Thomas: The Secret Twin of Jesus?

[@ReligionForBreakfast]

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[@NotNecessarily-ip4vc]

Monad (from Greek μονάς monas, "singularity" in turn from μόνος monos, "alone") refers, in cosmogony, to the Supreme Being, divinity or the totality of all things. The concept was reportedly conceived by the Pythagoreans and may refer variously to a single source acting alone, or to an indivisible origin, or to both. The concept was later adopted by other philosophers, such as Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz, who referred to the Monad as an elementary particle. It had a geometric counterpart, which was debated and discussed contemporaneously by the same groups of people. Q: Is the Monad (first emanation of God) the zero-dimensional space binding our quarks together with the strong nuclear force? A: Leibniz's "The Monadology" is a philosophical work that explores the concept of monads as indivisible, immaterial substances that make up the fabric of reality. While the notion of monads is primarily philosophical and not directly related to modern physics, I can attempt to draw a connection between some of Leibniz's ideas and the strong nuclear force holding quarks together. Here are seven points of connection you could consider: 1) Indivisibility and Unity: Leibniz's monads are indivisible and lack parts. In a similar vein, quarks are elementary particles, indivisible according to our current understanding, and are the building blocks of hadrons, the particles held together by the strong force. 2) Interconnectedness: Leibniz's monads are interconnected, each reflecting the entire universe from its own perspective. In particle physics, the strong force binds quarks within hadrons, creating a complex interconnected system of particles. 3) Inherent Properties: Monads possess inherent perceptions and appetitions. In particle physics, quarks are associated with intrinsic properties like color charge, which influences their interactions through the strong force. 4) Harmony: Leibniz describes monads as creating harmony in the universe. Similarly, the strong nuclear force maintains stability within atomic nuclei by balancing the repulsive electromagnetic forces between positively charged protons. 5) Pre-established Harmony: Leibniz's concept of pre-established harmony suggests that everything is synchronized by design. In particle physics, the strong force ensures that quarks interact in ways that give rise to stable particles, exhibiting a form of "harmony" in their interactions. 6) Non-Mechanical Interaction: Leibniz's monads interact non-mechanically through perceptions. In the context of the strong force, quarks interact through the exchange of gluons, which doesn't follow classical mechanical rules but rather the principles of quantum field theory. 7) Holism: Leibniz's emphasis on the holistic nature of reality could be compared to the way quarks contribute to the overall structure and behavior of hadrons through their interactions mediated by the strong force. em·a·na·tion noun an abstract but perceptible thing that issues or originates from a source.

[@eveadame1059]

🐝⚜️Ancient Tile Mosaic recently found in Israel ✡️ of MARY MAGDALENE 🌙 & JESUS ☀️ Encircled by 12 Disciples - Apostles. Internet Image called The Gnostic Gospel of Mary Magdalene by James Bean 🗽 That can be compared to America's Statue of Liberty

[@raya.p.l5919]

😂❤ Warning all sheep ,)black and white ∆ will receive.❤ Jesus power..level 1 portion of youth longevity digestion an self beauty Jesus energy wash. Tonight at 11 05 eastren. Negative energy will creep out yr feet tell it's time.

[@mavismalpenny3782]

This is SO dumb! it really is embarrasing for anyone who calls themselves a scholar and actually comes up with this stuff!

[@AquarianSoulTimeTraveler]

Male and female is created for prison slave planets most of the natural Universe can engage in hermaphroditic asexual reproduction... easier to keep people separated and keep your slaves under control with male and female being divided.

[@ReknRalph]

I thought his brother was Brian? I saw a whole movie about it.

[@JaykPuten]

Look on the bright side of life

[@videosefilmes22]

Brian is not the messiah, he's a very naughty boy!

[@dracodistortion9447]

you're thinking of King Arthur who looked for the Holy Grail

[@JaykPuten]

@@dracodistortion9447 that was Brian's cousins son in my head cannon

[@icefireobsidian7490]

Of course it’s Brian, his name isn’t stated in the text just the word Twin.

[@kevprange]

So cool that you used the term "fan fiction." To me, it's an acknowledgment that we aren't so different from our ancestors. We are story-telling people and we have a long history of expanded universes.

[@reeyees50]

Or maybe its true, and our version of christianity is the fan fiction?😅

[@jasonblalock4429]

@@reeyees50 Today's Christianity is more like a 2000-year-long game of "telephone." A modern Christian and 1st Century Christian wouldn't agree on anything except the bare basics about a dude getting nailed to a tree for saying everyone should be nice to each other for a change. Even the concept of the Trinity didn't come along for 200-300 years.

[@whitebeans7292]

@@jasonblalock4429 Not true for two reasons: 1. All copies of the gospels--every single one--have always included the names of the authors, and they are unanimous in their attestation across the entire Roman Empire. The idea that there was a game of telephone going on; and yet every single copy of the 4 gospels were unanimously attributed across Europe, North Africa, and Asia Minor from before 125 AD is ridiculous. ~There is no such thing as an anonymous Gospel.~ Not to mention both Matthew and John were apostles themselves. 2. ~170 AD: Theophilius of Antioch talked about the Trinity by name ~155 AD: Polycarp of Smyrna--"I praise [the Father] through Jesus Christ, with Him and the Holy Spirit be glory now and forever." ~110 AD: Ignatius of Antioch--"prosper in the Son, and in the Father, and in the Spirit" ~90 AD: John the Apostle, called Jesus God--"the Word was with God, and the Word was God." ~60 AD: St. Paul was calling Jesus God--"the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ." ~33 AD: Jesus--"baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit"

[@ByTheStorm]

@@jasonblalock4429 Depends on the congregation and the first century believer. If they’re the original followers? No. We don’t even know much about who they were as people in the historical record or what they truly believed. But they’re most likely Second Temple Jewish or at the least follow the laws. They likely wouldn’t agree much with their Jewish cousins either since Judaism has definitely changed somewhat as well. They wouldn’t really agree with pretty much anyone. Though it’d make for great entertainment once the language barrier is surpassed to cause peoples heads to explode or go into denial. It would certainly make churches even emptier.

[@killerqueen2498]

​@@jasonblalock4429bro has never read the Bible

[@XDKang]

This reminds me of a very interesting place I once encountered in the rural north of Japan that claims to be the true burial site of Jesus. According to believers, Jesus left the Levant in his youth and somehow navigated across the world in the 1st century to eventually arrive in Japan where he preached Christianity. He later returned, and during the time of his persecution by the Romans there was mention of a twin brother of his called 'Isukiri' who "casually took his place on the cross" while Jesus escaped to Japan once more to eventually settle and pass away peacefully there. Wild Bible fanfiction if you ask me, but learning about Thomas made me wonder how this apocrypha could have somehow promulgated in the far east...

