The Words of Jesus in the Gospel of Thomas The Genesis of a Wisdom Tradition Gnostica Series

This book offers a detailed analysis of the Gospel of Thomas in its historic and literary context, providing a new understanding of the genesis of the Jesus tradition. Discovered in the twentieth century, the non-canonical Gospel of Thomas is an important early text whose origins and place in the history of Christianity continue to be subjects of debate. Aiming to relocate the Thomasine community in the wider context of early Christianity, this study considers the Gospel of Thomas as a bridge between the oral and literary phases of the Christian movement. It will therefore, be useful for Religion scholars working on Biblical studies, Coptic codices, gnosticism and early Christianity.

Introduction; 1 The Transmission of a Thomas Tradition; 2 The Thomasine Community; 3 Hermeneutical Debates over Mystical Logia: Sapiential versus Gnostic; 4 The Parables and Kingdom Language in Thomas; 5 The Female Disciples in Thomas; Conclusion

David W. Kim is a Visiting Fellow at the School of History, Australian National University, Canberra and an Associate Professor of the History of Christianity, Kookmin University, Seoul. His publication includes Sacred Sites and Sacred Stories Across Cultures: Transmission of Oral Tradition, Myth, and Religiosity (2020), Colonial Transformation and Asian Religions in Modern History (2018), Religious Encounters in Transcultural Society: Collison, Alteration, and Transmission (2017), Religious Transformation in Modern Asia: A Transnational Movement (2015), and Intercultural Transmission in the Medieval Mediterranean (2012).