The Apocrypha refers to a set of books that are not considered authoritative or inspired in Judaism and Christianity.
Specific Books of the Apocrypha
Gnostic Gospels of Thomas, Mary, and Judas
Gospel of Thomas
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The most famous of the 52 Gnostic tractates discovered in the Nag Hammadi Library in 1945 containing twelve papyrus codices is Gospel of Thomas. Today the Gospel of Thomas exists in translation from Greek to Coptic (late Egyptian); however, fragments were dated from about 200 C.E.. It is suggested that in 340 the Coptic version was buried at the Nag Hammadi to protect the documents form the Christian orthodox church who destroyed any Gnostic scriptures. The Gospel of Thomas begins with sayings to Jesus said while he was alive. The Gospel of Thomas is a collection of 114 wisdoms in the voice of Jesus.
Intro to the Gospel of Thomas |
Opposing viewpoints on Gospel of Thomas |
Gospel of Mary
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Written in the early 2nd century CE the Gospel of Mary disappeared for over 1500 years until its rediscovery in 1945. However, there still is no complete copy of this Gospel, and half of the text is missing. The Gospel of Mary is a dialogue of wisdom between Jesus and his follower Mary Magdalene, and how Mary imagines the ascent to heaven, and the last debate between Mary and the apostles. This particular gospel contains the extended conversation between Jesus and a women from ancient biblical scriptures. The Gospel of Mary provides a new interpretation of Jesus' teachings as guide that leads to spiritual knowledge. This Gospel challenges the views on harmony and agreement in the first Christians, and ask the reader to think about the building blocks of the church authority. The Gospel of Mary picks up in the middle of a scene with the Savior answering the questions of his disciples after his resurrections. He talks about the end of the material world and the nature of sin. The Gospel concludes with the Savior encouraging his students to search for there inner humanity in order to gain peace.
Gospel of Judas
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The Gospel of Judas was discovered in the 1970s in Egypt written in Coptic translation composed between 130 and 180 C.E. from a Greek gospel. The discovery of Judas created a major challenge in our understanding of the Bible and the "betrayal" of Jesus. In this Gospel, Judas is portrayed as a hero and a long standing confidant of Jesus. Jesus speaks of his future to Judas, in addition to Judas' own future. Judas is given the task of turning the mortal body of Jesus over to the authorities for the crucifixion. The author gives his attention and directs his emotions to the enemies of the Messiah and the father of God. Some of these enemies include demons, false teachings, ungodly sensualists among many more. Scholars had debated that the letter was written as early 50s into the second century. Similar to the early Christian community struggle to develop their own identity that was independent of Judaism the gospels make it difficult to determine the true identities of both Jesus and God. Similar to the Gospels of Thomas and Mary, Judas is set of conversations held between Jesus and various others. Taking place "in one week and three days" before passover. In Christianity Judas was seen as the traitor who turned his master over for thirty silver pieces. In this gospel Judas alone has the ability to understand Jesus, and what his purpose is.