self-knowledge. "If you bring forth what is within you, what you have will save you." (v. 70) There is emphasis on understanding what Jesus says, "whoever finds the interpretations of these sayings will not taste death." (v. 1) On being like Jesus, "whoever drinks from my mouth will be like me and I will be that person." (v. 106) On understanding our true nature, that we come from God and, if we are children of light, we will return to him. And, that the kingdom is here and now, "The Kingdom is inside you and outside you," (v. 3) and "The Kingdom of the Father is spread out on the earth, but people do not see it." (v. 112)

The author shows in this book, in my opinion, that a study of Thomas can provide a bridge which connects the East and the West. Christian apologists justifiably are proud that science is a product of western christian assumptions and culture. But it should be noted that a critical aspect of its development was the fact it was enabled by the rediscovery and integration of classical literature and learning. Perhaps, at the beginning of this millenium, in order to advance our understanding of human consciousness and to reconnect religion and science which are so often at odds, a similar synthesis can be made. This book is an aid to such a quest.

Rating:
Summary: Read 3 Times!
Review: A fascinating and meaningful book this is. I downloaded it several years ago and read it twice before having the good fortune of being able to purchase the paperback so I could read it again. It appears to me to have been a labor of love.

Do you like a good mystery? Then you should enjoy the sleuthing that the author has done concerning a long forgotten style of Christianity which revered Thomas. The author takes as a starting point an ancient book entitled the Acts of Judas Thomas. The book was preserved by the early church and describes a missionary journey of Thomas to the east, even to India. It was written in the 3rd century CE and though it does not describe literal history (it's a romance) it shows what religious ideas were important and yields other valuable information. The structure of Merillat's book is to describe a section of this Acts and then to explore relevant tangents. That way, in thirty short self-contained chapters, we learn about the history and geography of cities in the area and philosophical and religious viewpoints. Along the journey, for instance, we learn of a gnostic religious group that has survived into the 21st century. They are the Mandeans and have sometimes in history been termed "John Christians" because John the Baptist has a special place in their devotions. They might be descendants of his followers who never embraced Christianity, at least of the form familiar to us in America. The Manichean religion is weaved into the narrative. It was another gnostic-type religion which borrowed from both Christianity and Buddhism. (Elsewhere I've read that the religion of the movie "Star Wars" may be described as Manichean.) There is usually a connection between Thomas and gnosticism in the ancient literature. And, significant parallels exist between Thomas traditions and eastern religions, particularly Buddhism. We also learn about the history of the Thomas Christians of southern India. In their tradition Thomas established their church and achieved martyrdom there. While that is very unlikely, the evidence is that the church was established there in the very early centuries of the Christian era. It is further evidence of the importance of Thomas as a spiritual leader in that part of the world.

I am a southern protestant boy who can vouch that whenever the subject of "Gnostics" comes up in Sunday school, the cliche is that they claimed superior insight and knowledge. Such snobbery is easy to dismiss with a handwave. However, the reality of what they were like is more complicated. Gnosticism is a difficult subject and this book is an aid in understanding it. One text that Merillat uses in a particularly helpful way is the Gospel of Thomas. It was among a cache of mostly gnostic manuscripts discovered in the 1940's in Egypt called the Nag Hammadi Library. It is a gospel consisting of sayings by Jesus. Many of the sayings are identical or similar to those found in the gospels of the New Testament. Approximately one third have no counterpart in the New Testament. Taken in toto, the gospel can be read and interpreted in a mystical or gnostic manner. It is a witness of the viewpoint of some very early Christians.For instance, there is an emphasis on self-knowledge. "If you bring forth what is within you, what you have will save you." (v. 70) There is emphasis on understanding what Jesus says, "whoever finds the interpretations of these sayings will not taste death." (v. 1) On being like Jesus, "whoever drinks from my mouth will be like me and I will be that person." (v. 106) On understanding our true nature, that we come from God and, if we are children of light, we will return to him. And, that the kingdom is here and now, "The Kingdom is inside you and outside you," (v. 3) and "The Kingdom of the Father is spread out on the earth, but people do not see it." (v. 112)

The author shows in this book, in my opinion, that a study of Thomas can provide a bridge which connects the East and the West. Christian apologists justifiably are proud that science is a product of western christian assumptions and culture. But it should be noted that a critical aspect of its development was the fact it was enabled by the rediscovery and integration of classical literature and learning. Perhaps, at the beginning of this millenium, in order to advance our understanding of human consciousness and to reconnect religion and science which are so often at odds, a similar synthesis can be made. This book is an aid to such a quest.

Rating:
Summary: Look elsewhere
Review: Anyone who pays for this valuable treatise is a fool, since the author has made it available free online.

Rating:
Summary: An Important Book
Review: Herbert C. Merillat (Chris to his friends of whom I one) has written a number of excellent and important books,including two of the best about the campaign in World War II for Guadalcanal. His style is accessible, and he chooses his subjects with care. Yes, the book may have been available on the Internet, but don't we all prefer to have the books that we love nearby at hand? Merillat survived some of WW II's worst battles. He was there for us; we should be there for him in buying this excellent book.

Rating:
Summary: An Important Book
Review: Herbert C. Merillat (Chris to his friends of whom I one) has written a number of excellent and important books,including two of the best about the campaign in World War II for Guadalcanal. His style is accessible, and he chooses his subjects with care. Yes, the book may have been available on the Internet, but don't we all prefer to have the books that we love nearby at hand? Merillat survived some of WW II's worst battles. He was there for us; we should be there for him in buying this excellent book.