The Gospel of Thomas & Gnosticism

Twice in the last week, the subject of the Gospel of Thomas has come up in discussions, and so I want to first share this article from carm.org. Following the article are some of my thoughts concerning this subject.

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What is the Gospel of Thomas?

The Gospel of Thomas is a collection of 114 sayings of Jesus that was discovered in 1945 at the village of Nag Hammadi in Egypt. Before the Nag Hammadi discovery, very little was known about the Gospel of Thomas other than three small fragments from Oxyrynchus that date to 200 A.D....

The Date of Thomas

Even though the Gospel of Thomas is perhaps the earliest, most popular, and best "Gnostic" Gospel around, it does not belong in the New Testament since it was written in the second century at a time when all of the apostles of Christianity had already died....In fact, even many adherents to a first century origin for the Gospel of Thomas argue that, in its present form, Thomas reflects later editing.

Historical Value

Though the final composition of the Gospel of Thomas is likely in the second century, there may be some traditions in Thomas that date back to the first century and may be independent of the Synoptic Gospels (Matthew, Mark, and Luke). However, by and large, the Gospel of Thomas does not really give us much new information about the historical Jesus compared to what is already found in the New Testament Gospels...

Is the Gospel of Thomas a Gnostic Gospel?

There is debate within the scholarly community regarding whether the Gospel of Thomas is a Gnostic document. In fact, the reputable Gnostic scholar, Elaine Pagels, changed her views after years of studying the Gospel of Thomas. She know thinks that it is not a Gnostic document. However, in line with many other scholars, it seems best to conclude that it at least contains some Gnostic like ideas such as salvation by secret knowledge, the extreme asceticism,... the idea of a heavenly teaching Christ who may not necessarily be human, etc. Thomas also places little emphasis on the value of the Old Testament Scriptures. This was certainly in line with Gnostic thinking. Even if Thomas is not Gnostic, it appears to have vast similarities with “Gnosticism” as broadly defined.
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My Thoughts

The Gospel of Thomas is not worth wasting ANY time reading or studying, as it is Gnostic, hence it is also heretical. Time is way to precious and short to spend it reading and studying that fraudulent writing. We should be spending our time studying the canon of work that God has (in his sovereignty, omniscience, and omnipotence) placed before His creation. (The Holy Bible) Rom. 1

One other thought at this point comes to my mind. If we really believe John 1:1-6, 2 Timothy 3:16-17, why would we trust other people to use other texts and belief systems to evaluate and interpret the Holy Scriptures that clearly contradict the Bible's interpretation of itself???

Parts of God's Word cannot be true, and other parts false. It is either all true, or it fails to be the Word that became flesh. Although that sounds intolerant, truth by definition excludes.