Gnosticism

The Gospel of Thomas is a Gnostic text full of alleged “sayings” of Jesus, likely dating from the late 2nd century. It is one of the most popular of the so-called “gnostic gospels” and is frequently mentioned in secular media around Easter or Christmas, when regular attacks against the Christian faith have become almost expected. The best way to understand the contrast between canonical Scripture and these “gnostic gospels” is to actually read them. To that end, here is an excerpt from the Gospel of Thomas, below:¹

The Gospel of Philip is a Valentinian gnostic text dating from sometime during the 3rd century. The translator of this work believed it was “a collection of excerpts mainly from a Christian Gnostic sacramental catechesis.”¹ If anyone is interested, he can visit a new bookstore, a used bookstore or the local library and see many books on the co-called “secret” or “lost” gospels of the Christian church (for example, see the image to the left!).

The heresy in Colosse was an odd mixture. On the one hand, it contained elements of incipient Gnosticism. Apparently the Colossians were talking about Gnostic categories like Sophia, Gnosis, Eons, and the Pleroma. On the other hand, this heresy also contained Judaizing elements, primarily evidenced by an effort to introduce Old Testament forms into the New Testament worship.