- Paperback: 128 pages
- Publisher: Trinity Press Int'l; annotated edition edition (Nov 1 1998)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 1563382490
- ISBN-13: 978-1563382499
- Product Dimensions: 21.6 x 14 x 0.9 cm
- Shipping Weight: 181 g
- Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #1,636,707 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Details |
Product Description
Review
"This is an excellent new presentation of the Gospel of Thomas for a general audience, and it will be a very useful textbook."-Fred W. Burnett, Anderson University, reviewing for Religious Studies Review, July 1999 (Fred W. Burnett Religious Studies Review )
"I hardly thought there was need for a new translation of the Gospel of Thomas until I read this one...this translation...advances the grace and ease of translation more than any previous one...This translation also distinguishes itself by clarifying some of the more obscure and difficult readings of the Gospel of Thomas. Although scholars may disagree with the reading, the general reading public will find them more accessible...In all this is an excellent translation."-Richard Valantasis, Iliff School of Theology, as printed in Review of Biblical Literature, October 1999 (Richard Valantasis Review of Biblical Literature )
"The translation will likely become the standard for citation in the future."-Edgar Krentz, Currents (Edgar Krentz )
"As an introduction to the Gospel of Thomas, The Fifth Gospel is ideal. It is the perfect book for anyone wishing to know more about its content and discovery, while also introducing the reader to the most prevelant issues regarding the relation of the Gospel of Thomas to the New Testament and the historical Jesus."-Dr. J. Liebenberg, (UNISA) Theological Studies June 2002 (Dr. J. Liebenberg )
"This is an excellent new presentation of the Gospel of Thomas for a general audience, and it will be a very useful textbook."-Fred W. Burnett, Anderson University, reviewing for Religious Studies Review, July 1999 (, Religious Studies Review )
"I hardly thought there was need for a new translation of the Gospel of Thomas until I read this one...this translation...advances the grace and ease of translation more than any previous one...This translation also distinguishes itself by clarifying some of the more obscure and difficult readings of the Gospel of Thomas. Although scholars may disagree with the reading, the general reading public will find them more accessible...In all this is an excellent translation."-Richard Valantasis, Iliff School of Theology, as printed in Review of Biblical Literature, October 1999 (, Review of Biblical Literature )
"I hardly thought there was need for a new translation of the Gospel of Thomas until I read this one...this translation...advances the grace and ease of translation more than any previous one...This translation also distinguishes itself by clarifying some of the more obscure and difficult readings of the Gospel of Thomas. Although scholars may disagree with the reading, the general reading public will find them more accessible...In all this is an excellent translation."-Richard Valantasis, Iliff School of Theology, as printed in Review of Biblical Literature, October 1999 (Richard Valantasis Review of Biblical Literature )
"The translation will likely become the standard for citation in the future."-Edgar Krentz, Currents (Edgar Krentz )
"As an introduction to the Gospel of Thomas, The Fifth Gospel is ideal. It is the perfect book for anyone wishing to know more about its content and discovery, while also introducing the reader to the most prevelant issues regarding the relation of the Gospel of Thomas to the New Testament and the historical Jesus."-Dr. J. Liebenberg, (UNISA) Theological Studies June 2002 (Dr. J. Liebenberg )
"This is an excellent new presentation of the Gospel of Thomas for a general audience, and it will be a very useful textbook."-Fred W. Burnett, Anderson University, reviewing for Religious Studies Review, July 1999 (, Religious Studies Review )
"I hardly thought there was need for a new translation of the Gospel of Thomas until I read this one...this translation...advances the grace and ease of translation more than any previous one...This translation also distinguishes itself by clarifying some of the more obscure and difficult readings of the Gospel of Thomas. Although scholars may disagree with the reading, the general reading public will find them more accessible...In all this is an excellent translation."-Richard Valantasis, Iliff School of Theology, as printed in Review of Biblical Literature, October 1999 (, Review of Biblical Literature )
Book Description