[@psychedelicyeti6053]

I'm reading in the comments that some Muslims do believe Judas took Jesus's place on the cross. I wasn't sure if this was a wide spread belief. I interviewed a Muslim man over ten years ago, and this version stayed with me since I heard it from him, but I never knew if it was a common belief or not. Even when I tried looking into it a few years ago. This comment section is very interesting, especially how different cultures have similar ideas.

[@letsomethingshine]

Simon (hearing), whose name was changed to Cepheus(Rock), which in Latin is Peter (Rock) and close in sound to Piter (father) … it’s so literary it’s obvious.

[@mikeharrison1868]

Nestorian Christians certainly got to Tang China, and there was a relationship between China and Japan.

[@The_Conspiracy_Analyst]

Yeah I've heard people say "Jesus wasn't resurrected, it was his secret twin that fooled everyone haha". That's blasphemy though, which is the one unforgivable sin. It's also colossally stupid, because people would have KNOWN if he had a twin. Back then is not like now, where people are totally disconnected in a sea of anonymous people. Anyone that grew up in a village in like a third world country knows what I'm talking about. You have zero privacy and anonymity. Everyone knows what's going on.

[@pillow7672]

​@@psychedelicyeti6053Yes, all muslims believe that Judas is the one who died on the cross and that Jesus ascended to heaven to return at the end of time.

[@stelladet27]

It's incredible to me how complicated these early Christian traditions and how different they're are from our modern ideas of this religion

[@MadHatter42]

Studying the diversity of these early offshoots can be a great way of defamiliarizing the modern orthodoxy and looking at it with fresh perspective.

[@Ricca_Day]

Not so much complicated per se, but simply hadn’t been trimmed down and codified by the inevitable.. unenviable process of human expansion and editorial process that is accrued during the development of any belief system or longstanding Institutional. It’s truly fascinating to see how people fail to understand the fact that it’s been two thousand years since Jesus walked into the Judaean Narrative/Timeline.

[@offalleycomedy1121]

It’s odd how you think this is unique. Please stick to your studies.

[@ikengaspirit3063]

Rando fringe movements have always existed. You are comparing them to the norm religion and not to other Christian rando fringe movements like frankly, Mormonism or Some of the weirder Pentecostal sects.

[@GizzyDillespee]

Oh, it was complicated - maybe people are only aware of their little corner of interest. For example, I'm not so interested in gnostic cosmologies... but I glanced into that door, and OMG is it overly complicated and weird in there, IMO. And they were only contrasting 2 groups... but there were many more groups of gnostics, and many more Christians who weren't gnostics.

[@CatManThree]

Its always fascinating seeing different intepretations branching off, especially when they involve apocrypha centered around minor characters like this.

[@adams13245]

It's like fan fiction. Everyone in the fanbase has their own interpretation.

[@br.m]

It's been ages since I saw anyone bring up this "Jesus had a twin" heresy.

[@leminjapan]

​@@br.mif he did, that'd be extra uncool to Mary by God. Delivering twins in the modern age is hard enough! Doing it in a stable in winter? Eeshm

[@br.m]

@@leminjapan Hebrew women are vigorous.

[@crasnicul3371]

​@@adams13245apocryphas are fan fiction, the books that compile the new testament all have apostolic authority and are legitimate however.

[@jeanfalconer6377]

'Early Christian fanfiction' That's the best sentence I've heard in a while, love it😊😊😊😂

[@thetruextremeicon]

I hadn't even reached the point in the video where this was said but I was just about to comment about how a major world religion sprang up out of what basically amounted to an extensive fanfic literary universe.

[@br.m]

@@thetruextremeicon You are silly.

[@br.m]

@@xunqianbaidu6917 Fabulous! Thanks for that.

[@withlessAsbestos]

@@thetruextremeiconyeah Mormons are weird

[@Duiker36]

It's terribly fitting, since Christianity basically invented the idea of a canon.

[@micahjones7837]

When I knew little about the transmission of religion through history, I thought Christianity had always stayed constant throughout time. When I knew a little more, I realized that we have lost some of the original context of Christianity and reinterpreted it to fit our current ideas. Now I’m learning that since the very beginning of Christianity, Christians have been interpreting and reinterpreting the story of Jesus. It’s crazy how there has never been a static idea of who Jesus was or what he taught

[@faizalelric]

wkwkwkwk

[@Horvat04]

Wrong. The gospels are authentic, this is fantasy stuff from some groups way later. There are much more fake storys about jesus, read the quran. Historicaly unauthentic

[@whitebeans7292]

The story of Jesus has been static since ~100 AD. The earliest copies of the gospels we have are from ~125 AD, none of them are anonymous. The idea that there was a game of telephone going on; and yet every single copy of the 4 gospels were unanimously attributed across Europe, North Africa, and Asia Minor from before 125 AD is ridiculous. Additionally, even critics of Christianity from Rome said that we knew who the authors were. Celsus, 2nd-century Greek philosopher, does not attack the idea of Jesus existing, or that we did not even know who wrote the stories about Jesus. Instead, he says Jesus himself made up stories: “Let us imagine what a Jew - let alone a philosopher- might say to Jesus: ‘Is it not true, good sir, that you fabricated the story of your birth from a virgin to quiet rumours about the true and insavoury circumstances of your origins? Is it not the case that far from being born in the royal David’s city of bethlehem, you were born in a poor country town, and of a woman who earned her living by spinning?'"

[@curtisthomas2670]

Biggest change was the change from the Judaism which he taught to creation of a brand new religion divorced from the Judaism he taught

[@domcruise274]

@michajones7837 where are you getting your info? Basically every Athiest and Thiest historian disagrees with you. The meaning of the Bible is the same now as it was from the original manuscripts.

[@Veredek]

The section where one recognizes themselves as a "twin of Jesus" reminded me a lot of certain beliefs in Hinduism where ones Self is in actuality Shiva. Is it possible that those who cultivated Thomas as a central figure to Christianity did so from impulses eastward -- as you said, the Acts of Thomas had him travel to India. Great video as always!

[@bustedkeaton]

This is what I was thinking about too! Ive been very fulfilled following nondual Shaivism for some time, and its curious how this overlaps. Sri Ramakrishna became Christian for a time, and said these paths all lead to the divine.

[@Veredek]

@@bustedkeaton Thank you, yes! That is exactly what I was referring to, but just couldn't remember the name!

[@Lucifer_isthereal_god]

Gnostic Gospels do have alot of parallels to Hindu and Buddhist beliefs so it is highly possible the Thomasine Christians had influences(I also tend to believe Jesus himself was influenced by Hinduism and Buddhism).

