The Way of Thomas: Insights for Spiritual Living from the Gnostic Gospel of Thomas

by John R. Mabry

"Nine Insights for Enlightened Living from the Secret Sayings of Jesus." What were Jesus' original teachings, and how do they differ from the story told by the Christian church? What is the real story of early Christianity? Can we find a Jesus that is relevant as a spiritual guide for people today? These and many other questions are addressed in this popular presentation of the teachings of this mystical Christian text. With the discovery of the Gospel of Thomas in 1945, scholars now believe we have a document closer to Jesus' actual words than we have ever possessed before. "Open yourself to the wisdom of Jesus in Thomas and allow these sayings to seep into your soul." -John Beverly Butcher, author of The Tao of Jesus Read The Way of Thomas. "Compelling and well-written, this book will broaden the Jesus debate of our century." -John Shelby Spong, author of The Sins of Scripture

Genres: Spirituality

ebook

First published December 13, 2006

About the author

I've been writing ever since the third grade, when I produced my first short story. I am a United Church of Christ pastor, and teach world religions and spiritual direction at the Chaplaincy Institute (an interfaith seminary in Berkeley, CA). I also sing for two progressive rock bands, Mind Furniture and Metaphor. My wife Lisa Fullam and I live in Oakland with our two lovely dogs Judy and Sally. I don't write heavy, academic books. I write books for regular folk like you and me who want to explore their spirituality and get closer to God. In my fiction, I want to show people of faith as they actually are—screwed up, insecure, and often bumbling—but still usually trying to do the right thing.

Reviews

[B. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Incredible book. What’s strange to me is that as I have been seeking for a few years now, I’m starting to find preliminary answers, but it’s only still a scratch on the surface of the truth.

This book popped into my life almost simultaneously while having a discussion with a good friend and mentor about similarity between Buddhism and some Gnosticism, particularly gospel of thomas. The author points out that the gospel unfortunately was found in fragments, but what exists can be dizzying to read because its intentionally opaque-the message is clear....seek seek seek until you are troubled-when you are troubled you will be amazed at what comes to light. Like a Zen Koan-there is no clear answer, but that’s the point-keep searching until the puzzle unfolds on its own because you didn’t try to solve it by education, but but by spiritual growth.

This will certainly be looked upon as heretical by any traditional or orthodox Christian, but again, that’s what makes it so much more plausible....Jesus in my opinion was a Bhodisatva or a Buddha....he was leading his followers to this end, but coming outright and saying that would have blown their minds to pieces...he gave them a way to discover that on their own terms.

[Marina Oppenheimer · Rating 4 out of 5]

The way towards a spiritual life

This is a book that those who do not need religion to feel connected to the Divinity will deeply enjoy. I for one found the author’s point of view on spiritual life very similar to mine: there is no need for a religious authority to feel religious. After all, didn’t Jesus fight against the laws and precepts of Judaism so that we could all discover our own transcendence?

[Bill Roth · Rating 2 out of 5]

Meh.

If the Gospel of Thomas is divinely inspired, then the Holy Spirit needs a copy editor. This book is useful as a reference as it contains the text of the non-canonical Gospel of Thomas. But Catholics will look at the scripture study and find much fault. Moreover, the author seems intent on viewing this through the lens of Buddhism And drawing parallelisms there. I found the historical context useful, but looking through the lens of Buddhism and Anglicanism less so. But, full disclosure, I’m a recalcitrant Catholic that had way too much Jesuit education

[Evert · Rating 2 out of 5]

A Buddhist conglomeration with Christianity

As an instructor of Christianity, I looked forward to augmenting my Biblical knowledge. Having read this book, I can honestly say that I have gained little. I learned more about Gnosticism and Buddhism but could not marry these world views with Biblical Christianity. The author relies on conjecture and misinterpretation to paint a worldly view of Jesus; very unlike the resurrected Messiah of Scripture. Fodder for sceptics and pagans but not worth the read for seekers of Truth.

[Jilles · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting book. A kind of bridge between the teachings of Jesus according to Thomas and consciousness as we now know it. The similarities are very unifying.

[Donald Burns · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ambiguity

There's a lot to think about here. I like how the teachings of Buddha, Lao Tzu, and others are tied in.

[Robert Echols · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very useful book, but require a reread or two to grasp in its entirety.

[SteveR · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating book and gospel. The author shares his own interesting faith journey, and challenged me on my faith journey. For me some of the views are radical and complex to understand. But as he simply states, “Jesus is a mystery ... we can celebrate the mystery ... new and old and celebrate the mystery that surrounds him.” He goes onto say, “The Gospel of Thomas simply holds out wisdom for anyone who will accept it.”

[Glenda · Rating 5 out of 5]

See highlights for sample tidbits from the book with interesting trivia, phrasing, metaphors, ideas, and facts !! Very interesting !!!