Readers: The next Post Due is February 12, 2019.

Dear Readers:

Thank you for your interest in eternal life! God willing, the next post will be on February 12, 2019.

Some brief notes: Every morning upon waking up I say the Holy Vow: “Father: I give you everything—My life, my heart, my soul, my mind, my very being. Please give me your Immortal strength to do your will this day. Thanks, God!”

Then the next step is to center my awareness. This means I center my being in my core and thus can feel my core self. This means when thoughts arise I redirect them to my center. Usually, it takes a couple of minutes or so. This centering is key as the mind will naturally want to create thoughts. These thoughts are a distraction from being centered.

When going outside my motto is: “Peace, safety, and centering.” Thus, I come in peace for all while being safe. In San Francisco, this means dodging cars which run red lights, cars which back up at stop signs, and skaters on sidewalks. Some days it feels like a miracle I get back home in one piece! Then I make sure that I centered in my core so that I can activate a Transpersonal chakra about 6 inches above my head. This will allow for clear seeing while my awareness is somewhat disconnected from the brain. Generally, I avoid all unnecessary interactions with humans as few of them live a God-centered life and thus I have no interest in interacting with darkness.

Executive Summary: Evidence That The Gospel According To Thomas is an Authentic Sayings Book

In this essay I will reference the following posts in this series:

I.  Evidence Showing The Gospel According To Thomas Is an Authentic Sayings Book, Part I

II.  Evidence The Gospel According To Thomas Is An Authentic Sayings Book, Part II

III.  A Statistical Argument Showing the Coptic Gospel According To Thomas Is a Word-For-Word Copy of an Original Greek Text

IV.  Additional Arguments Showing The Gospel According To Thomas is an Authentic Sayings Book, Part IV

Claim A: The Coptic Gospel of Thomas is substantially a word-for-word copy of a master copy of an original Greek text.

Claim B: The Greek Gospel of Thomas are authentic sayings of Jesus.

Using the transitive axiom of logic, we have:

Claim C: The Coptic Gospel of Thomas are substantially authentic sayings of Jesus.

I. The claim that the Coptic text is substantially the same as the Greek text means:

A. There are no examples in the Thomas corpus in which a saying is cited which is not in the Coptic text.

Source: The fact that there are no citations of Thomas in Greek which are not in the Coptic text.

B. There are minor additions or deletions in comparing the two texts.

1) In the Coptic  Thomas we have saying 5: “Know what is in front of your face, and what is hidden will be disclosed to you. For there is nothing hidden that will not be revealed.” The Greek text adds to the final phrase “For there is nothing hidden that will not be revealed” the phrase “and nothing buried that will not be raised.”

2) In the Coptic text saying 27 reads “Unless you fast from the world, you will not find the Kingdom.” The Greek text says: “Unless you fast with respect to the world, you will not find the Kingdom of God.”

3) In the Coptic text saying 30 reads: “Where there are three gods, they are gods. Where there are two or one, I am with him.” The Greek text adds at the end part of saying 77: “Lift the stone and you will find me. Spilt the wood and I am there.” 

Conclusion: The Coptic Thomas and the Greek Thomas have minor additions or deletions between their sayings.  In every case, the main body of the sayings are the same between the two texts. There are no cases in which a Greek citation is a new saying apart from the Coptic text.

Note To Readers: I will usually leave out the qualifier “substantially” and just say “The Coptic Gospel of Thomas is a word-for-word copy of an original Greek text.

II. A statistical argument shows that the Coptic Thomas is a master copy of an original Greek text.

Reference: See part III cited at the top of this essay.

A. The statistical argument shows that there was a master copy from which all the other Greek texts were copied.

B. The statistical argument shows the copyists of the Coptic Thomas copied an original text, word-for-word.

Conclusion: The Greek copies of Thomas were all copies of a single original text. In other words, there was a single master copy which all the Greek texts were using.

Example: If one reads 10 different copies of the American Declaration of Independence one will find all of them are identical. This is because they are all copying from an original dated July 4, 1776.