[@AC-dk4fp]

There are similar ideas in the Egyptian Priestly/Professional initiation rituals that inspired the Greek Hermetica so there's really no reason to go to India. Mostly Indian parrellels just stand out because Indian thought is both relatively popular and highly exoticised/othered. Hindu Temple culture was probably imported from the Egypt/Syria/Babylon cultural continium (best evidence for this is lack of clear temple buildings in the Harrapan phase or Temple ideology in the Rig Veda) and the concept of divine doubles is kind of natural in 'idolatorous' cultures.

[@poppinc8145]

@@Lucifer_isthereal_god Jesus being influenced by Hinduism and Buddhism is very unlikely imo.

[@BloodWolfXZ]

I like to think all this started because Jesus and his buddy Thomas showed up to the market accidentally wearing the same robe and sandals, called each other "twinsies," and then a whole lot of future christians took it WAAAAAY out of context in the best way.

[@stevetournay6103]

I wonder what the Greek for "twinsies" is...😁

[@chronikhiles]

I'm from Chennai, and we do have a St Thomas Mount which is supposedly the burial site of Thomas. Despite the fact that there's no historical evidence of this, it is mind blowing that one of the Apostles is believed to be buried in my city according to Christian tradition and it's not that big of a deal here. xD

[@emilchandran546]

Last year I walked the Camino de Santiago. A pilgrimage to the burial place of St James the Apostle, according to tradition. I loved it, it was great. Not long after I visited family in India and we went to Chennai. They took me to the Basilica and I went down into the crypt to see the reliquary pray. Both amazing experiences. But it was hard not to think how funny it is that hundreds of people a day go to Santiago and Rome to see Saints Peter, Paul and James. But I was in Chennai and there were only about a dozen people in the Basilica where Saint Thomas is believed to have been laid to rest.

[@msdd7610]

@@emilchandran546 it's mostly down to eurocentrism. Most christians and most of christian history happened in Europe so European locations are generally more prominent

[@abc_cba]

​@@msdd7610most Christian history happened in Egypt, Ethiopia, Turkey, India, China, Persia and Arabia/Petra/Yemen. Europeans were alien to Christianity until 300 years until it's way better established in Asia and Africa way longer.

[@msdd7610]

@@abc_cba Most of the history didn't happen west of Syria, mostly in Israel, Turkey, Greece and Italy (and yeah ethiopia) there has been christianity in India, China and Persia but most of christian history didn't take place there.

[@abc_cba]

@@msdd7610 I am talking about the populace and not the mentions of the places.

[@ActiveAdvocate1]

Twins have always been HUGE in mythology: Lav and Kusha from the Ramayana, Shatruman and Lakshmana from same, Nakul and Sahadev from the Mahabharata, Remus and Romulus, Artemis and Apollo (it's rarer to have fraternal twins), Castor and Pollux, the Asvan Horse Twins, Tijus Keha and Tawis Karong in Huron mythology: you name me a Near Eastern mythology, I can probably name you a set of twins.

[@chronikhiles]

They're common in the mythologies that developed from the the Proto Indo European religion, which Christianity is not. It is interesting that twins exist in the big two Sanskrit epics: Nakula-Sahadeva in the Mahabharata and Lakshmana and Shatrughna in the Ramayana.

[@matthewungar601]

Esau and Jacob as well, obviously.

[@carlosalbuquerque22]

@@chronikhiles Divine Twins are not exclusive to PIE-derived religions: the Mayan god twins, Tezcatlipoca and Quetzalcoatl and various other examples in the Americas attest to that. Besides, Christiniaty was influenced by Greek religion and philosophy, which is IE.

[@digitaljanus]

It was hard enough for a singleton birth to survive and thrive in the eras where almost half of them died before age 5. For twins to survive was a rare feat indeed. Unsurprisingly, many cultures considered this either a miracle, a curse, or possibly both. Freyr and Freyja from Norse mythology are another set of fraternal twins.

[@LoudWaffle]

@@digitaljanus I forget where I heard this from but in many cultures, twins posed a huge problem for inheritance, which made them be seen as bad luck. That and the fact that you had actual clones running around just seems unnatural, so it's quite sensical that people would ascribe cosmological importance to twins in one way or another.

[@TheRishijoesanu]

I'm a St Thomas Catholic from South India. St Thomas is thought havs landed very close to my mom's ancestral home in the legendary port city of Muziris which attracted many Jewish traders. St Thomas Christians of Kerala goes by the name of "Nasranis" and is one of the oldest Christian community in the world

[@tryingtomakesenseoftheverse]

@religionforbreakfast can you do a vedik about this. I am very curious about the origin of “nasranis”

[@ahaansaccount8422]

@@tryingtomakesenseoftheverse Nasrani - Nazarene

[@breadandbrews]

NEW JESUS LORE JUST DROPPED LET'S GOOO

[@KTempestBradford]

This has me thinking about a parallel in ancient Egyptian culture: the Ka. It's often represented by a "twin" or mirror image of a person with the Ka symbol on their head. Since the Ka represents the spark of life and the spark of the divine in a person, it makes sense that it looks like the person. It's their divine twin! So interesting!

[@ashzole]

no. read what i wrote above. your following the wrong path

[@KTempestBradford]

@@ashzole huh? I'm confused. What path am I following?

[@ashzole]

@@KTempestBradford Your silly Ka and sparks of life. Wrong PATH to think and make a silly connection. I told you already to look at my other post. New comments.

[@KTempestBradford]

@@ashzole um. Are you okay? Your comments don't make much sense.

[@ashzole]

@@KTempestBradford dude, read my comments on the main thread, it explains everything EVERYTHING

[@LibraBlue1962]

"Blessed be Tommie for he kept the books while his brother ran the operation!"

[@JaykPuten]

I like the gospel of Thomas... I'm not a Christian, I'm Abrahamic(somewhere between Judaism, Christianity, and Islam) and of all the books not included as cannon, and even some that are, it's my favorite It doesn't feel like a gospel, but some of the sayings are very very useful to keep close to oneself, it's not Psalm level good, but it's definitely easy to see with tweaking how it would have been a "new testament" Psalms I wish it was part of some Christian churches gospels, or considered important enough for some to quote, maybe it's because my favorite canonical gospel is John Or maybe just because I like the sayings, as you needn't be of any faith to find them good and helpful, just as with Psalms As you needn't believe in something to love the ideas, be it from a religious book, a apocryphal religious book, a fictitious book in another universe, a biography,a rock song, or even a movie to find good words to hold close to your heart Like Bruce Lee said "be like water"

[@kayemni]

Out of curiosity, aren't Islam and Christianity completely irreconcilable? What is your middle between them?

