Wayne, I like what you said about uncertainty. The way I see it, the less we know about a proposition, the more staunchly we tend to defend it. It happens in science too much. But it happens in religion, even more. In the end, we can know with some certainty what we feel at the moment. And with a great deal of reasoning we can be pretty sure of the proposition "I think I think; therefore I think I am." Further afield, we actually know very little. So I tend to think that the truth of a religious proposition lies not in some essence of fact, but in how we would feel about living in a group, a society, a world that embraces the same proposition. For example "all people are equal before the law." When religious ideas and practices help us to be more kind, reflective, and open to other people, I think they can help us feel better about our place in society. And they can help us be part of a happier society. It is my opinion, however, that a great deal of theolog...
Comments
Might help to know what we are dismissing out of hand.
Jesus said "Love your brother as you love your own soul. Protect him as you protect the pupil of your eye."
Jesus said "If two can make peace between themselves in a single house, they can say to am mountain 'Move!' and it will move."
Jesus said "Be one of those who is just passing through." (My paraphrase of saying 42)
On pg 56 the authors explain the brevity of the Gospel according to Thomas:
"The Gospel of Thomas is a sayings list containing no stories of miracles, no virgin birth narrative, no discussion of Jesus' crucifixion, no mention of the resurrection. "
This suggests to me precisely why it was left out of the canon.