Apocryphal Gospels and Apostasy From Christianity

In December 1945, near Nag Hammadi, in Upper Egypt,peasants chanced upon 13 papyrus manuscripts  containing 52 texts.  These fourth-century documents have been attributed to a religious and philosophical movement called Gnosticism.  Mixing elements of mysticism, paganism, Greek philosophy, Judaism, and Christianity, the movement was a contaminating influence on some professed Christians. -1 Timothy 6:20, 21.

"The Gospel of Thomas," the "Gospel of Philip," and the "Gospel of Truth," found in the "Nag Hammadi Library," present various mystic Gnostic ideas as if coming from Jesus.  The recently discovered "Gospel of Judas" is also counted among the Gnostic gospels. It portrays Judas in a positive light as the only apostle who really understood who Jesus was.  One expert on this gospel notes that it describes Jesus as "a teacher and revealer of wisdom and knowledge, not a savior who dies for the sins of the world."  the inspired Gospels teach that Jesus did die as a sacrifice for sins of the world.  (Matthew 20:28; 26:28; 1 John 2:1, 2) Clearly the Gnostic gospels are intended to undermine, rather than strengthen faith in the Bible. -Acts 20:30.

Next time: The Superiority of the Canonical Gospels

From the Watchtower magazine, 2012