Thomas: The Other Gospel

"Thomas, The Other Gospel" tells the story of the gospel from its discovery to its current reception among academics and in more popular circles. It provides a clear, comprehensive, non-technical guide through the scholarly maze of issues surrounding the Coptic text. Nick Perrin argues that the gospel derives not from the era of Jesus or even the apostles (as many have led us to believe), but from the late second century. He also argues that the gospel was originally written in Syriac and not 'in Greek as many other scholars believe. Thus the real value of the Gospel of Thomas lies not in what it does or does not say about the 'real Jesus' but in what it tells us about early Syriac Christianity. Perrin presents a sound and balanced, yet thoroughly persuasive, alternative explanation to revisionist accounts of Christian origins.