II. There are 39 ancient citations of Thomas.

Source: The Gospel of Thomas: Introduction and Commentary by Simon Gathercole, Brill, London/Boston, 2014, pages 35-55.

A. These citations are dated from circa 225 A.D. to 1300 A.D. 

B. These early citations shows that Thomas was in wide circulation after Jesus’ Resurrection, circa 30 A.D. 

C. The citations are nearly all from the Greek Thomas and all can be found in the Coptic text. 

Conclusion: Nearly all the 39 citations of Thomas which Professor Gathercole cites are from the Greek Thomas and where a specific saying is cited it will be found in the Coptic text. This is strong evidence that the Coptic Thomas is a word-for-word copy of an original master copy of the Greek text.

IV. The Greek copy of Thomas are authentic sayings of Jesus.

A. The structure of the text, a sayings book, shows it was written before 70 A.D. Thus, the Greek Thomas was composed before Mark which was written circa 70 A.D.

Reference: Part IV, section I cited at the top of this essay.

B. Thomas shares 50 sayings with an authentic sayings book, Q.

Reference: Part I, section II cited at the top of this essay.

C. Saying 12 in which Jesus makes James, the brother of Jesus and one of the 500 eyewitnesses of Jesus’ Resurrection (see I Corinthians 15), the leader of the original followers of Jesus in Jerusalem, shows this saying was said before 62 A.D. since James died in 62 A.D.

Reference: Part II, section I cited at the top of this essay.

 

Conclusion: The fact that Thomas is a sayings book, the fact that it shares 50 sayings with an authentic sayings book, and the fact there is an historical reference in Thomas shows it was composed before 62 A.D. Using the statistical argument that there is one and only one original Greek text, it follows from the above 3 lines of argument that the Greek Thomas are authentic sayings of Jesus.

 

Summary: In this executive summary of 4 previous essays, I have shown that the Coptic Gospel of Thomas is substantially a copy of an original Greek text. By “substantially” I mean all the sayings in the Coptic text are in the Greek text with minor additions added at the end of several sayings. In practice, I will say: “The Coptic Gospel of Thomas is a word-for-word copy of an original Greek text." By looking at the structure of Thomas as a sayings book and an historical reference to Thomas (saying 12) I conclude that the Greek text was composed between 30 A.D. and 62 A.D.

Final Conclusion: The Coptic Gospel of Thomas are authentic sayings of Jesus.

Resurrecting With Jesus By Centering One’s Awareness In the Transpersonal Point

“ I am the Light that is above all things. I am All: From me all has come forth, and to me all has reached. Split a piece of wood—I am there. Lift up a stone and you will find me there.”

--Jesus, saying 77, The Gospel According To Thomas

1. The Transpersonal Point is located about 3.5 feet above the head. The seeker of Physical Immortality will center his consciousness or awareness at this point. This will activate a circles of awareness which surrounds the body. See and study diagram one at Lee Bladon's site: PDF] The True-Self, the False-Self and the Ego - Esoteric Science . 

2. The direct path to activating this point is via cannabis. I use pre-rolls which are either Indica or Sativa at 30 mg of THC. Two or three puffs is all that is needed.

3. There are several ways to activate the Transpersonal Point. I use the following method:

a) I center my awareness in my core self. This is located just above the rib cage.

b) Once I have centered my awareness in my core I see my awareness as a pearl or a ball of energy. Often this is referred to as one’s spark of divinity.

c) Using my mind’s eye I move my awareness to the crown of my head.

d) From my crown I jump about 6 inches above the head. This activates a chakra connected to the brain.

e) My second jump is about a foot above the first and is connected to the throat chakra.

f) My next jump(s) are to activate the Transpersonal Point. This may take 2-4 jumps into order to activate it.

g) You will know when you have activated the Transpersonal Point since you will hear loud piercing sounds in the ears.

