Thomasines

According to one view the Thomasines were an early group that questioned the authority of the Jerusalem church and the apostle James, with the Thomasine church beginning around the middle of the first century in Syria.{{Cite book |last=DeConick |first=April D. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cgXUAwAAQBAJ&dq=Thomasines+history+James&pg=PA95 |title=Recovering the Original Gospel of Thomas: A History of the Gospel and Its Growth |date=2006-08-15 |publisher=A&C Black |isbn=978-0-567-04332-0 |language=en}}

Elaine Pagels dates the Thomasine community to around the time of the Gospel of John’s compilation (AD 70–110), as the Gospel of John appears to contain "anti-Thomasine" elements and the Johannine community may have splintered off from the same group as the Thomasine.{{cite book |last=Pagels |first=Elaine |year=2004 |title=Beyond Belief: The Secret Gospel of Thomas |location=New York |publisher=Vintage}} Though minority views support the Thomasines being a second century Proto-Gnostic sect.{{Cite book |last=Kim |first=David W. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=F6ouEAAAQBAJ&dq=Thomasines+ascetism&pg=PA86 |title=The Words of Jesus in the Gospel of Thomas: The Genesis of a Wisdom Tradition |date=2021-07-01 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-000-37762-0 |language=en}}

The Thomasine communities had leaders who through social rules, attempted to manage the process by which new proselytes could come in. They minimized the importance of money and were not expected to have any extra income from what they did not give away. The community had a social attitude of "diligence", where the leader of the community demonstrates a consistent structure for community activities, including labor.

In Thomasine belief, Jesus was referred to as "the Light" who ascended to the "place of light". Followers were encouraged to pursue a path toward said light through mystical ascent. The Thomasines identified themselves as "children of the light", contrasting this with those not part of the elect community, who were considered "sons of darkness".{{Cite book |last=DeConick |first=April |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=T-p5DwAAQBAJ&dq=Odes+of+Solomon+predestination&pg=PA88 |title=Seek to See Him: Ascent and Vision Mysticism in the Gospel of Thomas |date=2015-12-22 |publisher=BRILL |isbn=978-90-04-31300-2 |language=en}} The Thomasines believed in predestination, viewing themselves as elect because they were born from the light.{{Cite book |last=DeConick |first=April |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=T-p5DwAAQBAJ&dq=Odes+of+Solomon+predestination&pg=PA88 |title=Seek to See Him: Ascent and Vision Mysticism in the Gospel of Thomas |date=2015-12-22 |publisher=BRILL |isbn=978-90-04-31300-2 |pages=89 |language=en}}

The Gospel of Thomas says to keep the Sabbath to be saved. However, it is likely a metaphor for internalized rest.{{Cite book |last=Uro |first=Risto |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=a2g8CwAAQBAJ&dq=gospel+of+thomas+sabbath&pg=PA176 |title=Thomas at the Crossroads: Essays on the Gospel of Thomas |date=1998-10-01 |publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing |isbn=978-0-567-61865-8 |language=en}} The Thomasines were also said to have had semi-ascetic ideas.

In Thomasine theology, the pursuit of light is associated with a journey that culminates in "rest." The choice to follow Jesus is considered significant, as judgment is perceived to be ongoing in the world, and there is a notion that the universe may conclude at any moment.{{Cite book |last=DeConick |first=April D. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cgXUAwAAQBAJ&dq=Thomasines+history&pg=PA95 |title=Recovering the Original Gospel of Thomas: A History of the Gospel and Its Growth |date=2006-08-15 |publisher=A&C Black |isbn=978-0-567-04332-0 |language=en}}

The Gospel of Thomas refers to Jesus as the "son of man" and affirms his lordship. For the Thomasines, Jesus is considered a figure whose nature resists simple categorization or description. However, certain passages in the Gospel of Thomas may suggest aspects of divine characteristics attributed to Jesus.{{Cite book |last=Foster |first=Paul |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JqgSDAAAQBAJ&dq=Thomasines+christology&pg=PA39 |title=The Apocryphal Gospels: A Very Short Introduction |date=2009-02-26 |publisher=OUP Oxford |isbn=978-0-19-923694-7 |language=en}}

Many scholars historically linked the Gospel of Thomas to Gnosticism, but contemporary research has questioned this relationship.{{Cite book |last=Hultgren |first=Arland J. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=P2UvmRVLF18C&dq=gospel+of+thomas+christology&pg=PA438 |title=The Parables of Jesus: A Commentary |date=2000-06-22 |publisher=Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing |isbn=978-0-8028-6077-4 |language=en}} Many scholars contend that the Gospel of Thomas reflects a Gnostic worldview; however, many others dispute its Gnostic affiliations, noting that it does not align with the Gnostic mythology described by Irenaeus. Additionally, the form of mysticism present in the Gospel of Thomas lacks several elements typically associated with Gnosticism.{{cite journal |last=Davies |first=Stevan |title=Thomas: The Fourth Synoptic Gospel |journal=The Biblical Archaeologist |year=1983b |volume=46 |issue=1 |publisher=The American Schools of Oriental Research|doi=10.2307/3209683 |jstor=3209683 |s2cid=171644324 |pages=6–8}}{{cite book |last=Ehrman |first=Bart |title=Lost Scriptures: Books that Did Not Make it into the New Testament |publisher=Oxford University Press |location=United States |year=2003b |isbn=9780199727131 |oclc=57124978 |url=https://archive.org/details/lostscripturesbo00ehrm |pages=59ff}} The Gospel of Thomas suggests that living a physical life is important, which seems to go against some beliefs commonly held by Gnostic groups. Paterson Brown used this idea to argue that the Gospel of Thomas is not a Gnostic text.{{cite web |last=Paterson Brown |first=Thomas |title=Are the Coptic Gospels Gnostic? |date=n.d. |url=https://www.metalogos.org/files/gnostic.html |website=Metalogos |language=en |via=metalogos.org |access-date=2022-01-25 }} According to David W. Kim, the modern association of the Thomasines with Gnosticism is too anachronistic and the Thomasine sect seems to predate the Gnostic movements.

According to Andrew Phillip, the Thomasines did not adhere to a form of Gnosticism, but they still held to strongly esoteric views with apparent Platonic influence.{{Cite book |last=Smith |first=Andrew Phillip |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=h1tbBgAAQBAJ&dq=Thomasines+gnostic&pg=PA244 |title=A Dictionary of Gnosticism |date=2014-03-17 |publisher=Quest Books |isbn=978-0-8356-3097-9 |language=en}}

The Thomasines likely had a form of baptism.{{Cite book |last1=Kim |first1=Jung Hoon |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bRDUAwAAQBAJ&dq=gospel+of+thomas+baptism&pg=PA98 |title=The Significance of Clothing Imagery in the Pauline Corpus |last2=Kim |first2=Ch?ng-hun |date=2004-11-30 |publisher=A&C Black |isbn=978-0-567-08246-6 |language=en}}

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Category:Christian mysticism