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Answer:
Dr. Alexander Roman
alex@unicorne.org
As far as I can tell, there is no such
discussion in the Gospel of Thomas - however, the word "Tau" is
contained in the word for Thomas "Tau-ma" which means "Twin."
The Tau and other forms of the cross were venerated in pre-Christian
religions many years before the advent of Christianity. The Tau with a
circular handle at the top added for carrying became a model for the
standard Christian Cross that we have today.
In fact, Greek missionaries to Egypt, according to some, used the Tau
cross to indicate to their listeners that God had already, symbolically,
spoken to them about the salvation of Christ. The "T" symbol became the
symbol for St Anthony of Egypt and also of St Francis of Assisi. To
this day, Franciscans and their Lay associates use the "T" as an
identifying symbol.
There are two theories used today to explain the Gospel of Thomas. One
is that it was written before the Gospels of the New Testament and this
is the view popular in North America - the other, popular in Europe, was
that it was written after the Gospels.
The first theory is popular here because it supports the underlining
argument that the Gospels of the New Testament added much that was
superfluous and "ideological" to the essential "Gospel" of Thomas. This
is how certain North American scholars wish to discredit the New
Testament.
However, a careful reading of the Gospel of Thomas shows that every line
can be related to the four Gospels. That, in fact, the Gospels of the
New Testament can enhance and direct our understanding of the words
written in the Gospel of Thomas.
Except, of course, for the 114th verse which offends modern
sensibilities so that a number of translations have made the claim it is
a spurious addition or else, that it was added much later and doesn't
belong to the original Gospel of Thomas. I also would prefer to believe
that verse 114 does not belong in the body of that document.
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