4.  Thomas students might like to investigate this further by looking at Joys’ Way by Dr. W. Brugh Joy, Jeremy P. Tarcher, Inc., Los Angeles, 1979, pages 191-197. Dr. Joy outlines what he calls the spiral meditation in which the Transpersonal Point is activated. See: Joy's Way, A Map for the Transformational Journey: An ... - Amazon.com.

Side note: As is the case with nearly all metaphysical books, I take what I find useful and leave the rest behind. 

5. Also, Thomas students might like to google the term “hara line” and see how to activate a light pole which goes through the Transpersonal Point, through the body and connects to the earth.

6. While I acknowledge that activating the Transpersonal Point will be challenging for beginners, at least I have given the seeker the goal. Be clear: If your awareness stays in the Ego brain, then it is not possible to be a Physical Immortal. It will be up to each seeker to keep trying until he finds.

7. In the Thomas Immortality Project system one Resurrects with Jesus by activating the Transpersonal Point. As saying 77 as cited at the beginning of this essay notes: “I am the Light that is above all things.” Thus, by activating the Transpersonal Point above your body/brain system you are uniting with Jesus.

8. As part of my morning devotion I activate the Transpersonal Point at the Physical Immortal frequency: 

“Yeshua: Your sayings are life! May my vocal cords and voice be activated at the Physical Immortal frequency as I say your sayings aloud, allowing me to be Resurrected with you as a Physical Immortal, right here, right now. Thanks, Yeshua!”

After this prayer I then say a saying from The Gospel According To Thomas aloud. 

9. Once your Transpersonal Point has been activated, one will invite the Holy Spirit of Truth to guide his life:

Holy Spirit of Truth: Please guide my life this day to eternal life—Physical Immortality. Thanks, Holy Spirit of Truth."

The Spirit of Truth is connected to one’s will and is located below the ribe cage and is connected to the solar plexus chakra.

10.  Once you can activate the Transpersonal Point and hear the loud sounds in the ears, then you are on your way to being a Physical Immortal! The next step is to let go. This means your awareness will no longer be connected to the brain. Also, it means uniting one’s awareness with the Transpersonal Point and being one with it.

11. Side notes:

a) Males will usually find it quite challenging to activate the Transpersonal Point as it requires them to let go. As a preliminary step it might be useful to first center your awareness in a chakra about 6 inches above the brain as this maintains a connection to the brain while being disconnected in a certain sense.

b) Females do not have a Transpersonal Point and thus will not be able to activate it. Thus, it is impossible for a female to be a Physical Immortal unless she transforms herself into a Living Spirit (see saying 114, The Gospel According to Thomas).

Summary: The seeker of Physical Immortality will center his awareness in his Transpersonal Point, about 3.5 feet above the head. The seeker will first find his core self or spark of divinity and then jump to the crown of the head. This will be his new center. At first the seeker will have to keep re-centering from the brain to the Transpersonal Point until this point is fully activated. As a preliminary step, it may be helpful to first activate a chakra about 6 inches above the head and be centered here. Please note that centering in the Transpersonal Point is a form of detachment from the brain-body mechanism.

Additional Arguments Showing The Gospel According To Thomas is an Authentic Sayings Book, Part IV

I. Thomas is a sayings book of 115 sayings in a list format.

 

A. There is a scholarly consensus that a sayings book is a more primitive form of writing than a narrative text.

Source: The Gospel of Thomas by Marvin Meyer, HarperSanFrancisco, 1992, pages 7-8:

“As a collection of sayings of Jesus, the Gospel Of Thomas is closer in genre to other ancient collection of sayings than to the New Testament Gospels.”

 

See: The Gospel of Thomas: Marvin Meyer: 9780060655815: Amazon.com ...

 

B. Sayings books belong to an early oral tradition in which Jesus’ sayings were circulated. Please see part III of this essay for sources.

