Reading Acts of Thomas:
 with special consideration of its sexual ethic

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| Intro | Who Wrote Acts of Thomas? | What is the context of the author? | What is the context of Acts of Thomas? | What is the genre of AofT | Things not discussed in AofT | What is the purpose of AofT? | Conclusion |

The casual reader of AofT may be forgiven for thinking that St. Thomas counsels against sexual relations, even between husband and wife, and that he ‘had a problem with sex’.  This article casts some light on this matter and aims to assist students of AofT to read between the lines, or to quote the Magadhalene Sutras, to “see what lies below the surface” of the text.  Takshashila

Textual critique

Every book in the Eastern Bible, except for Acts of Yesu, is spiritual teaching and cast in esoteric language.  Unlike some Scriptures, the Eastern Bible is not history, or a collection of folktales, or historical accounts of societal issues.  However, in common with other Scriptures each work in the Eastern Bible results from within a particular social context, often because of a social context, and its author speaks from within his/her viewpoint and ‘take’ on the situation at that particular time and place in history.  Therefore, the student needs to know something of history to see what lies just beneath the surface.  Additionally, the student needs to know something about spirituality to understand the lessons that lie beneath the surface.

In any textual critique, students should first consider the three basic questions: who wrote the work or what is the author’s context, why did the author write, or what is the purpose of the work, and who is the intended audience of the work.  Once we understand more about the author and his context, the purpose of the work, and the intended audience and its context then we are a good step closer to putting on reading glasses conditioned to filter out our own context and see the work in its original setting.

For the sake of simplicity, allow us to illustrate just one example how context, author, purpose, and audience influences one’s understanding of a text.  Let us assume, as in the case of AofT, we are faced with a text that seemingly contain spiritual teaching and religious ethic.  Furthermore, the text in question makes frequent mention of the importance of light, personal freedom, blindness, and makes use of multiple examples of suffering as payment for transgressions –but above all, the text considers non-consensual homosexual assault the greatest abomination before God. 

A superfluous reading of this text may, on the surface, create the impression that the author has a problem with sex and is telling us that above all sins homosexual congress is an abomination before God, and that personal freedom of movement is man’s greatest desire, and that all suffering is due payment for past transgressions against God and society.

But our ‘take’ on the text will change when we learn that the author is an inmate in one of the Roman underground salt mines of the 1^st century, where murderers and condemned criminals are pitted for as long as they shall live and they will never again see the light of day.  And in these prisons inmates frequently gang up on the weak to rape and sexually molest them as a means of venting their frustrations with life down there.  In other words, the author speaks to the audience’s context; his purpose is to provide hope and a new ethic to make life tolerable down there. 
This knowledge tints our reading glasses and henceforth everything we read in that text is filtered through this understanding –and the text takes on new meaning and speaks to our own context in a new way. 

Such is the art and purpose of textual critique.

Now, let us consider AofT’s behind the scenes information that may provide us better understanding which will accordingly tint our reading glasses.

| Intro | Who Wrote Acts of Thomas? | What is the context of the author? | What is the context of Acts of Thomas? | What is the genre of AofT | Things not discussed in AofT | What is the purpose of AofT? | Conclusion |

Distribute freely but retain Copyright © 2003 Church of the East Canada