Catholic Answers Live #12635 Did Catholics Remove the Gospel of Thomas? Canon Explained
Mar 18, 2026
Stephen Boyce, theologian and historian of the biblical canon, explains the Gospel of Thomas and Nag Hammadi discoveries. He discusses why Thomas was never part of Scripture, why 1 Clement and infancy gospels were excluded, debates over James and Pauline authorship, and how the Church determined the Old Testament canon and the place of Maccabees and Hanukkah.
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Gospel Of Thomas Was Never In The Bible
- The Gospel of Thomas is a sayings collection never widely circulated with the four canonical gospels and was not “removed” from Scripture.
- It was found at Nag Hammadi and early fathers like Origen labeled it spurious and heretical, so it never entered canon.
Gnostic Meaning Behind 'Become Male' Saying
- Sayings like the Mary passage reflect Gnostic cosmology that denigrates the material and seeks spiritual escape, not a proto-transgender ethic.
- Gnostics saw the body as evil, so “becoming male” meant escaping material gender into a spiritual state.
Nag Hammadi Validated Early Fathers' Concerns
- Nag Hammadi texts clarified what early church fathers were actually combating and strengthened the authority of the four canonical gospels.
- These counter-gospels borrow and distort canonical material, showing the four Gospels were the circulating standard.
