21. The Secret Book of James
I he Secret Book (or Apocryphon) of James is a text presented,
I rather like the Letter of Peter to Philip, within the frame of an in-
•JL. troductory letter, as a secret book with sayings of Jesus that his fol-
lowers remembered. According to the text, this is the second such secret book
that James sent. The letter of James is addressed to someone whose name is
preserved imperfectly in the papyrus, with only the final three letters (in Cop-
tic, or Greek) visible: thos. Some scholars have suggested that the name
of the recipient of the letter may be restored to designate Cerinthos, a Christ-
ian teacher who flourished in the early second century and who proclaimed a
christology similar to the view of Jesus in the Secret Book of James.
In the body of the Secret Book of James are sayings of Jesus presented, ex-
panded, and interpreted in the context of questions and comments by the
students of Jesus, particularly James and Peter. The sayings include statements
of good fortune and woe, parables and stories, and discourses on being
"filled," lacking, and suffering. Many of these sayings are unknown elsewhere;
some may contain elements and themes that recall the historical Jesus. Some
of these sayings reflect on themes familiar from gnostic sources: fullness and
deficiency, the life of the spirit, self-knowledge. At one point Jesus says, "This
is also how you can acquire the kingdom of heaven for yourselves. Unless you
acquire it through knowledge, you will not be able to find it." Some of the