Thomas and the Gospels: The Case for Thomas’s Familiarity with the Synoptics
Overview
The Gospel of Thomas—found in 1945—has been described by Professor Bart D. Ehrman as “without question the most significant Christian book discovered in modern times.” Often Thomas is seen as a special independent witness to the earliest phase of Christianity and as evidence for the view that this earliest phase was a dynamic time of great variety and diversity.
In contrast, Mark Goodacre makes the case that, instead of being an early, independent source, Thomas actually draws on the Synoptic Gospels as source material—not to provide a clear narrative, but to assemble an enigmatic collection of sayings to affect the reader. Goodacre supports his argument with illuminating analyses and careful comparisons of Thomas with Matthew and Luke.
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- Povides careful comparisons of Thomas with Matthew and Luke
- Focuses on the relationship between the Gospel of Thomas and the Synoptic Gospels
- First Impressions
- Verbatim Agreement between Thomas and the Synoptics
- Diagnostic Shards
- Matthean Redaction in Thomas
- Lukan Redaction in Thomas
- A Special Case: Thomas 79 and Luke
- The Missing Middle in Thomas
- Orality, Literacy, and Thomas
- Dating Thomas and the Gospels
- Secrecy, Authority, and Legitimation: How and Why Thomas Used the Synoptics
- Conclusion: The Fifth Gospel?
Meticulous, adroit, and closely reasoned, this work will immediately become the definitive presentation of the case that Thomas draws on the Synoptics. Those who take the contrary position truly have their work cut out for them.
—Dale C. Allison Jr., Richard J. Dearborn Professor of New Testament Studies, Princeton Theological Seminary
Written with both verve and calm intelligence, this book is head and shoulders above most of the rest of scholarship on Thomas and the Synoptics. It grapples skilfully with both the nitty-gritty of the Greek and Coptic texts and the various scholarly minefields.
—Simon Gathercole, Director of Studies, Theology & Religious Studies, Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge University
Mark Goodacre mounts a cogent, persuasive case that the Gospel of Thomas reflects acquaintance with the Synoptic Gospels. This is not a rehash of earlier arguments but a creative treatment that introduces new analysis of this important early Christian text.
—Larry W. Hurtado, emeritus professor of New Testament language, literature, and theology, University of Edinburgh
- Title: Thomas and the Gospels: The Case for Thomas’s Familiarity with the Synoptics
- Author: Mark S. Goodacre
- Publisher: Eerdmans
- Print Publication Date: 2012
- Logos Release Date: 2014
- Pages: 236
- Era: era:Contemporary
- Language: English
- Resources: 1
- Format: Digital › Logos Research Edition
- Subjects: Gospel of Thomas (Coptic Gospel) › Criticism, interpretation, etc; Bible. N.T. Gospels › Criticism, interpretation, etc; Synoptic problem
- ISBNs: 9780802867483, 0802867480
- Resource ID: LLS:THMSGSPLSYNPTCS
- Resource Type: Monograph
- Metadata Last Updated: 2022-09-30T03:21:26Z
Mark Goodacre is professor in the Department of Religion and director of Undergraduate Studies at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina. He is the author of Thomas and the Gospels: The Case for Thomas’s Familiarity with the Synoptics, The Case Against Q: Studies in Markan Priority, and The Synoptic Problem: A Way through the Maze.