Thomas and the Gospels - Softcover

Mark Goodacre

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0281067767 ISBN 13: 9780281067763

Publisher: SPCK Publishing, 2012

Synopsis

The Gospel of Thomas is the most controversial of the non-canonical gospels and the most important source outside the Gospels for our understanding of the historical Jesus and Christianity's origins. Mark Goodacre makes a detailed and compelling case that the author of The Gospel of Thomas is, after all, familiar with the Synoptic Gospels. He shows that the arguments for independence are inadequate and that the degree of agreement between Thomas and the Synoptics is far too great to be mediated by oral tradition. He suggests that Thomas features tell-tale signs of Matthew's and Luke's redactions and that the Gospel should be dated to the early to middle second century, when its author was looking for a means of lending the voice of his enigmatic Jesus an authoritative, Synopic-sounding legitimacy.

About this title

About the Author

Mark Goodacre is Associate Professor of New Testament and Christian Origins, Department of Religion, Duke University, North Carolina, and general editor of T & T Clark's Library of New Testament Studies. His most recent books include The Synoptic Problem: A Way through the Maze (T & T Clark, 2001) and The Case Against Q (Continuum, 2002).

Review

Larry W. Hurtado-- University of Edinburgh"With firm and vigorous (but never shrill) argumentation, incisive critique of other views, and full and clearheaded handling of the data, 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."Dale C. Allison Jr.-- Pittsburgh Theological Seminary"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."Simon Gathercole-- Cambridge University"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. Read it!"Klyne Snodgrass-- North Park Theological Seminary"Goodacre engages the secondary literature carefully, challenges exaggerated claims and unjust assumptions, and offers valuable insight. . . . Anyone who cares at all about the Gospel of Thomas cannot afford to neglect this book."Andrew Gregory-- University College, Oxford"Mark Goodacre offers a bold and distinctive approach to the ongoing debate about the relationship between the Gospel of Thomas and the Synoptic Gospels. Rightly rejecting the tendency to label and thereby dismiss opposing views as either 'liberal' or 'conservative, ' he focuses instead on the textual evidence on which any responsible historical conclusion must be reached."Nicola Denzey Lewis-- Brown University"This book is quietly revolutionary, turning on its head sixty years of scholarship. . . . Those on both sides of the divide have much to learn from Goodacre's meticulous scholarship."John S. Kloppenborg-- University of Toronto"Am

Edition details

• Publisher: SPCK Publishing
• Publication date: 2012
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0281067767
• ISBN 13: 9780281067763
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 238