Unearthing the Lost Words of Jesus: The Discovery and Text of the Gospel of Thomas

by John Dart, Ray Riegert, John Dominic Crossan

The time is just after World War II. The place is Upper Egypt not far from the pyramids. A group of camel drivers embroiled in a deadly blood feud is secretly digging for fertilizer along the Nile River near their enemies' village when they uncover an earthenware jar. Believing it is filled either with gold or evil spirits, one of them smashes open the ancient vessel. Unwittingly, he has discovered the greatest collection of apocryphal Christian documents ever found. Among these fourth-century papyrus books is The Gospel of Thomas, an unusual manuscript purportedly dictated by Jesus to "doubting Thomas." The dramatic narrative history is combined with a special translation of this spiritually enlightening text. The image of Jesus that emerges is strikingly different from the figure portrayed in the New Testament. Thomas describes Jesus in pure, simple terms - unadulterated by 2000 years of myth and interpretation - a wise man with a Zen-like view of the world.

Genres: Nonfiction, Religion

105 pages, Hardcover

Published January 1, 1998

About the author

John Dart was an American religion journalist and editor, known for his long career at the Los Angeles Times and later as news editor of The Christian Century. He wrote extensively on New Testament research and religion reporting, earning numerous awards, including recognition from the American Academy of Religion. Dart authored and coauthored several influential books such as The Laughing Savior and Decoding Mark. He also contributed to advancing religion journalism through research and teaching, and was widely respected for his insightful, in-depth coverage of complex religious topics.

Reviews

[dejah_thoris]

Another read-and-weed from my father's collection. This book includes historical background on finding and rescuing the papyri and a little discussion on the concept of men and women being a united, sexless person prior to the Fall. Most of the gospel is repeated in the Biblical gospels albeit with some political distortions, so it's nice to read the pure version, but I didn't find it particularly life-changing. There rest includes gnostic bits and odd stories, like making Mary an honorary man, so she can study with the rest of the apostles.

[Nick]

About half is the history of the discovery of the Nag Hammadi library, the other half is a reproduction of the text edited for a modern audience (removing repeated “Jesus says”) then an epilogue by John Crossan briefly summarizing Thomas as advocating celibacy and asceticism which seems more interpretative.

[Ben Rauscher]

Scant commentary on the text and its origin: instead a scantily edited section on global politics at the time the text was discovered. Felt scant after reading this book.

[Rebecca Cooper]

The text itself was interesting, but it's difficult for the modern reader who is not a biblical scholar to put it into context. Would have been nice to have some commentary on the text itself rather than commentary on how the gospel was discovered. If you're curious about the Gospel of Thomas, I recommend passing on this one and finding a different book that has some discussion on the meaning of the text.

[Susan]

Long ago. Comment is "ok"