The Huntington Apologetics Team

the HAT: Protect Your Head

Friday, October 07, 2005

Lost Gospel Problems

Since the appearance of The Da Vinci Code, (and even before) many Christians have faced challenges from people regarding “lost gospels.” The Gospel of Thomas is usually a favorite example. It is held up as an example that early Christianity was not monolithic and that the Church Fathers suppressed the lost Gospels due to their prejudice and desire for power.

There are, however, a couple problems with this attack on orthodox Christianity. First, it assumes that all of the gospels have the same standing, when that is a claim to be proven. Even if the documents are as ancient as the four Gospels that does not mean that they should be given as much credence. If the Church Fathers sided with the four Gospels, why must we assume they were wrong to do so? It boils down to the fact that people like Gnostic teaching. It has a higher view of us as human beings. The guiding factor must be the teachings of Jesus and the Apostles. That brings us to the second problem with the “lost Gospels” attack.

What do we know about Jesus and the Apostles? For one thing, we know they were Jewish and their background lies in Judaism. Why then, would Thomas pen a Gospel that draws so heavily on Greek philosophy, not on Jewish thinking? Why should the Church Fathers be compelled to accept documents that are far from the Jewish context in which Christianity was born?

It seems to me that some people just don’t want the Bible to be true, and they will use whatever method they can to discredit it. So, Christian, don’t be dismayed when a critic says there are “lost Gospels.” The early Christians were wise to discard these overly Greek-influenced forgeries.