[@Swampdragon102]

I love bible fanfiction. Always enjoy these episodes. It connects me with people from thousands of years ago, because it's just the same today. People get two voice lines and an item description and develop whole complex lore, theories and storylines off of that. It's just about games and movies instead of the bible.

[@reeyees50]

Sure "fanfiction" yup.....just that and nothing more 😅

[@TitaniusAnglesmith]

@@reeyees50 Are you trying to suggest that historically unproven scriptures are real?

[@TitaniusAnglesmith]

@@brant-sd8ui Such as? So many contratictions in the scriptures, as well as little supporting archeological evidence suggest most of what was written is pure fiction.

[@ReyFelipe00]

@@TitaniusAnglesmith How does one historically prove a text, religious or non religious? And can you explain the difference between a Biblical account of Jesus and a non Biblical account of Pontius Pilate, for example?

[@TitaniusAnglesmith]

@@ReyFelipe00 Mostly archeological evidence and corroborating accounts. We know that certain people, Pontus Pilatus, Jesus, Julius Caesar, for instance, existed and even know many of their actions. We can determine with a decent degree of certainty that they existed and did certain things. However, when there are many accounts that do not line up with eachother, we know that, at the least, that events did not take place as described. If 100 people see a crime and write down the same witness, it's more likely they are correct than the group that only gives verbal testimony and everyone gives a different description.

[@Vanquish.0909]

Always happy to see a post notification from your channel!

[@dafyddthomas6897]

I always assumed Thomas was Jesus' twin to fit Hercules and Iphicles, Castor and Pollux, Helen and Clytemnestra etc where one twin is divine and the other mortal But nickname, maybe Thomas was just some random guy who looked like Jesus, hence the nickname. Either way look-a-like explains the Judas kiss. When the Police arrest Jesus, He makes a big deal, "You saw me preaching in the Temple every day. Why didn't you arrest me then?" If Thomas looked the same as Jesus, then the Judas kiss becomes necessary

[@gunh4129]

Well, You're a bit off with the Police things in here. Because the one who arrested Yesus was Roman Soldiers, not Jew Police or something. Of course Romans would never come to the Temple.

[@federicoclavijo8798]

Al final una lógica verdad. Aún así cientos antes y después.... Truco Alienígena????👽

[@WorgenGrrl]

"Early Christian Fanfiction" So the Council of Nicia was the first JesusCon that had a group of panelists to determine which books about Jesus was to be considered Canon Lore.

[@spraffman]

No. The canon of Scripture was not decided at the Council of Nicaea.

[@theowlshowofficial9563]

You probably should have mentioned that in the Gospel of Thomas the apostles ask Jesus who should their leader be after he is gone and he specifically said James. I've often wondered about that. Since the Gospel of Thomas isn't specifically "gnostic" or some other heretical theology it's possible that is the reason it was left out of the "official" canon.

[@alanpennie8013]

Mark really doesn't seem to have liked James very much, and as we know he influenced all the later gospels. The canonical ones that is.

[@letsomethingshine]

The word “James” didn’t even exist in Jesus’ vocabulary if he ever existed. It would have been “Jacob” which is also the guy Yahweh changed the name from Jacob into Israel. It’s all theological marketing when you understand this.

[@Marcus419OO]

Maybe because all the eye witnesses were dead when it was written? Maybe that’s why it was disregarded. Before you go on a rabbit hole of conspiracy theory question the reasoning of why the other gospels are accepted and then use that measure to judge any other book. I know it’s fun to make stuff up but nothing in the gospels is made up. It’s historically reliable and doesn’t contradict one another’s testimony. Different perspectives but Jesus has the same message. The gospels are eye witness testimony of people that actually were with Jesus.

[@theowlshowofficial9563]

@marcusreichert8566 all the Gospels are "made up". Fiction. Frauds. Maybe before you invest yourself and believe obvious BS written by ignorant clowns that you don't have a clue about you should go down a "rabbit hole" of research and investigation. But I guess you don't have to bother since you already have the so-called "answers" without bothering.🙄

[@timseguine2]

​@@Marcus419OO The earliest physical manuscripts we have of any of the gospel date from the second century. That is: "all the eye witnesses were dead when it was written" Also even canonically Paul never actually met Jesus while he was alive. So calling that an eye witness testimony is a bit of a stretch. Also: They contradict each other's testimony constantly. You can find extensive lists of the places where they contradict each other, even for central stories like the passion and the resurrection.

[@theloafabread4341]

All the proof of God I need is the fact that we get access to this caliber of superb educational content for FREE 🙌🏻 Awesome video as usual

[@aazhie]

Blessing the algorithm with commentary is the True Way :]

[@serversurfer6169]

I think you're on the right track! ✊🤓

[@stevenfortier6436]

You're being led away from the truth with this message. Jesus was the 6 son of the most high.

[@Crossword131]

This seems to explain a number of etymological questions I've had. I'm going to watch this again and rejoice if it indeed leads me where I need to go. THANK YOU SO MUCH.

[@gawayne1374]

Wait, I've been taught brother is the same word as cousin in Aramaic, with a few examples found also in the Old testament of people calling each other brothers when they are simply blood relatives.

[@MrSophire]

Yup

[@gusjackson3658]

@@gawayne1374 same in Russia. No word for cousin.

[@Rodoadrenalina]

I think he wasnt a literal twin, but a brother that really came out just like Jesus, everyone has seen siblings like that, so its interesting to see how they treat this

[@TheInterestedObserver]

Tomas literally means twin, It's unambiguous, not a oh wow you look alike, of course they looked alike they were all brothers.. His brothers were Jacob/Yakov which for some reason they translate as James, Shimon/Simeon who everyone calls Peter. Joseph again hellenized as Joses and finally his twin brother Judah changed to Judas or Jude. Both Joshua (hellenized as Jesus) and Judah would have been known as twin, in the same way we would call both twins we know 'twin' as well as their actual names now. The brothers. Joshua, Judah, Jacob, Shimon, were the leaders of a sect of ultra orthodox Torah observance from Arabia. Living in a commune nicknamed 'The Poor' dedicated the brothers dedicated their lives to Torah and pop up in all sorts of extra-biblical sources that are remarkable in the sense that they all seem to not only challenge the Gospel narrative but agree with each other in certain senses. Some things can be extrapolated from this. Joshua/Jesus' ''disciples' were basically his brothers initially & eventually many more. Their hometown was in the South, Arabian Desert. They may have spent time in all of Egypt, Iraq, Iran, India all of which had thriving Torah observant Jewish communities. They were related to and married into wealthy and influential families in the Levant. Both Joshua & Jacob became high priests as stated by both Josephus and the Talmud. There are many Joshua/Jesuses at the time as it was a popular messianic name. Josephus names about 20. IT appears that the gospel writers amalgamated a number of these into their character version of Jesus The Christ. Joshua and Judah as twins are a clear motif to previous literary twins/brothers like Cain/Abel, Jacob/Esau, Romulus/Remus, Enki/Enlil signifying good/evil, heaven/underworld, city/nomad, farmer/hunter as well as gnostic teachings of spiritual duality. It's all made up nonsense tagged onto snippets of myth and legend, bundled into something ritualistic as the basis of a theological way of life. The perennial search for meaning by lost souls.

