About the sayings of Jesus recorded by Thomas
Here is about working with the so-called "Gospel of Thomas." Its text (almost completely intact) was found in Egypt near the town of Nag Hammadi in December 1945, and its first publication in the form of photographs was made in 1956.
That the sayings of Jesus recorded by Thomas, created in the 1st century, were hidden in the 4th century and only discovered in the 20th is a great success, since they escaped the centuries-long distortions that many other teachings have been subjected to. Yes, of course, it cannot be claimed that this text was unchanged before its actual written recording in the 4th century on the discovered papyrus sheets - in the process of retelling, translating and rewriting. But compared to other ancient documents, such possible changes are minimal. This can be claimed because the records of Thomas, like no other text, have preserved the original ideological integrity and interconnectedness of concepts.
This integrity and interconnectedness become visible if we relate ideas and concepts to simple reality, the same at all times. If, however, in translation we use such words as "soul", "spirit", "body", "flesh", "images", "kingdom", "repose", "blessed" and others, the meanings of which change very quickly both historically and geographically, the correct interpretation of this document will be impossible.
The main reason for the difficulty of translating records of Thomas is that Jesus speaks in a not quite ordinary human language - his thought is always, as it were, on top of ordinary language constructions. Therefore, in order to translate and interpret this text, one must first look for the keys to understand it - both in other teachings and in the records of one's own experience.
Everything that is stated on this site regarding the sayings of Jesus recorded by Thomas is not teaching material. After all, already at the very beginning of the document, Jesus unequivocally says that each must himself discover the meaning of his sayings (1). So, the interpretations (explanations) available here and the grouping by topic are created by their author, first of all, for himself personally. But they may be useful to other seekers, and therefore are published in the public domain.
That the sayings of Jesus recorded by Thomas, created in the 1st century, were hidden in the 4th century and only discovered in the 20th is a great success, since they escaped the centuries-long distortions that many other teachings have been subjected to. Yes, of course, it cannot be claimed that this text was unchanged before its actual written recording in the 4th century on the discovered papyrus sheets - in the process of retelling, translating and rewriting. But compared to other ancient documents, such possible changes are minimal. This can be claimed because the records of Thomas, like no other text, have preserved the original ideological integrity and interconnectedness of concepts.
This integrity and interconnectedness become visible if we relate ideas and concepts to simple reality, the same at all times. If, however, in translation we use such words as "soul", "spirit", "body", "flesh", "images", "kingdom", "repose", "blessed" and others, the meanings of which change very quickly both historically and geographically, the correct interpretation of this document will be impossible.
The main reason for the difficulty of translating records of Thomas is that Jesus speaks in a not quite ordinary human language - his thought is always, as it were, on top of ordinary language constructions. Therefore, in order to translate and interpret this text, one must first look for the keys to understand it - both in other teachings and in the records of one's own experience.
Everything that is stated on this site regarding the sayings of Jesus recorded by Thomas is not teaching material. After all, already at the very beginning of the document, Jesus unequivocally says that each must himself discover the meaning of his sayings (1). So, the interpretations (explanations) available here and the grouping by topic are created by their author, first of all, for himself personally. But they may be useful to other seekers, and therefore are published in the public domain.