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Book Of Thomas
The ''Book of Thomas the Contender'', also known more simply as the ''Book of Thomas'' (not to be confused with the Gospel of Thomas and the Infancy Gospel of Thomas), is one of the books of the New Testament apocrypha represented in the Nag Hammadi library ( CG II), a cache of Gnostic gospels secreted in the Egyptian desert. The title derives from the first line of text. The colophon appended to the text gives the title ''The Contender writing to the Perfect''. Composition There are two competing theories as to the composition of the text: *Firstly, since it is only the initial 3/5 which constitute dialogue, with the remainder being a monologue, it may have originally been two works, one of dialogue, one of monologue. *Alternatively, and not in the least because of the two titles, the work is thought to have originated as a letter, with a name of the form ''Epistle of the Contender'', written by a Jew who upheld Hellenic philosophy. The text is thought to have later been g ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gospel Of Thomas
The Gospel of Thomas (also known as the Coptic Gospel of Thomas) is an extra-canonical Logia, sayings gospel. It was discovered near Nag Hammadi, Egypt, in December 1945 among a group of books known as the Nag Hammadi library. Scholars speculate that the works were buried in response to a letter from Bishop Athanasius of Alexandria, Athanasius declaring a strict canon of Christian scripture. Scholars have proposed dates of composition as early as 60 AD and as late as 250 AD. Since its discovery, many scholars have seen it as evidence in support of the existence of a "Q source" which might have been very similar in its form as a collection of sayings of Jesus without any accounts of his deeds or his life and death, referred to as a sayings gospel. The Coptic language text, the second of seven contained in what modern-day scholars have designated as Nag Hammadi Codex II, is composed of 114 sayings attributed to Jesus. Almost two-thirds of these sayings resemble those found in t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Infancy Gospel Of Thomas
The ''Infancy Gospel of Thomas'' is a Biography, biographical gospel about the childhood of Jesus, believed to date at the latest to the second century. The Infancy Gospel of Thomas is generally considered to be Gnostic in origin because of references in letters (by Hippolytus of Rome and Origen of Alexandria) to a "Gospel of Thomas", but it is unclear whether those letters refer to the Infancy Gospel or the Gospel of Thomas, a sayings gospel discovered near Nag Hammadi, Egypt in 1945. Proto-orthodox Christians regarded the Infancy Gospel of Thomas as inauthentic and heretical. Eusebius rejected it as a heretical "fiction" in the third book of his fourth-century ''Church History (Eusebius), Church History'', and Pope Gelasius I included it in his list of heretical books in the fifth century. Dating The first known quotation of the Infancy Gospel of Thomas is from Irenaeus of Lyon around AD 180, who calls it spurious and apocryphal. Scholars generally agree on a date in the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
New Testament Apocrypha
The New Testament apocrypha (singular apocryphon) are a number of writings by early Christians that give accounts of Jesus and his teachings, the nature of God, or the teachings of his apostles and of their lives. Some of these writings were cited as scripture by early Christians, but since the fifth century a widespread consensus has emerged limiting the New Testament to the 27 books of the modern canon. Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, and Protestant churches generally do not view the New Testament apocrypha as part of the Bible. Definition The word "apocrypha" means "things put away" or "things hidden", originating from the Medieval Latin adjective ''apocryphus'', "secret" or "non-canonical", which in turn originated from the Greek adjective (''apokryphos''), "obscure", from the verb (''apokryptein''), "to hide away". From the Greek prefix "apo" which means "away" and the Greek verb "kryptein" which means "to hide". The general term is usually applied to the books that w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nag Hammadi Library
