INTRODUCTION 7
reflecting upon the origin and destiny of true life and light. In Syria, the sacred
literature relating to Thomas is closely related to the wisdom gospel of Thomas;
Thomas is understood to be the twin of Jesus and the guarantor of his wisdom
and knowledge.
The Hermetic literature dates from the first century CE and after. It is
named after the Greek god Hermes, the divine messenger, nicknamed Tris-
megistos, "thrice-greatest," and depicted in a syncretistic way, once again with
Jewish and Greco-Roman themes, along with Egyptian motifs. The Man-
daeans consist of Middle Eastern gnostic communities that exist to the pres-
ent day, now in locales around the world. The Mandaeans interpret the
opening chapters of Genesis in a typically gnostic manner, but they reserve a
special place for John the baptizer, whose style of Jewish baptismal piety they
considered to reflect the origin of their communities. Manichaean literature
dates from the time of the prophet Mani, the third-century prophet who, with
his followers, created a world religion intended to be universal. Manichaeism
draws from Zoroastrian, Buddhist, and Christian sources, likely including the
Gospel of Thomas and other gnostic texts, in order to announce how the di-
vine light of the cosmos may be saved from the machinations of the forces of
darkness and gathered into the kingdom of light. Some of the songs in the
Coptic Manichaean Songbook appear to be related to Mandaean literature,
and Manichaeism and Mandaeism show connections with each other.
Such Islamic mystical texts as the Mother of Books, as well as Cathar
sacred literature, are sometimes described by scholars as late gnostic or neo-
manichaean, because of similarities with the traditions of Mani and his fol-
lowers. The Mother of Books comes from the eighth century CE and represents
a form of Islamic ghuluw, which literally means "exaggeration." The Cathar
texts come from medieval Europe and offer a dualistic message of the triumph
of light over darkness. The Cathars, too, like so many gnostics, venerated the
Gospel of John. The Gospel of the Secret Supper features John and cites a por-
tion of the Gospel of John as it announces the glory that will finally come to the
children of the good god of light: "The just will glow like a sun in the kingdom
of the invisible father. And the son of god will take them before the throne of
the invisible father and say to them, 'Here I am with my children whom you
have given me. Just father, the world has not known you, but I have truly
known you, because it is you who have sent me on my mission.'"
In assembling a "Gnostic Bible," what definitions have we used? Where have
we drawn the line? Let us examine our definitions more carefully.