The House that Christ Built

A comparative look at the Gospels of Mark and Thomas

Originally written on 4/19/12 for my Birth of Christianity class

 

Gospel of Thomas

Gospel of Mark

After reading both the gospels of Mark and Thomas with fresh eyes, I am struck with the idea that one is like timber available for building and the other is like a finished structure, ready for tenants.  The gospel of Thomas (hereafter: Thomas) is simply a list of sayings attributed to the person in history named Jesus. It is referred to as his secret teachings, although the secrets are not given away freely, as many of the sayings can be difficult to understand (ex: Thom 10, 17, 19, and especially 42). The gospel of Mark (hereafter: Mark), on the other hand, is a narrative – a story. It has a beginning, middle and, as most stories do, builds to a crescendo before coming to an end. There are no real secrets here, as what Jesus says is often explained to his disciples (Mk 4:14-20). 

When walking through the lumber yard of Thomas, the reader is not given a map, as no map would make sense. There is no seeming order to Jesus’ sayings and sometimes certain sayings even seem to be repeated, although with small variations (ex: Thom 2 and 94; 55 and 101). Although there is no apparent order to the list, one could sort the sayings into themes, the names by which might depend on the reader and his or her interpretations of the sayings.

It is the roughness of Thomas, the crude way it is written as only a list, that I think would have appealed to the first followers of Jesus. It allowed for variations of opinions, for interpretations by the self. Each person would have the same opportunity to find in it those things which resonated within.

Several themes that I noted within the gospel of Thomas may have found resonance with the early Christians. These include the search for knowledge or wisdom, the oneness of all life, the necessity to be like a child to experience the kingdom of God, what God’s imperial rule is like and simple rules to live within humanity’s communities. These themes may have been easily acceptable to any of the followers of Jesus that were familiar with the likes of Socrates, who also was a proponent seeking wisdom and of the concept of “Know thyself” (Thom 2, 3, 67, 92, 94).

Thomas may have also appealed as seeming more authentic, as if the author was writing the sayings down best as he could remember, without tarnishing anything with embellishments. At the same time, it could have put off those that found the list too confusing and difficult to understand, especially with the implication of these being secret teachings; when the reader didn’t understand, it would be too easy for him to disregard it as make-believe. For these people, Mark would be much easier to understand, thus easier to accept as authentic.

Tract Housing

As mentioned before, Mark is much more than a list of sayings, although when walking through the halls of the structure, pieces of Thomas seem to be peeking out through the paint here and there (ex: Mk  2:20, 2:21-22, 6:4-5, 12:17, 12:31,  and Thom 104, 47, 31, 100, 25 respectively). Although the reader can tell that the authors of Mark and Thomas visited the same lumberyard, it is just as evident that Mark’s author either missed much of the materials available, or only sought certain pieces for his structure. Perhaps Mark’s author had an agenda: to tell a story about Jesus from the perspective that he understood. If that was the case, then he would have selected those pieces that made sense to him and then added to them some structure so that other readers would see what he saw. Another possibility could be that Mark’s author knew more details than the author of Thomas. Finally, it is just as likely that the structure was not unique to Mark’s author, but instead was one of several tract homes. 

Mark’s appeal to the Jesus followers would have been the narrative he gave of the man that they followed, worshiped, and glorified. The author begins with Jesus’ baptism in the Holy Spirit and flows through the geographical travels of his subsequent teachings and healings until the author concludes with Jesus’ death and resurrection. Themes found in Mark are the power of belief, the lack of belief in man, the coming of the kingdom of God, a sense of urgency, and the death and resurrection of Jesus. Jesus is also defined in Mark as Christ, son of God, Holy, son of David, last of the prophets, and Lord (Mk 1:1, 1:24, 10:48, 12:6, and 16:19 respectively).  This stands in contrast to Thomas, where Jesus is defined as an angel, philosopher, and teacher, although Jesus rebukes the last saying, “I am not your teacher” (Thom 13).