[@VictorianTimeTraveler]

James always lived in his brother's shadow, he was like the dollar store Jesus... he had sort of an off-brand divinity

[@ByTheStorm]

So like the Aldi brand Jesus called Jeshooah?

[@anthonybird546]

The Life of Brian

[@alanpennie8013]

He got to live a much longer life, so there's that.

[@robinfeatherhead]

"we have jesus at home" the jesus at home:

[@madeirafonseca6383]

Did he get hanged on a Dollar Tree?

[@mohawkcub]

Happy to see the name tag joke/visual aid continued.

[@brucetownsend691]

The originally androgynous nature of Adam “the first man” is obscured in the English bible by the mistranslation of the story in Genesis about how God created Eve. The word which is rib does not mean rib but side. Thus the story in the Hebrew bible is how god took one side of Adam and made it into a separate female person. Adam lost his feminine side and became just male. I found the ideas, about humans originally being androgynous beings of light discussed in this video very interesting as they appear to fuse Greek ideas about us being beings of the light with Hebrew ideas about our originally androgynous nature.

[@carolynsilvers9999]

Also when translation says Adam became a living soul. In Hebrew is didn't say soul, rather a word that means sentient.

[@whitebeans7292]

The book of Genesis does not support that idea in Hebrew, it's not a translation error. For example, the verb "he would call" [יקרא] starts with [ י ], or yode, which denotes a male actor. This is in the sentence "and brought them unto Adam to see what he would call them." The reason Eve was taken from the side of Adam is to denote equality and complementarity with Adam. Also, the rest of Genesis just does not support that idea in any language: "male and female He created them." Genesis 1:27 "she shall be called ‘woman,’ [ישה, Female] for she was taken out of man. [איש, Male]” - Genesis 2:23 In this sentence the word "Aish" is specifically used to denote she was taken out of a male, not just mankind in general (which would have been "Ha-Adam")

[@brucetownsend691]

@@whitebeans7292 The androgynous nature of Adam is inherent in the story. Eve is fashioned from a part of Adam. Her femininity is not new but comes from the part of Adam which was taken to fashion her.

[@whitebeans7292]

@@brucetownsend691 That is not grammatically supported in the text, nor is it supported by the narrative. "God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth" -- You need a man and a woman for reproduction. If Adam had femininity inside him from the beginning, he would not have been lonely -- "it is not good for man to be alone." This also does not make sense in light of Jesus, the new Adam. The Church came from the side of Jesus on the Cross in blood and water, just like Eve came from Adam. And Jesus says Adam was originally a man and designed to be a man: "Have you not read that he who created them **from the beginning** made them male and female" - Matthew 19:4 You are reading into the text things that are not there.

[@brucetownsend691]

@@whitebeans7292 Grammatically masculine gender markers do not preclude androgyny. For example the Greek Dionysos is grammatically masculine yet is androgynous. There is no uniquely androgynous gender available. Your arguments are theological from an orthodox Christian perspective rather than textual as is evident by your reference to the New Testament as a guide to what the meaning of an Old Testament passage is.

[@ashliecameron492]

I LOLed at the “early Christian fan fiction” reference. Very informative. Thanks!

[@fabrisseterbrugghe8567]

I went to Catholic schools, and there were all sorts of statements that the word brother -- referring to James or Jude -- really meant cousin because Mary was "ever virgin." As a Protestant, I found it both funny and puzzling. I liked this video.

[@user61512]

A virgin can become pregnant through IVF.

[@wergthy6392]

@@user61512 not sure they had that 2000 years ago

[@ccvcharger]

Seems like I’ve heard of that interpretation before, but growing up Baptist, I always knew it as coming from one of the other denominations and therefore being “wrong.” I can honestly see why Mary having other sons might be troubling for the theology of a sect that venerates her for her purity, though it strikes me as odd because why would they describe them as brothers when they mean cousins if they described John the Baptist as his cousin?

[@ikengaspirit3063]

Well, it is possible but I think it is less likely.

[@TiroDvD]

Kinship terms in various language families: kzbin.info/www/bejne/j4DMY5ZomZiSgs0

[@psychedelicyeti6053]

When I was learning about Islam, over 10 years ago, I went to a mosque and interviewed someone. Not sure how many people actually believe this, but at least this person I interviewed believed Judas was Jesus's look-a-like. He used the word "twin", but they are not blood related. He believed Judas felt guilty he betrayed Jesus, and Judas took his place at the cross so that Jesus could escape and live the rest of his life in secret. That always stuck with me.

[@ShadowSis]

Yes, the Quran says that not Jesus, but a man looking like him was killed (4:157). It does not say it was Judas, I'm afraid that is muslim fanfic inspired by the bible.

[@berranari1]

Nice story. But for that to happen, the Roman guards would have to be in on it or at least bribed. It does explain what the Buddhists in India say. That Jesus (Jeshua) ended up dying in India at an old age. They even say that he spent his missing teenage years in India, that the three wise men were Buddhist scholars who predicted his birth with Astronomy and that the name he later used in India was given to him by people in Persia as he travelled to India from the middle east. The story is plausible because in the Bible, Judas does die. The main thing is the wisdom that Jesus tried to tell people. Whether he was Indian / Jewish / lived on or died is not that important. Personally, I find the India story less offensive than the story that he went to France. The most interesting thing is whether Jesus ever actually existed. Some believe he didn't, some believe he did. This is why I find Thomas so interesting. Do Indian people remember Thomas going to India? I mean, are there any historical records of this in India? The labelling of St Thomas as "the doubter" is some kind of anti-Thomas propaganda. I am very interested in anything about Thomas Didymus Judas (St Thomas). According to the Bible Thomas had to inspect the wound. So that he could believe. Logically, if Jesus and Judas faked it, Jesus would have left as soon as possible, not been hanging around there days later. But you can't believe everything in scripture. Originally Muslims believed in Jesus. For some reason this changed. Believing in him and worshiping him was where Islam split from Christianity. Now I have learned that there is a trinity at the heart of Hinduism. Interesting ...