The Nag Hammadi library (also known as the " Chenoboskion Manuscripts" and the "Gnostic Gospels") is a collection of early Christian and Gnostic texts discovered near the Upper Egyptian town of Nag Hammadi in 1945. Thirteen leather-bound papyrus codices buried in a sealed jar were found by a local farmer named Muhammed al-Samman. The writings in these codices comprise 52 mostly Gnostic treatises, but they also include three works belonging to the ''Corpus Hermeticum'' and a partial translation/alteration of Plato's ''Republic''. In his introduction to ''The Nag Hammadi Library in English'', James Robinson suggests that these codices may have belonged to a nearby Pachomian monastery and were buried after Saint Athanasius condemned the use of non-canonical books in his Festal Letter of 367 A.D. The discovery of these texts significantly influenced modern scholarship's pursuit and knowledge of early Christianity and Gnosticism. The contents of the codices were written in the C ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nag Hammadi Codex II
Nag Hammadi Codex II (designated by siglum CG II) is a papyrus codex with a collection of early Christian Gnostic texts in Coptic (Sahidic dialect). The manuscript has survived in nearly perfect condition. The codex is dated to the 4th century. It is the only complete manuscript from antiquity with the text of the Gospel of Thomas. Description The manuscript was written on papyrus in the form of a codex. The measurements of the leaves are 254 mm by 158 mm. Originally the codex contained 76 unnumbered leaves, now 74 leaves. It is written in Sahidic dialect. Pages A–B are blank.Bentley Layton''Nag Hammadi codex II, 2–7: together with XIII, 2*, Brit. Lib. Or.4926(1), and P.OXY. 1, 654, 655 : with contributions by many scholars'' BRILL, 1989, p. 2. The codex contains: * ''The Apocryphon of John'' * ''The Gospel of Thomas'', a sayings gospel, pages C–D blank * ''The Gospel of Philip'' * ''The Hypostasis of the Archons'' * ''On the Origin of the World'' * ''The Exege ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gnostic
Gnosticism (from grc, γνωστικός, gnōstikós, , 'having knowledge') is a collection of religious ideas and systems which coalesced in the late 1st century AD among Jewish and early Christian sects. These various groups emphasized personal spiritual knowledge (''gnosis'') above the orthodox teachings, traditions, and authority of religious institutions. Gnostic cosmogony generally presents a distinction between a supreme, hidden God and a malevolent lesser divinity (sometimes associated with the Yahweh of the Old Testament) who is responsible for creating the material universe. Consequently, Gnostics considered material existence flawed or evil, and held the principal element of salvation to be direct knowledge of the hidden divinity, attained via mystical or esoteric insight. Many Gnostic texts deal not in concepts of sin and repentance, but with illusion and enlightenment. Gnostic writings flourished among certain Christian groups in the Mediterranean world aro ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Judas Thomas
Thomas the Apostle ( arc, 𐡀𐡌𐡅𐡕𐡌, hbo, תוֹמא הקדוש or תוֹמָא שליחא (''Toma HaKadosh'' "Thomas the Holy" or ''Toma Shlikha'' "Thomas the Messenger/Apostle" in Hebrew-Aramaic), syc, ܬܐܘܡܐ, , meaning "twin"; grc-x-koine, Θωμᾶς),; cop, ⲑⲱⲙⲁⲥ; mal, തോമാ ശ്ലീഹാ also known as (Greek: Δίδυμος ''Didymos,'' meaning "twin"), was one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus according to the New Testament. Thomas is commonly known as "Doubting Thomas" because he initially doubted the resurrection of Jesus Christ when he was told of it (as is related in the Gospel of John); he later confessed his faith ("My Lord and my God") on seeing the wounds left over from the crucifixion. According to traditional accounts of the Saint Thomas Christians of modern-day Kerala in India, Saint Thomas travelled outside the Roman Empire to preach the Gospel, travelling as far as the Tamilakam which is in South India, and reached ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Colophon (publishing)
In publishing, a colophon () is a brief statement containing information about the publication of a book such as an "imprint" (the place of publication, the publisher, and the date of publication). A colophon may include the device (logo) of a printer or publisher. Colophons are traditionally printed at the ends of books (see History below for the origin of the word), but sometimes the same information appears elsewhere (when it may still be referred to as colophon) and many modern (post-1800) books bear this information on the title page or on the verso of the title-leaf, which is sometimes called a "biblio-page" or (when bearing copyright data) the " copyright-page". History The term ''colophon'' derives from the Late Latin ''colophōn'', from the Greek κολοφών (meaning "summit" or "finishing touch"). The term colophon was used in 1729 as the bibliographic explication at the end of the book by the English printer Samuel Palmer in his ''The General History of Printing, f ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Matthias The Apostle