The definition of Jesus in Thomas is not the only difference we find from Mark. There is no death and resurrection theme in Thomas; rather, the kingdom of God is already present for those that understand (Thom 113). It is not faith that brings salvation in Thomas (Mk 9:2, 22, 29). Instead, looking within and bringing what is inside out is what saves (Thom 70). Also lacking in Thomas are the references to the old testament that point to the idea of Jesus fulfilling ancient prophecy in Mark (Mk 1:2, 10:48, 12:10, 14:49, 15:27). These differences may have separated audiences that paid heed to one gospel or the other (or both).

As mentioned previously, Thomas may have resounded more with Jews that were familiar with philosophers like Socrates. They may have been drawn to some parallel ideas and may even have been interested in the idea of having secret knowledge. I imagine the more philosophical type may have already been less interested in ancient readings such as those found in the Hebrew Bible (except for where wisdom could be gleaned) and would have already been along a path of introspection when Thomas was written. Thus, these people may have been less likely to be looking for the Messiah foretold in the ancient scriptures. Thomas would have also been easier for the gentiles to relate to as well. The Jews that were more scripturally bound may have been more drawn to the finished housing of Mark’s gospel.

Jews that knew their scripture and who were suffering would have taken much solace in learning the tradition of Jesus’ teachings and healings and salvation offered to them through faith in him and in God’s possibilities (Mk 10:27). The gospel as a historical type story would have also been familiar to them, as many of their ancient scriptures that they held dear were written as historical stories. The followers of Mark’s gospel likely saw overlap in Thomas, but may have turned away from it because of the lack of support of Jesus as the Messiah, come to save mankind.

The choice of which gospel one might follow still would have been individual, but I can see the draw to that which is more complete, explained, and feels like guidance. Thomas is given to the reader as a list of secret teachings (or sayings) of the person named Jesus. The sayings are not explained, but left bare, without embellishment. By contrast, Mark is a complete story with explanations given along the way. The house has been built, the walls painted, furniture moved in and waits for the tenant to move in and make it his or her home.

Ancient Arabian Mythology and Outside Influence

My version

Most people have likely experienced a time in their life where they were singing, reciting rhymes with a friend or telling stories to each other and found that they had a disagreement about the exact words or telling of the song, rhyme, or story. For my husband and me, our argument was always over the “Woodchuck” tongue twister. He swore his version was correct and I swore mine was. These variations arise due to the oral nature of these songs, rhymes, and stories that are passed to us in our childhood. Often times these variations occur regionally and/or culturally. Mythology follows this same pattern. It is therefore important when researching the origins of myths to understand the people of the lands where the myths arise. 

Although there is a vast collection of information available about the advent of Islam and the beliefs of Muslims throughout the Middle East and across the world, information about what the people of Arabia believed before the coming of Islam is scant. Most of the information available about the mythology of the area pertains to Ancient Sumeria, Mesopotamia, Assyria, Canaan, and Egypt. In order to better understand the beliefs of the Pre-Islamic Arabs, it is necessary to identify who the ancient Arabs were and the regions in Arabia in which they lived. 

Ancient Arabia is demarked as the Arabian Peninsula and includes the land stretching northward through the Syrian Desert (Hoyland, 5).  In comparison to the continental US, this area is approximately equivalent to one-quarter the size – a vast piece of land. Thousands of years ago, many diverse people occupied this large piece of land. Much of the land contains vast deserts and because of this, these ancient Arab people were isolated from each other. Their distance and isolation from each other combined with their closeness to other different nations and cultures near each corner of Arabia (Egypt, Mesopotamia, Iran, etc.) caused them to develop distinctive histories and traditions (Hoyland 5).  Many Arab tribes were nomadic in nature because of the lands’ great deserts and lack of resources, such as the bare necessities: food and water.  The term “Arab” is used in biblical texts to describe these nomadic people, and was likely used by these nomads themselves as a way to describe their identity, separating them from the “others”. Those that were sedentary generally existed in East and South Arabia near the boundaries to other nations or along habitable shorelines, where they had access to the resources needed to live.  

