mountainman

Two separate gnostic versions were cited.

I completely agree. The new testament canon had been studied
by one or more very clever academic greeks in order to produce
the phenomenom of new testament literature which we now call
the new testament apocrypha.

There is no early attestation to the Acts of Thomas.
The first mention of it is in the late 4th century.
The second gnostic "Pearl Story" is NHC 6.1 - TAOPATTA.
This has been carbon dated to the mid fourth century.

It appears reasonable enough for me to assume that
both these works may not have been authored until
the new testament canon was made the state religion.

It is more reasonable to think that the academic lineage
of the academy of Plato would write their own versions
of the travels of the apostles at that epoch after which
the new testament canonical stories about Jesus and
the apostles were lavishly supported and widely published
in expensive vellum by the emperor Constantine c.325 CE.

It is thus simple to explain why Constantine decreed that
the appearance of extra-canonical books was illegal. He
wanted the rights to the canonical storyline. However
the greek academics - Alexandrian - at that epoch did
not support Constantine's wishes, especially after he had
purposefully (a fascist) destroyed their ancient temples,
shines and academies. And after he had prohibited the
people from practicing in the temples, and enforced this
edict with the strength of his army.

These non canonical works had to be "Hidden".
They were made "Apocrypha".
Hidden for centuries.

renassault

There is only one problem. Why would any academy be interested in this brand new obviously forged religion, especially at a time when the ancientness of a country (as evidenced by Josephus' arguments against Manetho) or religion was of such vital importance.

mountainman

It was Constantine in the fourth century who may be cited as saying:

"Plato's critical questioning is a menace to the state"

It was Constantine who ordered the destruction of Porphyry's books.
It was Constantine who ordered the execution of the last head of the
Academy of Plato ... Sopater.

It was Eusebius who asserted that the recent founder Ammonias Saccas
of Platonic and Pythagorean traditions was a "christian".

The great temples physically housing the academies of the Hellenes
were destroyed by Constantine and his continuators in the 4th century.

The rough lineage of the "apostolic succession" in the school of Plato
was Ammonias Saccas, Plotinus, Porphyry, (Arius?), Iambichus, Sopater.

The academy was interested in this brand new obviously forged religion
because it was physically wiping the academy out, temple by temple, and
execution by execution.... in the fourth century.

The fourth century is the epoch in which the new testament apocrypha
first appearedn (IMO) --- as a literary reaction to the new testament canon.
They had no swords left. But they did have Coptic and Syriac pens.
And the will to have these writings buried.
Underground.

renassault

Constantine's conversion is a little doubtful to me, though Eusebius' testimony seems as eyewitness as one can get. But, I've always wondered why he would baptize himself near his death.

But why would they make texts which have contradictions to their personal philosophies and just went down Gnosticism? For example, Gnosticism believed that the god who made the world was evil. Plato did not consider such dualities and did not consider the original God evil.

mountainman

Have you read the primary sources?
The Nag Hammadi Codices?
The other new testament "gospels" and "acts"? (etc)

I am not so sure we can immediately classify Gnosticism
as a set of beliefs or non beliefs. We need to simply take
off our "Christian Glasses" and read the source texts.

The texts indicate that these Gnostics were very Platonic.
They even preserved an extract of Plato's republic.
The extract about a many headed monster loose in the republic.
It may be that the "Gnostics" were "Platonists" and/or "Pythagoreans".
Asclepius and Hermes get featured prominently in NHC 6.

rcscwc

Thomas? Lols. Vatican says that every account relating to him is false and that he never travelled to India.

Gospel writers were not scholars, ordinary men, not knowing the world much beyond their nose. In those times even Yemen was refered to as India.

Even Colombus thought he had made it to India!! That was the level of general awareness in those times in the west. For most India was a fabled legendary land.

Early xians were very hostile to Jews. Some xians did come to India, mostly refugees, they were given asylum and even lands to build the churcjes. But to their chagrin, they found that Jews were already esconced in India and had synagogs on lands granted to them.

renassault

Seeing how the authors/preservers of the Nag Hammadi library knew their work would be destroyed, one has to wonder, if they were to hide it anyway, why they wouldn't simply write down their beliefs plainly. It would make no sense to code it if the enemy wasn't to find the texts anyway, it would be like coding a message to a general when the enemy wasn't expected to find out about it.

mountainman

The author was at one stage reported as "Leucius Charinus".
Major heretic mega write up by Photius.


My position is that the party who authored the new testament gospels and canon was not the same party who authored what is today classified as the "New Testament Apocrypha". (ie: non canonical acts and gospels, etc). The former appears to be plain and simple.

The NT apocrypha were written by all accounts today during a period
from the perhaps the 1st or 2nd century through to the 4th and 5th.
I think there is reason to suspect that these texts were all written
as a reaction to Nicaea after 325 CE. Political.

arnoldo

Would the year 550 A.D. fit your definition of much later? According to the following source there may have been a gnostic prescence in this area of the globe by this date.

premjan

That might have been the Thomas in question - I had forgotten his name.