The Gospel of Thomas and Christian Origins: Essays on the Fifth Gospel

327 Pages·2013·2.49 MB·English

by  Stephen J. Patterson

The Gospel of Thomas and Christian Origins
Nag Hammadi and
Manichaean Studies
Editors
JohannesvanOort&EinarThomassen
EditorialBoard
j.d.beduhn–a.d.deconick–w.-p.funk
i.gardner–s.n.c.lieu–a.marjanen
p.nagel–l.painchaud–b.a.pearson
n.a.pedersen–s.g.richter–j.m.robinson
m.scopello–j.d.turner–g.wurst
VOLUME84
Thetitlespublishedinthisseriesarelistedatbrill.com/nhms
The Gospel of Thomas
and Christian Origins
Essays on the Fifth Gospel
By
StephenJ.Patterson
LEIDEN•BOSTON
2013
LibraryofCongressCataloging-in-PublicationData
Patterson,StephenJ.,1957-
TheGospelofThomasandChristianorigins:essaysontheFifthGospel/byStephenJ.Patterson.
pagescm.–(NagHammadiandManichaeanStudies;volume84)
Includesbibliographicalreferencesandindexes.
ISBN978-90-04-25084-0(hardback)–ISBN978-90-04-25621-7(e-book)
1.GospelofThomas(CopticGospel)–Criticism,interpretation,etc.2.Apocryphalbooks.3.
Churchhistory–Primitiveandearlychurch,ca.30-600.I.Title.
BS2860.T52P3842013
229'.8–dc23
2013021182
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ISSN0929-2470
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ForJohnandSophia

CONTENTS
Acknowledgments...................................................... ix
ListofOriginalPublications ............................................ xi
ListofAbbreviations.................................................... xiii
Introduction:APolarizingArtifact ..................................... 1
1 TheViewfromacrosstheEuphrates ............................... 9
2 JesusMeetsPlato:TheTheologyoftheGospelofThomasand
MiddlePlatonism .................................................. 33
3 PlatonismandtheApocryphalOriginsofImmortalityinthe
ChristianImaginationorWhydoChristiansHaveSoulsthatGo
toHeaven?.......................................................... 61
4 TheGospelof(Judas)ThomasandtheSynopticProblem ......... 93
5 TheGospelofThomasandHistoricalJesusResearch .............. 119
6 WisdominQandThomas.......................................... 141
7 AsceticismintheGospelofThomasandQ:ThePeculiarPractice
oftheEarlyJesusTradition......................................... 175
8 TheParableoftheCatchofFish:ABriefHistory(OnMatthew
13:47–50andGospelofThom8).................................... 197
9 ApocalypticismorProphecyandtheProblemofPolyvalence:
LessonsfromtheGospelofThomas................................ 211
10 PaulandtheJesusTradition:ItIsTimeforAnotherLook.......... 237
11 TheGospelofThomasandChristianBeginnings .................. 261
WorksCited............................................................. 277
IndexofGospelofThomas ............................................. 297
IndexofAncientSources ............................................... 299
IndexofModernAuthors............................................... 308

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Iamgratefultomanycolleaguesforthevariousopportunitiesandinvita-
tions to pursue these essays in scholarly venues, as well as permission to
reprintthemtogetherinthisvolume:tothePresidentandFellowsofHar-
vardCollegeandtheeditorsoftheHarvardTheologicalReviewforpermis-
siontoreprint“TheViewFromAcrosstheEuphrates,”HTR104(2011):411–431
and“PaulandtheJesusTradition:ItIsTimeforAnotherLook,”HTR84(1991):
23–41;toJensSchröterandJosephVerheydenfortheinvitationtooffer“Pla-
tonismandtheApocryphalOriginsofImmortalityintheChristianImagi-
nationorWhydoChristiansHaveSoulsthatGotoHeaven?”intheEnglish
Seminarofthe60thannualColloquiumBiblicumLovanienseandtoUitgev-
erijPeeterspermissiontoreprintitfromBETL260;toAndrewGregory,Paul
Foster,JohnS.KloppenborgandVerheydenfortheinvitationtoparticipate
inthe2008OxfordConferenceontheSynopticProblemwith“TheGospelof
(Judas)ThomasandtheSynopticProblem,”andtoÉditionsPeetersforper-
missiontoreprintitfromBETL239;toGregSterlingfortheinvitationtooffer
“TheGospelofThomasandHistoricalJesusResearch”atthe2003meetingof
theCatholicBiblicalAssociationinSanFranciscoandtoÉditionsPeetersfor
permissiontoreprintitfromBibliotequeCoptedeNagHammadi,section
“Études,”7;toLeoPerdueandBernardBrandonScottfortheinvitationto
contribute“WisdominQandThomas”totheJohnGammieFestschriftand
toWestminster/JohnKnoxPressforpermissiontoreprintitfromInSearch
ofWisdom:EssaysinHonorofJohnG.Gammie; to Leif Vaage and Vincent
Wimbushfortheinvitationtoparticipateinthe1996conference,Asceticism
and the New Testament in Toronto with the paper “Askesis and the Early
JesusTradition,”andtoRoutledgeforpermissiontoreprintitfromAsceti-
cismandtheNewTestament;toLouisPainchaudandPaul-HubertPoirierfor
theinvitationtoparticipateinthe2003colloquy,L’ÉvangileselonThomas
etlestextesdeNagHammadi,TraditionsetconvergencesinQuebecwith
thepaper,“TheParableoftheCatchofFish:ABriefHistory(OnMatthew
13:47–50andGospelofThomas8),”andtoÉditionsPeetersforpermission
toreprintitfromBibliotequeCoptedeNagHammadi,section“Études,”8;
totheeditorsoftheJournalofBiblicalLiteratureforpermissiontoreprint
“ApocalypticismorProphecyandtheProblemofPolyvalence:Lessonsfrom
theGospelofThomas,”JBL130(2012):795–817;andtoJonAsgiersson,April
DeConickandRistoUrofortheinvitationtoofferthepaper“TheGospelof