 

C. Q, another saying book, was used when Matthew and Luke wrote their narrative form of Jesus’ sayings.

Source: Q, the Earliest Gospel: An Introduction to the Original ... - Amazon.com

Conclusion: The fact that Thomas is a sayings book is ipso facto evidence that it was written before Mark (which is a narrative text) which was composed circa 70 A.D. It is possible that when Jesus’ brother, Judas, composed Thomas circa 30 A.D. , he used Q as part of an oral tradition of Jesus’ sayings. It is also possible that Q borrowed some of Thomas’ sayings.  

II. Thomas is part of a library of 52 ancient texts.

Source: Nag Hammadi library - Wikipedia

 

A. The Nag Hammadi Library consists of copies of Greek texts translated into Coptic.

Source: The Gospel of Thomas: Introduction and Commentary, Btill, Leiden/Boston, 2014, page 98:

“Fifithly, a similar kind of argument can be made for the fact that the Gospel of Thomas is extant in Nag Hammadi Codex, II, which is essentially a (translation of a) Greek collection (as is probably the whole Nag Hammadi corpus).”

See: The Gospel of Thomas: Introduction and Commentary (Texts and ...

 

B. Thomas was embedded into other Coptic writings, the second document of codex II. Source: see part A above.


Conclusion: Thomas was discovered in 1945 as part of a collection of 52 texts. These texts were originally written in Greek and then translated into Coptic. This would indicate that the copyists, probably monks, were copying word-for-word from original Greek texts. 

III. Early citations of the sayings of Thomas.

A. In his Refutation of All Heresies Hippolytus of Rome cites a variant of saying 4. This text is dated as 225 A.D.

Source: The Gospel of Thomas by Gathercole, page 35 ( op. cit. part II, A, above).

B. Later in Refutation, 5.8.32, Hippolytus cites sayings 11: “So they say, “If you ate dead things and made them living, what will you do when you eat living things?”

Source: The Gospel of Thomas by Marvin, (op. cit. part I, A, above), page 7.

Conclusion: Thomas was in circulation by 225 A.D. To be clear: The Coptic sayings book of Thomas was composed after 300 A.D. This would imply that sayings 4 and 11 were part of an original Greek text.

 
IV: Self-Authenticating Sayings: In this section I ask the reader to allow his Spirit to be moved by the sayings of Jesus in Thomas. When saying Jesus’ words aloud during your morning devotion each day, is there a saying that resonates with you? Does this saying start to come deeply inside you? Is this saying the words of a Master? Below are 3 of my favorite sayings:

 

A. “In the days when you ate what was dead, you made it alive. When you are in the Light what will you do? On the day when you were one, you became two. When you have become two what will you do?”

--Saying 11.

B. “The Father’s Kingdom is like a woman who was carrying a jar filled with meal. While she was away on a long journey, the handle of the jar broke and the meal spilled out behind her on the road. She had not noticed a problem. When she reached her house, she put the jar down and discovered it was empty.”

--Saying 97.

C. “Whoever is near me is near the fire and whoever is far from me is far from the Kingdom.”--Saying 82.

Conclusion: Thomas’ sayings were said at a high spiritual level. Once they have become part of you, they can inspire and transform you. Thus, I strongly encourage readers to spend 10-15 minutes each morning activating Jesus’ words for eternal life and then reading a saying aloud. What sayings in Thomas inspire you?

 

Summary: In this essay I have shown that since Thomas is a sayings book it is part of an early oral tradition dating to Jesus’ Resurrection, circa 30 A.D. It is possible that Jesus’ brother, Judas, mixed-and-matched various sources such as another contemporary sayings book, Q. Since Thomas was found as part of a collection of texts, all of which were originally written in Greek, we have evidence that Greek was the original language of Thomas. Also, the monks who copied the 52ancient texts did so on a word-for-word basis. Note that there is no evidence that any sayings were added to these texts since as in the case of say, Plato’s Republic, we have original Greek texts to compare. Early citations of Thomas shows that it was in circulation by 225 A.D. with citations of sayings 4 and 11. Finally, I invite the reader to allow the sayings of Jesus in Thomas to touch him and to transform him to a higher spiritual level.

