Sometimes I get asked a question

 This comes from a Theology forum I am part of.  It was asked generically in a thread I started.

Quote from: Chaplain Mark Schmidt on November 04, 2020, 11:14:51 pm

Can I ask something, Apostle Thomas was one of the three known apostles to be literate and was able to read and write.  So if the evidence that has slowly emerged that the Gospel of Thomas actually originate from his writings while he was with Jesus, does that not mean then that they become the inspired words of God or at least inspire of Jesus?

I am trying to figure out why it would or would not become inspired.

Now see I agree with this logic, but those that decided what was divinely inspired 1500 plus years ago, did not know nor have the additional information we now have.   Should it be rethought and considered? I believe so.   The issue is that it would take the Vatican, Lutherans, Anglicans, Episcopalians all the rest to reconsider its inclusion.  The argument will be how do we know we have all of Thomas's writings?  How can we include something that might not be complete?  Those are valid concerns.   

I think it deserves deep consideration.  If you take the time to read it then cross-reference the statements you will find them all stated in the Gospels and other books of the New Testament but without all the fluff and storytelling around Jesus' statements.   As you noted, Thomas was an educated and literate man.   But he also was a very no-nonsense type of person.  Think of Dragnet and the statement "Just the Facts"    So his writings were just the statements he felt were important and impactful.   He did not waste time and energy on writing the story around the statement.   

So in essence, it is divinely inspired as all he writes is in books deemed divinely inspired, but with all the story around them.  It is also why he had doubts when he was told of the risen Christ.  His nature was to prove it to me, give me the facts.  Back as the story about him shows, once he knew it was him, he was all in. 

I hope that helps to hear my viewpoint and understanding.