Matthias (Koine Greek: Μαθθίας, ''Maththías'' , from Biblical Hebrew, Hebrew מַתִּתְיָהוּ ''Mattiṯyāhū''; cop, ⲙⲁⲑⲓⲁⲥ; died c. AD 80) was, according to the Acts of the Apostles (written c. AD 63), chosen by the Twelve Apostles, apostles to replace Judas Iscariot following the latter's betrayal of Jesus and his subsequent death. His calling as an apostle is unique, in that his appointment was not made personally by Jesus, who had already Ascension of Jesus, ascended into heaven, and it was also made before the descent of the Holy Spirit (Christianity), Holy Spirit upon the early Church. Biography There is no mention of a Matthias among the lists of disciples or followers of Jesus in the three synoptic gospels, but according to Acts of the Apostles, Acts, he had been with Jesus from his Baptism of Jesus, baptism by John the Baptist, John until his Ascension of Jesus, Ascension. In the days following, Saint Peter, Peter proposed that the assemble ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gospel Of Matthias
The Gospel of Matthias is a lost text from the New Testament apocrypha, ascribed to Matthias, the apostle chosen by lots to replace Judas Iscariot (Acts 1:15–26). The content has been surmised from various descriptions of it in ancient works by church fathers. There is too little evidence to decide whether a Traditions of Matthias is the same work, according to J.B. Matthews, ''The Anchor Bible Dictionary'' (IV:644). Historical references This Gospel is lost, but Clement of Alexandria while describing the Nicolaitanes, quotes a sentence ascribed to Matthias urging asceticism: "we must combat our flesh, set no value upon it, and concede to it nothing that can flatter it, but rather increase the growth of our soul by faith and knowledge". The ''Gospel of Matthias'' was mentioned by Origen of Alexandria; by Eusebius, who attributes it to heretics; by Jerome, and in the Decretum Gelasianum which declares it apocryphal. It comes at the end of the list of the Biblical Canon in the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gnostic
Gnosticism (from grc, γνωστικός, gnōstikós, , 'having knowledge') is a collection of religious ideas and systems which coalesced in the late 1st century AD among Jewish and early Christian sects. These various groups emphasized personal spiritual knowledge (''gnosis'') above the orthodox teachings, traditions, and authority of religious institutions. Gnostic cosmogony generally presents a distinction between a supreme, hidden God and a malevolent lesser divinity (sometimes associated with the Yahweh of the Old Testament) who is responsible for creating the material universe. Consequently, Gnostics considered material existence flawed or evil, and held the principal element of salvation to be direct knowledge of the hidden divinity, attained via mystical or esoteric insight. Many Gnostic texts deal not in concepts of sin and repentance, but with illusion and enlightenment. Gnostic writings flourished among certain Christian groups in the Mediterranean world aro ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Four Canonical Gospels
Gospel originally meant the Christian message ("the gospel"), but in the 2nd century it came to be used also for the books in which the message was set out. In this sense a gospel can be defined as a loose-knit, episodic narrative of the words and deeds of Jesus, culminating in his trial and death and concluding with various reports of his post-resurrection appearances. Modern scholars are cautious of relying on the gospels uncritically, but nevertheless, they provide a good idea of the public career of Jesus, and critical study can attempt to distinguish the original ideas of Jesus from those of the later authors. The four canonical gospels were probably written between AD 66 and 110. All four were anonymous (with the modern names added in the 2nd century), almost certainly none were by eyewitnesses, and all are the end-products of long oral and written transmission. Mark was the first to be written, using a variety of sources. The authors of Matthew and Luke both independent ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
