Again, there are leftover parts that very likely do remain, it’s just their recognition is obstructed by the faithful.
For example, saying 81 in the Gospel of Thomas seems like it’s pretty relevant to Tiberius’s inheritance and then abandonment of the throne without passing power to another. And given the reinterpretation decades later where it is combined with saying 1 as appears to be referred to by Paul in 1 Cor 4:8, a letter with several overlaps with the work and a number of which are clearly referred to as present in Corinth pre-Paul.
That document wouldn’t have survived to today if the church had its way, and modern analysis over the decades since has been mired by the church’s influence. But luckily it was buried in a jar for nearly two millennia and publicly accessible.
Socrates didn’t write anything. The oldest surviving fragment of Plato dates to the oldest fragment of the Gospel of Thomas and was found in the same place.
And yet I’d imagine you don’t doubt that Socrates really existed, do you? In fact, we have a much more ancient full version of Thomas than we do any of Plato’s works.
The question of whether content dating to a given person’s life survived is a very different question from if actual physical media from that person’s life survived.
Well said but small point. The first report of him being baptized by John the Baptist wasn’t until 50 years later. Paul never mentions it, the Gospel of Thomas never mentions it, it wasn’t until the Mark Gospel.
Removed by mod
Again, there are leftover parts that very likely do remain, it’s just their recognition is obstructed by the faithful.
For example, saying 81 in the Gospel of Thomas seems like it’s pretty relevant to Tiberius’s inheritance and then abandonment of the throne without passing power to another. And given the reinterpretation decades later where it is combined with saying 1 as appears to be referred to by Paul in 1 Cor 4:8, a letter with several overlaps with the work and a number of which are clearly referred to as present in Corinth pre-Paul.
That document wouldn’t have survived to today if the church had its way, and modern analysis over the decades since has been mired by the church’s influence. But luckily it was buried in a jar for nearly two millennia and publicly accessible.
Socrates didn’t write anything. The oldest surviving fragment of Plato dates to the oldest fragment of the Gospel of Thomas and was found in the same place.
And yet I’d imagine you don’t doubt that Socrates really existed, do you? In fact, we have a much more ancient full version of Thomas than we do any of Plato’s works.
The question of whether content dating to a given person’s life survived is a very different question from if actual physical media from that person’s life survived.
Removed by mod
Well said but small point. The first report of him being baptized by John the Baptist wasn’t until 50 years later. Paul never mentions it, the Gospel of Thomas never mentions it, it wasn’t until the Mark Gospel.