In the Bible, there are four gospels: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. However, there are also other gospels which are not in the Bible. One of the most famous is the Infancy Gospel of Thomas. What exactly is the Infancy Gospel of Thomas, and why is it not included in the Bible?
The Gnostic gospels
The Infancy Gospel of Thomas is part of a group of ancient writings known as the Gnostic gospels. In contrast, the four gospels of the Bible are known as the canonical gospels. They are part of the Bible’s ‘canon’, or recognised collection of books.
The Gnostic gospels are writings that are not part of the Bible’s canon. Yet, they share some similarities to the four canonical gospels. For instance, they claim to have been written by eyewitnesses to the events they describe, often associates or relatives of Jesus or the apostles.
However, there are also some key differences between the Gnostic and the canonical gospels. The four canonical gospels were all written within the first century. Although many scholars today doubt that they written by their claimed authors, there is no issue with their claimed authorship on the basis of when they were written.
In contrast, the Gnostic gospels were written much later, after the era of Jesus’ associates.
What is the Infancy Gospel of Thomas?
In the case of the Infancy Gospel of Thomas, what do we know about it? Firstly, we need to understand the difference between this and the similarly named Gospel of Thomas. The latter is really just a collection of sayings. There is no real narrative to the gospel.
In contrast, the Infancy Gospel of Thomas is a narrative about Jesus’ life as a child. It focuses on his life between the ages of five and twelve. During the early part of the narrative, Jesus is a cruel, undisciplined, uncontrolled child who uses his supernatural abilities against others, even killing other children.
Young Jesus Curses Boy then resurrects him
In one episode, when Jesus was five years old, he was playing with other children. A boy accidentally bumped into him. Jesus, angered by the incident, declared, “Thou shalt not finish thy course.” Immediately, the boy fell down and died. The other children fled in fear, and the boy’s parents, upon finding him dead, accused Jesus of causing his death. Jesus then resurrected the boy to testify that he had not been the cause of his death.
Eventually, over the course of the narrative and with help from teachers, Jesus learns to reject cruelty and use his gifts for good. He performs several resurrections and healings, and he even miraculously extends a beam of wood to help his father, Joseph, with a construction project.
Towards the end of the narrative is the account about Jesus in the temple as a 12-year-old, which is also found in the canonical gospel of Luke.
Was the Infancy Gospel of Thomas removed from the Bible?
One popular idea is that the Gnostic gospels were excluded from the Bible in the fourth century, at the Council of Nicaea. However, contrary to popular belief, the Council of Nicaea had nothing to do with the Bible’s canon. In fact, it was about the divinity of Jesus.
The reality is that there was already a general consensus circulating among the early Christians regarding which books were canonical as early as the first half of the second century at the latest. We know that the early Christians generally accepted only the four canonical gospels at that point.
There is no evidence that the Infancy Gospel of Thomas was ever held to be part of the sacred Christian scriptures. Therefore, there is no basis for saying that it was ‘removed’.
In fact, the very earliest reference to it comes from Irenaeus in the late second century. In this reference, Irenaeus specifically describes it as inauthentic.
Why was the Infancy Gospel of Thomas rejected?
Nevertheless, it is worth asking why the Infancy Gospel of Thomas never gained acceptance among Christians. What was it about this ancient text that prevented the Christians as accepting it as inspired scripture?
The reason is essentially the same as the reason why the other Gnostic gospels never entered the Bible’s canon. The Gnostic gospels were not written by genuine associates of Jesus. They were written much later, from the second century onwards.
In the case of the Infancy Gospel of Thomas, most scholars place its composition in the mid- to late-second century. Hence, it obviously cannot have been written by the Apostle Thomas, as it claims to have been.
The early Christians recognized that this – along with other Gnostic gospels – was not written by their alleged authors. Hence, they rejected it as an inauthentic fiction.
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