 

A Statistical Argument Showing the Coptic Gospel According To Thomas Is a Word-For-Word Copy of an Original Greek Text

Update on January 22, 2019: I make it clear that this statistical argument means that there was a master copy which all the other copies of The Gospel According To Thomas used.


In this model I use the following assumptions:

1. Thomas was originally composed in Greek.




Source: The Composition of the Gospel of Thomas: Original Language and Influences by Simon Gathercole, Cambridge University Press, New York, 2012. See Chapter 4: “Positive Evidence for a Greek Language Origin,” pages 105-125. In his conclusion, Professor Gathercole concludes 125:

“In sum, these six factors mean first that a Greek vorgage to the Coptic version is a virtual certainty, with proposals for a translation into Coptic from any other language being highly speculative.”


See: The Composition of the Gospel of Thomas: Original Language and ...

2..There are 3 different Greek fragments which were part of larger texts found by British explorers, Grenfell and Hunt, in 1897 and 1903.  See : The Gospel of Thomas: Oxyrhynchus Fragments - The Gnosis Archive.

3. These 3 Greek texts are part of 3 papyri :

a. The first set, name after where it was discovered, Oxyrhynchus and is abbreviated P. Oxy. 654 contains the prologue+ sayings 1-7, in that order.

b. The second set, labelled P. Oxy. 1 contains sayings 26-33 in that order. 

c. The third set, labelled P.Oxy 655 contains 36-39 in that order.

4. There is a single counterexample, saying 77, which is attached to the end of saying 30. Since 31 follows 30 I view this as an outlier and thus do not include it in this model; however, some mathematicians may wish to do so. The result will confirm the original thesis of this essay.

 

The Model:

1. In the first set, prologue + sayings 1-7 I fix a single saying, prologue and then argue there is a 1/114 chances that next saying will be saying 1 if the sayings were randomly chosen. Note there are 115 saying in Thomas. Then upon choosing the second saying I then choose a third saying. Again, note there is a 1/113 chance that saying 2 would following saying 1 if the sayings were in random order. In general, we have:

[ 1/114 x  1/113 x1/112 x 1/111x 1/110 x 1/109 1/108]

2. In the second set, composed of sayings 26-33 we use the same model as above: [ 1/114 x  1/113 x1/112 x 1/111x 1/110 x 1/109 1/108]

3. In the third set, composed of sayings 36-39 I fix saying 36 and then model as follows: [1/114 x 1/113 x 1/112] for the chances these 4 sayings would be in the same order if they were randomly selected. 

4. Summing the first three probabilities and putting them in odds form we have:

2x [114x113x112x111x110x109x 108] + 114x 113x 112= 4.1476035e+14

 or about 4.2 trillion to 1 against the order in the Coptic text being randomly chosen.

 
Conclusion: Based upon a statistical argument in which I compare the word order for the Coptic and 3 Greek texts I show that the odds are about 4.2 trillion to 1 that the Coptic Thomas is a word-for-word translation of an original Greek Text. This also means that there is a master copy from which all the other copies of The Gospel of Thomas copied ; in other words, there was one and only one text called The Gospel of Thomas which was used by later copyists. The original Greek Thomas was composed between 30 A.D. and 62 A.D. (Side note: This is known since in saying 12 Jesus tells his original followers that James would be the new leader of the Jesus movement and James died in 62 A.D.) Note to readers: I will assume this conclusion is true in any future discussions as it is almost certain that the Coptic Thomas is a word-for-word copy of an original Greek text. Because saying 77 was attached to saying 30, it does appear as though there was some rearrangement of the sayings, but no evidence that anything was added later. The “Rolling Corpus Hypothesis” which says that because Thomas is a sayings book it probably had saying added to it is refuted. In other words, there is no evidence any sayings of Jesus were added to the Coptic text and thus when using the Coptic text we can have high confidence that these saying derive from an original Greek text.