[@israahmad1981]

@@berranari1 muslims still believe in Jesus peace be upon him, as a messiah, not a God. Christians worship Jesus PBUH. Muslims follow Jesus’s PBUH message alongside the other prophets. Thats the difference.

[@berranari1]

@@israahmad1981 I am starting to agree with that position personally. After all we are all children of God.

[@maverick7291]

​@@berranari1 considering that Islams quaran is a badly written and crudely plagerised version of of the old and new testament. And the holy Bible is very detailed compared to the small and very confusing and conflicting quaran. Then maybe you should drive deeper in both books do research on each of them where certain subjects come from and ask questions like "why is the quaran not in chronological order? Why in the holy Bible does Jesus Christ call himself the son of man? Where else in Arabia were there other fringe sects that viewed Jesus Christ not as God prior to Islam? And why did Mohammed/Allah seem to change opinions constantly?" There are many more but if you use critical thinking and good judgement you'll see a clearer understanding of which one is the one true faith.

[@grant.5345]

Everytime I watch one of these videos I am reminded of the joy of academic study and how one should apply themselves to learning. This is an incredible channel and I am so glad I stumbled upon it.

[@jasonblalock4429]

Not directly related, but I find it funny-awesome that "fanfiction" has apparently become a standard comparison in analyzing ancient texts and their impact. I mean, it makes perfect sense, but it's still interesting that such a niche geeky term has migrated into academic discourse.

[@edwinjose4297]

I am from the St Thomas Christian community (Nasranis)in Kerala, India and i can confirm that St Thomas is considered as a hero of faith in contrary to the doubting Thomas western theory. As the liturgical language of our church is Syriac, Thoma literally translates to Twin. It is believed by Kerala Christians that St Thomas looked like Jesus and even considered as a twin. There is a story where it says Mother Mary loved St Thomas more than other apostle's as he looked like Jesus therefore before her Dormition she appeared to Thomas in India and gave her Girdle to him.

[@TurtleMarcus]

The Thomasine teaching of twins is something we see in Valentinianism (a Gnostic branch of Christianity), where the heavenly marriage between your soul and your angel counterpart is salvation itself.

[@stevenfortier6436]

In Deuteronomy 4:2 Moses declares, “You shall not add to the word which I am commanding you, nor take away from it, that you may keep the commands of the Lord your God which I command you.” The only way in which we can rightly “keep” God's commands is to not add or subtract from his word

[@dane_with_swag]

10:38 can you please give a reference to the belief that humans preexisted as beings of light? That's quite interesting

[@willd4686]

As a kid I came up with the idea that Jesus was basically just doing the prestige.

[@Raph584]

Pontius Pilate : "This is getting out of hand! Now, there are two of them!"

[@alanpennie8013]

Everyone standing up and declaring, "I am Jesus". Pilate: "This is too much. The court is adjourned. Come back when you're all sober."

[@jmanj3917]

9:04 This is the first time I've heard about this in such depth. Thank you.

[@Lordlaneus]

I had no idea that Rimmer's religion in Red Dwarf actually had historic grounding.

[@ngonfinda9606]

My name is Thomas but strangers all ways call me Jesus maybe its time people start worshipping me religiously

[@hackman669]

Attention seeker 😒

[@wednesdayschild3627]

This is very creative. I am pretty sure I am doubting Thomas's fraternal twin. In Greek, brother means relative. In the Odyssey, we know that Odysseus is an only son. He does have a sister. Yet, the Osysseus crewmen are called his brothers. Some Eastern Christians think Jude and James are Joseph's children. I think the term brother is just like we call someone's friends homeboy or homie.

[@thescoobymike]

12:15 non-binary representation in ancient Christian texts is not something modern Christians would accept

[@londynharris-elzein]

I’m so struck by that verse from the Gospel of Thomas chap. 22, speaking on duality and oneness. These ideas are universal truths that we see repeated throughout so many other religions (especially those from South Asia)

[@actuallytom]

Me too! This union of opposites has also become central in Jungian psychology, it's the path to becoming One's Self

[@Dr-Jesus]

No

[@GaviLazan]

If Jesus had an identical twin brother, that could explain (and complicate) the whole "Jesus was resurrected" story. If it was just his brother that everyone saw, that could explain many of the revelation stories.

[@ikengaspirit3063]

Okay, okay. His "Twin" wasn't some mysterious hidden twin that's been in Albion for the 12 years and got back stowing away on a ship. His "Twin" was literally a disciple of his and according to John, also interacted with the risen him. Do you really think people are gonna mistake an adult they've seen near another adult a thousand times even after having close personal conversations?.

[@GaviLazan]

@@ikengaspirit3063 I have twin friends who AREN'T identical (though they look similar) and people who have known them for years, but who aren't that close with them, still confuse them sometimes. Also, seeing someone from a distance, etc. can also make a difference. No one is saying that all of the stories are all 100% accurate. This could still explain some things.

[@ikengaspirit3063]

@@GaviLazan And how many of the stories are about seeing some guy from a distance?. One is about meeting, traveling with and then logging for a while with disciples. Another is about meeting his apostles so closely that Thomas could stick his hand in Jesus' stomach, another is fishing with Peter and the apostles. These are people that knew well, personal appearances and expressing awareness of some of the clear(not vague like slightly different facial muscles, which people do notice) differences that would exist between twins like a huge scar/wound on the stomach. This doesn't work, at all.

[@BalderOdinson]

It's interesting to me that some of the quotes calling Thomas "Jesus's Twin Brother" could just mean he's Jesus's brother and a twin. Doesn't necessarily mean Jesus was the other twin. At least that's a possible modern English vernacular reading. Of course, some of those quotes are more direct. I wonder how ancient Greek and Aramaic siblings of twins spoke of them...

[@fZM0OY]

I read the Bible in Latin and I didn’t ever pick up the twin meanings in the name because it doesn’t translate the same way (not specifically what you asked but it’s a different translation lol)

[@BalderOdinson]

@@fZM0OY We don't usually pick it up in English translations either.

[@ajplays-gamesandmusic4568]

I love that you used the term "Christian Fanfic". I've been using that term for years to refer to The Book of Mormon.

[@adrianinha19]

Thinking as an early church father, it would not be so convenient to have Thomas as a twin, it wouldn't be so hard to draw a paralel between Jacob and Esau, with Jesus being Jacob and Esau Thomas. In this case, Thomas would not be be a redemeed Esau, but he could be interpreted as anti-christ, and be worship as a living god. Maybe I'm reading too much into it, but it would also present issues with the nativity narrative since we don't have any details on the cannonical gospels talking about two babies being born at once. Maybe Thomas was born like a year later and he did look a lot alike, hence the nickname, without being his actual twin? Well, all that assuming that there was a historical Jesus with a bunch of brothers all running around after him.

