"I Will Become Him": Homology and Deification in the Gospel of Thomas
This article argues that many of the disparate soteriological themes in the Gospel of Thomas can be united under the category of deification. Strikingly, the Gospel of Thomas presents an early Christian form of deification parallel to the deification of Jesus in the Gospel of John. Like John's...
| Published in: | Journal of Biblical literature |
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| Main Author: | |
| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
Scholar's Press
[2015]
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| In: |
Journal of Biblical literature
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| Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains: | B
Gospel of Thomas
/ Deification
/ Gemination
/ Soteriology
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| IxTheo Classification: | CB Christian life; spirituality HD Early Judaism NBK Soteriology |
| Further subjects: | B
HOMOLOGY theory
B Apotheosis B Gospel of Thomas (Coptic Gospel) B SALVATION in Christianity B Jesus Christ |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Parallel Edition: | Non-electronic
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| Summary: | This article argues that many of the disparate soteriological themes in the Gospel of Thomas can be united under the category of deification. Strikingly, the Gospel of Thomas presents an early Christian form of deification parallel to the deification of Jesus in the Gospel of John. Like John's Gospel, the Gospel of Thomas presents a Jesus who is fully divine. Unlike in John, however, Jesus's distinctively divine traits and predicates are applied also to the elect in the Gospel of Thomas. The homology of Jesus and the Thomasine Christian indicates a soteriology of gemination-a scenario in which the elect realize their identity with Jesus and thus their status as spiritual "twins." Since Jesus is presented as a divine figure in the Gospel of Thomas, Thomasine gemination is simultaneously a form of deification. |
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| ISSN: | 1934-3876 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Journal of Biblical literature
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.15699/jbl.1342.2015.2772 |