Although there were some differences between settled and nomadic Arabs, they still had fairly similar beliefs and practices. Their beliefs were pagan in nature, having many gods and goddesses that they believed in. Often cities or villages had patron deities and the settlers were the children of the patron deity. They had rituals and sacrifices that were made to their gods. They believed in omens and magic. They were idolaters. Even the nomadic Arabs would either carry stones with them or find stones hey believed in evil spirits, jinn or ginnaye, and ghouls. They believed in amulets for protection and magical medicines, like drinking a potion of your loved one’s ashes mixed with water to cure grief (Hoyland, 151). A particular belief that is widespread is that of the curse of the evil eye and it was this that they were often wearing amulets or had incantations to protect themselves with (Hoyland, 152). These ancient Arabs also believed in divination and would read signs in nature to make choices about the way to proceed. Especially important was the behavior of birds. Although most of these and other beliefs were widespread, they also had regional differences that may have arisen from their proximity to and interactions with other nations. 

Ancient Arabia is divided up into three main regions in Robert Hoyland’s Arabia and the Arabs: East, South, and North / Central (See Figure 1). North / Central Arabia also encompass what some might refer to as Western Arabia. I will attempt to show what influences existed that the people of each portion of Arabia would have most likely encountered and provide a list of examples of some of the beliefs in these regions. 

East Arabia

Hoyland describes Ancient East Arabia as being made up of Southern Mesopotamia, Dilmun, and Magan (current day Southern Iraq, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, and Oman). Major influences to the Eastern Arab population were from trade routes passing from northern Mesopotamia through to the Gulf and proximity to and trade with Elam in southwest Iran, and Meluha (Hoyland, 13). Throughout the ages, Influences grew as trade grew, bringing in contact with people (and sometimes rule) from Egypt, Assyria, Anatolia, Persia (specifically, Iran, in the middle of the first century AD), Greece, Macedonia, Parthia, and Rome (Hoyland 14-30). 

Mythological influences on the East Arabia Arabs thus would have ranged, over time, from that of ancient Sumerian traditions from Mesopotamia, Zoroastrianism from Persia, Hindu influences through Elam, to the pantheon of Greek and Roman gods and goddesses. Table 1 shows some examples of these influencing beliefs would have been common in East Arabia (Littleton, Spence, Telesco).

South Arabia

Southern Arabia was made up of what is now Yemen. Major influences to the Southern Arab population were from interactions and trade with Egypt and Ethiopia other areas of Arabia (Howland 40-41).  Like with Eastern Arabia, influences grew as trade grew, also bringing in contact with people (and sometimes rule) from India, Parthia, and Rome (Hoyland). 

The mythological influences that would have had an effect on the Arabs of Southern Arabia would have been much the same as that of Eastern Arabia, with a lesser influence from Assyria, Mesopotamia, and Babylon. As mentioned previously, Southern Arabs would have come into contact with Egyptians and Ethiopians, mostly due to their proximity to these other nations.  Because of this, Southern Arabia would have some additional mythological influences not listed in Table 1. See Table 2 for these additional beliefs that may have influenced Southern Arabs. 

North and Central Arabia

North and Central Arabia differ from the other regions because they consist mostly of arid land that lacks an abundance of the resources to be able to sustain settlement easily, especially in ancient times. Because of the difficulty of settling, the people who lived in these regions were nomadic, often referred to as Bedouins. It is the Arab Bedouins of North and Central Arabia that show up in Israelite and Assyrian writings such as the Judeo-Christian Bible. The Bedouin Arabs were pastoralists and traders that came into contact with the same outsiders as the other regions over time (Howland).

Mythologically speaking, Bedouins, as well as having their own particular beliefs, would have been influenced by all of the same outside nations as already mentioned. A difference from the other regions would be that they would have likely had more contact with Egyptian beliefs and especially Judaism and Christianity as those faiths grew.  

When communities have a lot of contact with people who have other traditions and other beliefs than their own, it is impossible for the new beliefs, stories, and traditions that they are exposed to not have some staying power. Often, especially in the case of military conquest and rule of a new entity, new religions are adopted along with new stories and traditions. Sometimes these stories are entirely new, but most often there is a mixing of the myths and traditions, producing something that appeases both parties, just as Rome assimilated the pagans by turning their winter solstice festival into a Christian holiday, Christmas. Thus, everything from Zoroastrianism to Christianity was introduced to the Arabs of Arabia.

Even before there were outside influences, the Arab population had a pantheon of Gods. Most villages had their own patron deity, of which the people of the village were called the children that patron god. Hoyland mentions an old Arab proverb which says, “’When you enter a village, swear by its god’” (Hoyland, 139-140). Often times, however, the communities still held a god or goddess that was the leader of all the other gods. 

