An Array of Takes on Thomas

Offerings Include Several Titles on Newly Popular Approach to Jesus

St. Thomas arguably is the most popular chronicler of Jesus -- outside organized Christianity, that is.

Discovered more than half a century ago at Nag Hammadi, Egypt, the Gospel of Thomas is a listing of 114 purported sayings of Jesus that emphasize the divinity within each person. This and a lack of references to the Crucifixion, Resurrection and salvation through Jesus as Christ make for a kind of feel-good spirituality that appeals to Christians and non-Christians alike.

Dozens of Thomas titles are available in bookstores and via the Internet, and the mix of scholarly and popular offerings continues. Elaine Pagels, whose "Gnostic Gospels" introduced Thomas to non-academics 25 years ago, boosted his popularity last fall with "Beyond Belief: The Secret Gospel of Thomas," intended to appeal to Christians who no longer accept the church's traditional teachings.

In May, Marvin Meyer published a new translation, "The Gospel of Thomas: The Hidden Sayings of Jesus" (HarperSanFrancisco), that includes the original Coptic text alongside the English and an interpretation by literary critic Harold Bloom. And in a new work called "Where Shall Wisdom Be Found?" (Riverhead, $24.95, Oct. 7), Bloom includes Thomas among history's most noted sages.

"I've taken back the Gospel of Thomas," Bloom said in an interview, a reference to what he calls the New Age tendency of making "hash and mincemeat" of venerable texts and traditions (e.g., Thomas and Kabbalah) to create some new form of spirituality. That comment could apply to the new release "The Gnostic Gospel of St. Thomas: Meditations on the Mystical Teachings," by a Gnostic-Kabbalah practitioner, or "The Gospel of Thomas: A Guidebook for Spiritual Practice."

Bloom, a Jew, said he has long admired the Gospel of Thomas and finds its message "disturbing and at the same time gratifying." He understands its appeal, especially to Americans, whose spirituality is rooted in individuality and a personal connection to the divine -- a strong component of Gnostic practice.

"Setting aside the New Age nonsense, [the Gospel of Thomas] has the dignity, power and persuasiveness of a ritual text," Bloom said. "Each time I've finished reading it I find him irresistible, this Jesus."

Here is a selected list of books about Thomas and other recent and coming offerings that represent the open, varied world of religious publishing. Dates indicate projected release dates of books not yet available.

THE BIBLE IN HISTORY: HOW THE TEXTS HAVE SHAPED THE TIMES, by David W. Kling (Oxford, $35). The author shows how eight passages of scripture influenced major religious and political movements in the West, from monasticism and Pentecostalism to civil rights and women's ordination. Kling, a professor of religious studies at the University of Miami, says a desire to bridge scholarly and lay readings led to this book and revealed how multiple generations reinterpreted the texts in light of social, cultural and political forces.

THE BOOK OF CUSTOMS: A COMPLETE HANDBOOK FOR THE JEWISH YEAR, by Scott-Martin Kosofsky with a foreword by Rabbi Lawrence Kushner (HarperSanFrancisco, $29.95, Oct. 1). Inspired by the 1593 Venetian edition of Minhogimbukh, a Yiddish guide to Jewish practice, "Book of Customs" is a updated handbook to rituals, liturgies and prayers. Kosofsky, a book designer, illustrates his text with woodcuts taken from various editions of Minhogimbukh and includes some colorful but sobering sayings, such as: "If a man does not see his shadow on the night of Hoshana Rabbah [the last day of Sukkot], it is a sign that he is to die in the coming year."

THE CASE FOR A CREATOR: A JOURNALIST INVESTIGATES SCIENTIFIC EVIDENCE THAT POINTS TOWARD GOD, by Lee Strobel (Zondervan, $19.99). An atheist-turned-evangelical Christian, Strobel relinquished a 14-year newspaper career to join the staff of Willow Creek Community Church near Chicago and later set off on his own as one of the evangelical community's most popular apologists. Strobel has a degree from Yale Law School, and in "Case for a Creator," as in his best-selling "Case for Christ," he uses a courtroom-style presentation to make his case -- here, that the universe was God's design, not a chance happening.

CRUSADE: CHRONICLES OF AN UNJUST WAR, by James Carroll (Metropolitan, $25). Carroll, who argued in "Constantine's Sword: The Church and the Jews" (2001) that Roman Catholic anti-Semitism contributed to the Holocaust, takes on the Bush administration in a collection of columns published in the Boston Globe over a three-year period. Carroll argues that President Bush's use of "crusade" to initially describe the war on terrorism accurately characterizes the administration's foreign policy in Afghanistan and Iraq.

THE GNOSTIC GOSPEL OF ST. THOMAS: MEDITATIONS ON THE MYSTICAL TEACHINGS, by Tau Malachi (Llewellyn, softcover $17.95). A biographical page describes Malachi as a "modern mystic" who has achieved the rank of tau, a Gnostic elder "who embodies something of a higher consciousness." He suggests the need for "a new gospel, a gospel of the Cosmic Christ" -- a Christ inherent in every person, not the crucified-risen Christ revered by the church -- and proceeds to give three- to five-page "meditations" on each of the 114 sayings in Thomas, weaving in teachings from the Kabbalah and other mystical traditions.

THE GOSPEL OF THOMAS: A GUIDEBOOK FOR SPIRITUAL PRACTICE, by Ron Miller (Skylight Paths, $14.99 softcover). Miller, chairman of the religion department at Lake Forest College in Illinois and founder of the interfaith group Common Ground, incorporates other traditions into his reading of Thomas, including Buddhism and Sufism, a mystical branch of Islam. But his approach is less esoteric than Malachi's, providing practical suggestions and discussion points on the way to becoming "Jesus's twin" -- the goal of what he calls a "Thomas believer." His intended audience is spiritual seekers of all faiths.