Christian apologist Ken Ham It says clickbait headlines about a 1,600-year-old book purportedly about Jesus’ childhood should not cause anxiety among believers. Headlines about the so-called Infancy Gospel of Thomas made waves around the world: The New York Post headline proclaimed, “Newly Deciphered Manuscript Is Oldest Record of Jesus’ Childhood: ‘Astonishing'” and The Times of Israel headline claimed, “1,600-Year-Old Papyrus Fragment Contains Earliest Account of Jesus’ Early Life.”
In fact, the debate about the Infancy Gospel of Thomas is not new, even though the newly discovered fragment is the oldest surviving manuscript.
The Infancy Gospel of Thomas was rejected by early Christians as uninspired and was not included in the canon of Scripture (not to be confused with the Gospel of Thomas, another rejected book).
“What should Christians think about this discovery? This text is not from the Bible. It was written decades after the Bible’s canon was closed.” Answer from Genesis,new blog His website states: “And,[this is from] The Infancy Gospel of Thomas, which details the childhood of Jesus of Nazareth, was ultimately excluded from the Bible.
“The Infancy Gospel of Thomas was never considered authentic by Christians, nor was it contested for inclusion in the Bible until it was ‘finally removed’. Christians knew it was not inspired Scripture!”
Tim Chaffee, content manager at the Ark Encounter and Creation Museum, run by Answers in Genesis, said the Infancy Gospel of Thomas contains a fictitious story about Jesus that contradicts the character of Christ in the Bible.
“The Infancy Gospels consist of 19 short chapters of fictional accounts of Jesus’ childhood. They end with an embellished version of his encounter in the temple when he was 12 years old (Luke 2:41–51),” Chaffee wrote in his blog. “The Infancy Gospel of Thomas paints a very different picture of Jesus than is revealed in the Word of God. Instead of the sinless and obedient Son of God, the Infancy Gospel paints him as a wayward child. He curses and kills several people, including the high priest’s child, a child he bumps into while running, and a teacher who is upset by Jesus’ stubbornness. He also heals several people, and although it is not explicitly stated, the work seems to suggest that Jesus raised two children to life. In short, the Infancy Gospel of Thomas adds nothing to our knowledge of Jesus. Rather, it reinforces a false view of Jesus. Jesus claims that he was “created before he came into this world,” yet the Bible describes Jesus as the eternal Son of God, not created (John 1:1– 3, 14)”
Chaffee writes that if the Infancy Gospel of Thomas has any value, “it shows that some second-century non-Christians believed that Jesus possessed some divinity.”
“This contradicts the claim of modern skeptics, popularized by the Da Vinci Code, that Jesus was not believed to be God until the Council of Nicaea in 325 AD.“ Chaffee added.
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Michael Faust He has covered the intersection of faith and news for 20 years, and his work has appeared in Baptist Press, Christianity Today, Christian Post, Leaf Chronicle, Toronto Star and Knoxville News Sentinel.