Tables and Figures

Figure 1 Map of Ancient East, South, and North/Central Arabia (Hoyland)

  

Table 1 Examples of mythological influences on Eastern Arabia (Hall, Littleon, Spence, and Telesco)

	Sumerian / Mesopotamian / Babylonian / Assyrian	Persian	Indic from Elam	Greek / Roman
General	·      Clay figure amulets ·      The worship of a Sun god and the bull ·      The sacred cow with the life giving milk ·      Astrology ·      Metal amulets ·      Stone amulets ·      Crystal / gemstone amulets ·      Sacred dance ·      Trial by water ·      Knot charms / curative knots ·      Lucky / unlucky days ·      Lucky / unlucky numbers ·      Ritual sex ·      Curative drum beats ·      Incense for purification ·      Polytheism ·      Idolatry ·      Belief in an underworld ·      Humankind created from clay ·      Flood myth ·      Giants ·      Judaism ·      Christianity	·      Shell amulets to avert the evil eye ·      Magic ·      Monotheism ·      Zoroastrianism ·      Astrology ·      The Zodiac ·      Concept of good vs. evil ·      Angels, archangels, demons ·      Worship of fire ·      The concept of free will ·      Savior born of a virgin ·      Resurrection	·      The sacred cow with the life giving milk ·      Stone amulets ·      Crystal / gemstone amulets ·      Pantheon of gods ·      Sacred dance ·      Flood myth ·      Idolatry ·      Hinduism	·        Chicken feather charms / behavior in battle ·        Astrology ·        Crystal amulets ·        Stone amulets ·        Sacred dance ·        Numerology ·        Lucky / unlucky numbers ·        Belief in an underworld ·        Humankind created from metal – Iron ·        Flood myth ·        Idolatry ·        Prophecy
Deities	·      Bel, Yarhibol, and Aglibol (trinity) ·      Shamash ·      Allat ·      Ba’alshamin ·      En-lil ·      Ea / Oannes ·      Enki ·      Nabu ·      Marduk, the sun god ·      Ishtar ·      YHWH	·      Ahura Mazda ·      Mithras	·      Vishnu ·      Brahma ·      Ganesha ·      Shiva ·      Saraswati	·        Zeus ·        Apollo ·        Venus ·        Aphrodite ·        Gaia ·        Athena

Table 2 Additional mythological influences on Southern Arabia (Hall, Littleton, and Wikipedia)

	Egyptian	Ethiopian
General	·       Reincarnation ·       Creation god ·       Pantheon of gods and goddesses ·       Sun god ·       Sacred animals ·       The creator god’s thoughts bring things into being ·       Man made from clay ·       Vital essence(soul?) ·       Trinity ·       Good and evil ·       Snake as embodiment of evil ·       Belief in an underworld ·       Amulets ·       Kings were gods ·       Magic ·       Book of the Dead	·      Animism ·      Evil eye ·      Zarr ·      Musical rituals ·      Abdar ·      Good and evil ·      Jusaism ·      Christianity
Dieties	·      Re ·      Isis ·      Osiris ·      Thoth ·      Amun ·      Ma’at ·      Anubis ·      Atum

Works Cited

Hall, Manly P. The Secret Teachings of All Ages. London: Duckworth, 2006. Print.

Hoyland, Robert G. Arabia and the Arabs: From the Bronze Age to the Coming of Islam. London: Routledge, 2001. Print.

Littleton, C S. Mythology: The Illustrated Anthology of World Myth & Storytelling. San Diego, Calif: Thunder Bay Press, 2002. Print.

Spence, Lewis. Myths & Legends of Babylonia & Assyria. Detroit: Gale Research Co, 1975. Print.

Telesco, Patricia. The Magick of Folk Wisdom: A Source Book from the Ages. Edison, NJ: Castle Books, 2000. Print.

Wikipedia contributors. "Buda (folk religion)." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, 26 May. 2011. Web. 18 Oct. 2011.

Wikipedia contributors. "Zār." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, 10 Aug. 2011. Web. 18 Oct. 2011.

Written on August 30, 2011 for my Independent Study in Religion with a focus on Mythology