[@shelleysinger56]

As a Christian, my interpretation of 12:21 is, he’s relating us to our Christlike spirit. Also, the marriage, it’s referring to how during marriage you should be yoked together as one.

[@shelleysinger56]

The Christian like spirit comes from that feeling of knowing that you are doing some thing you do not want to be doing, despite it feeling good for your flesh in the moment. Like excessive, drinking or any other distraction/ addiction to cope with serious issues.

[@TransKidRevolution]

Okey dokey😒

[@copernicub]

Muslims believes that a man in likeness of Jesus (pbuh) got crucified and Jesus (pbuh) still alive next to God and the angles, and he's gonna come back in the end of times.

[@Nosferatunosophoros]

How come no one told me this?

[@makkam-ty7jq]

Im considering Islam now

[@gsparrowtnt5975]

very interesting, Rudolf Steiners books about his vision from the so called akasha records he notes that there where indeed two Jesus (children)

[@edward1412]

That’s NOT what the Quran teaches though. According to the Quran, the crucifixion was MADE TO APPEAR SO to them. It seems Muslims started interpreting this as a replacement, which the Gnostics believed before Islam.

[@edward1412]

@@makkam-ty7jq You really believe Jesus literally had a twin brother and he was the one crucified in place of Jesus? 🤦🏻‍♂️🤦🏻‍♂️🤦🏻‍♂️

[@mexisoad]

The Gospels of Thomas should be mainstream again. The epitome of Christianity. Also it really channels into the esoteric side of the bible which intrigues me more than anything.

[@yolkcheeks]

It would be interesting to compare cultures & traditions where Thomas is considered a twin with the non-christian religious traditions in the same area, particularly looking at if the Divine Twins archetype is also present! I mean, we know that a temple to Castor & Pollux was converted to the Basilica of Cosmas & Damian, but they weren't martyred until the turn of the fourth century IIRC.

[@LCR-iy6xq]

Early Christianity weirdness is my sauce. Thank you Andrew!

[@StephtheGD]

Good to know the “Draco in leather pants” trope is 2000 years old! 🤣

[@bdwon]

Your best line was at 3:17! The line starting "if you know anything . . . "! It is a hilarious line. If your students aren't laughing in the aisles during your lectures, I won't understand why!

[@brianplank5905]

It warrants a chuckle but nothing more

[@ashzole]

he is saying subliminally in the time frame you gave 3:17. If you know… what in that time frame you gave, what message do you see. hint: cananitte god. do you see it, if not THEN YOU KNOW NOTHING

[@Doubtlessly]

I always assumed, without necessarily being told, that the sect associated with the gospel of Thomas under-emphasized the resurrection as important to Jesus’s story, which is why the later John gospel does a character assassination of Thomas … maybe I’m reading too much into it???

[@DoloresJNurss]

The problem with Thomas being a literal twin is the logistics of Mary's pregnancy. In order for one twin to be divinely conceived and one ordinarily conceived, Mary would have had to have not been a virgin. I think it's more likely that he was someone who resembled Jesus enough to have been frequently mistaken for him when seen up close--maybe even his half-brother.

[@celtofcanaanesurix2245]

I wonder if this isn't a reflection of the indo-european horse twin cult, in which one child was the son of a god (usually the sky father) and the other was his mortal twin brother, and both would be heroes of great renown. Castor and Pollux was one example, Hengist and Horsa is probably another, and the Ashvins are the indian reflex.

[@Myself23512]

I wonder if they imagined that Tomas was also born without a human father and preceded creation.

[@mickeydecurious]

What??! Never heard that🤯 OMG poor Mary 😅

[@desiderata8811]

If he was Jesus twin, he had no mortal father, meaning god knocked Mary up only once

[@tek.s]

This is such an evocative subject matter! The notions about our place as primordial beings "made of light" feels particularly reminiscent of Eastern philosophies as well as modern perceptions of the afterlife, especially related to the psychedelic movement. The idea of Oneness, the idea of life inherently being the nexus of suffering and that our return to the Oneness will allow us to escape it. Great video RFB!

[@CampingforCool41]

Yeah I was surprised to hear that was a popular belief all the way back then, it sounds exactly like what many people who have had nde's describe.

[@SaintHeretik]

@@CampingforCool41 Early Syrian Christians high on mushrooms xD

[@letsomethingshine]

Manechaism was huge at the time. Mani spent a lot of his family’s wealth and personal charisma pushing it so far it almost took over Buddhism and Augustine converted away from it because Manichaeism was too vegan and personally useless to gain social power against another.

[@vivekbhat2784]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/qKeYmIaEhr1lg9U

[@emmagrace6396]

That's all related to gnosticism, which the Church recognized as heretical because it denied the goodness of physical reality. The gnostics also denied that Jesus was was fully human because God can't become part of nasty dirty physical reality. But Christians always believed in the incarnation and the physical resurrection of christ, and that after the judgement the dead will be raised into new bodies like christ was. This was what made Christianity much more unique; it was and is incarnational. God's plan was not for us to escape this world, but to redeem and remake it.

[@noone3216]

As far as I understand the bible (raised in a Christian home with emphasis on bible study), jesus had at least 7 siblings. Matthew 13:55,56 states: "Is this not the carpenter Joseph’s son? Is not his mother called Mary? And are not his brothers James and Joseph and Simon and Judas? "And are not all his sisters with us? Where then did this man get all these things?" Oh, ok you do mention that scripture, from Mark. But yes, the very next verse also mentions him having sisters as well as brothers.

[@RhondaFizzleflint]

It's Arnold Schwarzenegger and Danny deVito all over again.

[@hackman669]

Blind sheep 🐑. 🐑 Haha 😄🤣😂

[@reppepper]

It doesn’t beg the question. It raises the question. Begging the question refers to circular reasoning.

[@christopherwitecki6649]

Brother is used in many different ways.

[@drewdycus7785]

As always, thank you for this video. It makes me wonder how much this concept has influenced modern Christianity without it ever being explicitly spoken about.

[@aveuch]

Wouldn't an identical twin make it several times easier to rise from the dead?

Robyn Walsh is speaking at Insights. No way. Her scholarship is incredible. That alone is worth the price of admission.

[@vjara94]

Being raised in an catholic house, I can say that people were oddly specific about this topic (their interpretation is Jesus didn't have any siblings).. Obviously, there was never room for discussion, just the idea implanted and reinforced.

