Nag Hammadi and the Gnostic Library

I’ve gotten quite intrigued by the Gospel of Thomas – one of the documents found at Nag Hammadi in 1945.
Its a series of 114 sayings from the early years of Christianity – and has what we think of now as a very eastern feeling – many of them sound very much like Zen koans.

  • 3 Jesus said, “If your leaders say to you, ‘Look, the (Father’s) kingdom is in the sky,’ then the birds of the sky will precede you. If they say to you, ‘It is in the sea,’ then the fish will precede you. Rather, the kingdom is within you and it is outside you. When you know yourselves, then you will be known, and you will understand that you are children of the living Father. But if you do not know yourselves, then you live in poverty, and you are the poverty.”
  • 68 Jesus said, “Congratulations to you when you are hated and persecuted; and no place will be found, wherever you have been persecuted.”
  • 77 Jesus said, “I am the light that is over all things. I am all: from me all came forth, and to me all attained. Split a piece of wood; I am there. Lift up the stone, and you will find me there.”

Anyway – its quite fascinating stuff! I’ll write more as I get time to read further.
This stuff was all considered heretical – much of it was written as a way to find esoteric knowlege, truth, without requiring a need for a larger church community – which wasn’t a desired or helpful view in the early days of the Christian church community. Small wonder these writings disappeared between 340 and 400 CE.