The Gospel of Thomas and Christian origins : : essays on the Fifth Gospel / / by Stephen J. Patterson.

• Superior document: Nag Hammadi and Manichaean studies, volume 84
• Author: Patterson, Stephen J., 1957-
• Place / Publishing House: Leiden ;, Boston : : Brill,, 2013.
• Year of Publication: 2013
• Language: English
• Series: Nag Hammadi and Manichaean studies ; 84.
• Physical Description: 1 online resource (325 p.)
• Notes: A collection of previously published essays; dates of original publication range from 1991 to 2013.

The essays collected in The Gospel of Thomas and Christian Origins offer a series new chapters in the history of Christianity's first century. Stephen J. Patterson, whose work on the Gospel of Thomas has circulated widely for more than two decades, argues that taking this new source seriously will require rethinking a number of basic issues, including the assumed apocalyptic origins of early Christian faith, the supposed centrality of Jesus' death and resurrection, and the role of Platonism in formulation of both orthodox and heterodox Christian theology.

Table of Contents

Front Matter -- A Polarizing Artifact -- The View from across the Euphrates -- Jesus Meets Plato: The Theology of the Gospel of Thomas and Middle Platonism -- Platonism and the Apocryphal Origins of Immortality in the Christian Imagination or Why do Christians Have Souls that Go to Heaven? -- The Gospel of (Judas) Thomas and the Synoptic Problem -- The Gospel of Thomas and Historical Jesus Research -- Wisdom in Q and Thomas -- Asceticism in the Gospel of Thomas and Q: The Peculiar Practice of the Early Jesus Tradition -- The Parable of the Catch of Fish: A Brief History -- Apocalypticism or Prophecy and the Problem of Polyvalence: Lessons from the Gospel of Thomas -- Paul and the Jesus Tradition: It is Time for Another Look -- The Gospel of Thomas and Christian Beginnings -- Works Cited -- Indexes.