How does the Gospel of Thomas fit in with the historical evidence of Jesus and his teachings?
The Gospel of Thomas seems to have been written in the early second century C.E. It represents an esoteric approach to the Jesus tradition, an approach influenced by Gnostic theology. It may include one or two genuine Jesus sayings not found in the canonical Gospels and one or two earlier versions of sayings found in the canon, but on the whole it is not much use in reconstructing what the historical Jesus said or did.