"In December 1945, at the base of cliffs that run along the Nile River near the modern-day town of Nag Hammadi, an Egyptian farmer discovered, in a sealed jar, thirteen ancient Coptic codices containing more than fifty separate tracts. This discovery represented arguably the most significant manuscript discovery of the twentieth century for the study of the New Testament and Christian origins. Of all the texts in this Nag Hammadi Library, none has been more celebrated than the Gospel of Thomas--a Gospel that has played a crucial role in the newly emerging view of early Christianity as a very diverse phenomenon and in the recent revival of historical Jesus studies. Now, after more than fifty years of study, the best text and the best translation of Thomas are presented here in user-friendly form by the Berlin Working Group for Coptic Gnostic Writings, with Stephen J. Patterson and James M. Robinson. In addition, two essays have been included for persons who may be unfamiliar with this new Gospel or with events that led to its discovery and publication. The first, by Patterson, is a general introduction to the Gospel of Thomas as it appears fifty years after its discovery. The second, by Robinson, tells the fascinating story of that discovery itself by one who was directly involved in bringing this new Gospel to light. An annotated list ""for further reading"" completes the volume. Stephen J. Patterson is Associate Professor of New Testament at Eden Theological Seminary and author of The God of Jesus: The Historical Jesus and the Search for Meaning (Trinity Press). James M. Robinson is the former director of the Institute for Antiquity and Christianity, Professor Emeritus at The Claremont Graduate School, and editor of The Nag Hammadi Library."
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Most helpful customer reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Truly Has Come of Age,
By "xenoxcode" (Belgium) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Fifth Gospel: The Gospel of Thomas Comes of Age (Paperback)
It does seem curious to me that the early Church saw fit to leave this Gospel out. It seems to me that it should now be included in the Canon of the official Gospels. Thomas truly has come of age and more accurately describes the mission of Christ for humanity and is more relevant for today.
4.0 out of 5 stars
Early Christian History,
By
This review is from: Fifth Gospel: The Gospel of Thomas Comes of Age (Paperback)
This book is a printing of the Gospel of Thomas, a collection of the sayings of Jesus found with Gnostic writings in a collection known as the Nag Hammadi collection. The title of "Gospel" is rather shaky as there is no narrative and no retelling of the story of Jesus as can be found in the Synoptic Gospels.Most of the book consists of two very scholarly articles written by Stephen Patterson and James Robinson. Both are heavily involved in biblical research and have worked extensively with the Nag Hammadi writings. The first article discusses the origins of Thomas by looking at where it may have been written and what influence it may have had. One interesting point is raised when the author goes so far as to suggest that it may have been Jesus' twin brother Judas who wrote this Gospel. He is totally speculating of course, but can you imagine the implications of this? It makes the article more interesting to read. The second article discusses how the Nag Hammadi writings were found and the enormous effort that scholars undertook to get the writings published. The first part of the book is the actual Gospel of Thomas. Some of the sayings are pretty mysterious. One of them is, "Jesus says: Be passers-by." Passers-by to what? Sin? Pharisees and Sadducees? It is fun to contemplate what the saying means. A large amount of the sayings are recognizable from the Synoptic Gospels, although most seem to be very simplified versions of these sayings. They lack the embellishments that the Gospel writers gave to them. It is also important to note that the Gospel of Thomas is written in Coptic, a form of Greek with letters added to mimic sounds of the Egyptian language. The Coptic version is a translation from an earlier Greek source, so errors abound. Also, when the writings were found, the Egyptian tore them up to give to some of his companions. As a history student, I still cringe when I think of the damage he caused. This is a good book with obvious implications for Christians as well as New Testament scholars. Be aware that this is a VERY scholarly work. You will find huge footnotes with titles of books written in German. The second article could be very wearisome to the non-scholar, who probably doesn't care about the numerous academic bodies that were convened to gain access to the writings. The Gospel itself is still worth reading.
5.0 out of 5 stars
Gospel of Thomas comes to life,
By A Customer
This review is from: Fifth Gospel: The Gospel of Thomas Comes of Age (Paperback)
A wonderful translation! The footnotes themselves are worth the cost of the book! Written for use by both scholars and laypeople. Anyone interested in the early roots or the future of Christianity would appreciate this book.
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