The Gospel of John

I saw this movie at the big screen today. It was quite excellent because it followed the written gospel with precision and kept one's interest throughout the three-hour long movie. It's a relief to see a religious movie that wasn't "over the top" like those done in the 1930 - 1970 period. Now I'd like to see something on the Gospel of Thomas and the other gospels left out of the Bible by the early Christian church.

What I've come to appreciate in recent years is the different viewpoints the various apostles had and the role that early power brokers in the church played in manipulating the teachings by leaving out huge chunks of the early writings and gospels. 1800 years later most Christians have no idea how the early church officials filtered and limited the knowledge passed on. Some of the early writings were destroyed (by the Church) and lost forever but many were found hidden in jars in Egypt in 1945.

Today, you have access to the Gospel of Thomas, but not through your church. They don't want you to know about it. The latest book on the subject is "Beyond Belief" by Elaine Pagels. This is a readable book that will open your eyes.