[@whitebeans7292]

If Jesus did have siblings, he couldn't have given Mary to John the Apostle while he was on the cross. It was the legal duty of the sons of widows to take care of her. That alone is extremely strong evidence that Jesus did not have any siblings. Secondly, Jews used the word "brother" to mean any type of relative. For example, Abraham calls Lot his brother in Genesis even though Lot is his nephew. So while saying "the brothers and sisters of Jesus" allows for the idea that Jesus had siblings, it doesn't actually mean he did. He just ~could have~ based on that sentence alone.

[@spraffman]

​@@whitebeans7292The data given across the four gospels suggests that the "brothers and sisters" of Jesus were not the children of Mary, as they are most likely the children of Mary of Clopas/Alphaeus

[@vjara94]

@@whitebeans7292 and how do you explain there being a twin? That's not something you can take out of context that easily to fit your narrative

[@ZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA1]

Funny to think that the whole resurrection story might just have been an elaborate twin-prank that got waaay out of control 🙄

[@mrwillard95]

This channel never misses!! Even with subjects I dont find interetsting I always watch and leave with soem interest or knowledge gained

[@tecpaocelotl]

Interesting. One question. Is that why some Mexicans and Central Americans believe he had a twin or is it bc of the hero twins of Mayan belief system?

[@hackman669]

Yep😄

[@billbadson7598]

8:17 _"All three of these text emphasize that Thomas had access to secret knowledge."_ Gnostic texts, disregard.

[@aldiboronti]

So people report seeing Jesus after his death and we learn from some sources that he may have had an identical twin. Food for thought there. Could these two things be connected?

[@br.m]

No. Just more thieves, liars and demoniacs at play.

[@br.m]

@@k1_w3 There is no Gospel of Thomas. And good news that Thomas could bring is the gospel of Jesus. The gospel according to Thomas is not real just like the obvious lies claiming a twin Jesus. It's heresy. Something that loser demoniacs spread around.

[@affanshaikh8492]

Can someone share the source for 10:35 please?! I would like to look into it further as it is also mentioned in the Qur'an that God created humans (or their souls as beings of light) before giving them a human body.... So it'd would be interesting to cross reference it with other beliefs

[@tamelo]

That reminds me of Star Wars lore before the prequals. There were people who believed uncle Owen was Obi-Wan brother,not Anakin's. And there were many fanfics about their relation.

[@zsbendary]

Interesting! In Isl we believe that Isa (Jesus) was not killed but they killed someone else who looks like him. Quran; chapter 4 verse 157 - could this one be Thomas?

[@edward1412]

The Quran only repeated what the Gnostics believed before Islam about the crucifixion.

[@Ellis307]

I know you’ve got to do your thing and cover a range of subjects but for whatever reason, your early Christianity videos always seem the strongest and draw me in the most. Was it your research speciality?

[@BaldingClamydia]

There's a channel called Crecganford that goes into a lot of mythology, and divine twins are a staple in old myths. I wouldn't be surprised if Jesus fit the divine twin trope

[@kuroazrem5376]

Some Muslims believe a man (maybe Judas) was crucified instead of Jesus. Maybe it was Judas Thomas?

[@psychedelicyeti6053]

Yes, someone told me his belief is that Judas took his place for his betrayal.

[@joshuam4993]

Yes he had a twin Twin the spiritual double or an actual twin? Both. Thomas or JUDAH KHRESTUS. The current version of Christianity 15:08 is actually a synthesis of BOTH.

[@MusicalRaichu]

There was Thomism in the medieval church as well.

[@hackman669]

So little bro started his own cult. 😆😁😄

[@MusicalRaichu]

@@hackman669 it's a joke, different thomas lol

[@mrwillard95]

I love to learn more about the how we are/were beings of light and other related subjects pertaining to some primordial form or existence. So where is a good place to start? What are some suggestions to try and learn about such subjects?

[@Evilgood1]

This has some interesting parallels with the Indo-European divine twins theme

[@hackman669]

Westerners copying Asians. 😁

[@reeyees50]

Excuse me but the middle east IS IN ASIA

[@RelativelyBest]

Huh. So, if Jesus and Thomas were identical twins, and Jesus was the product of immaculate conception, wouldn't that mean Thomas's conception would have been immaculate as well? I mean, unlike the other children of Mary and Josef that nobody really cares about, Thomas _had_ to have been sired by God directly what with Mary being a virgin at the time. That's kind of a huge implication, and I'd love to know what the people who believed in this narrative thought about it.

[@jmanj3917]

3:16 My guess, based solely upon being a human being, is that maybe he looked like Jesus (or possibly another member of the group), so they gave him the nickname of The Twin. Why not? I served with someone who was a dead ringer for our squad leader...a bit smaller, though...so I called him Junior. And the name stuck.

[@Thomas-xd4cx]

Junior means descendant, twin means equal. Remember we are speaking of Jesus Christ here. It’s not a fitting dichotomy in this case.

[@johnmayer8438]

10:18 When you see your likeness, you rejoice This first line deals with the mistaken view of self, the illusion of ego. But when you see your images which come into being for you, and which neither die, nor become manifest how much you will have to bear This second line deals with thoughts and thinking Thoughts appear and disappear.😮 Jesus is asking us to turn inwards and recognise the transient nature of the ‘Self’ All the teachings of Thomas Gosepel are pointing at ‘no self’

[@seanmurphy7011]

3:17 - so apocryphal Christian literature is the original Star Wars EU?

[@miketacos9034]

14:02 hmm this reminds me of the stories of Sufi mystics who would proclaim they were God, or use “I” and say things about God, perhaps in a way of uniting themselves into God.

[@miketacos9034]

Also it kinda fits in with Hindu ideas of reuniting with Moksha which might be why Thomas is popular in India (if I understand Brahman correctly).

[@mickeydecurious]

The New testament and Jesus and his ministry is a fascinating subject and makes me wonder how much or how many scraps of parchment the Catholic church is hiding in the Vatican🤔 Because I realize that them books have been canonized in no order in which to control the population within a conformist belief system, which splintered off into the various sects of Christianity; besides if religion is supposed to be a personal relationship between you and your god of your understanding, why conform instead of searching🤷

[@mickeydecurious]

@@xunqianbaidu6917 Then again how are we supposed to know it's only for the Evangelical thing to have a personal relationship, especially seeing how I've heard it out of other denominations of Christians... I think religion oughta be kept private in your closet which means not a group thing, but a personal endeavor🤔 I never been one for groups though 🤷

[@mickeydecurious]

@@xunqianbaidu6917 I really don't care if their denomination, or not They're really evil angels posing as a group of religious people in order to twist turn demon eyes and abused people; just like gets always been from the church, it's always going to be from the church look with the conservatives are doing to the lgbtq Community, because they think their God and they can make the decision for God 🤔

[@apollion888]

Videos like these are why I am happy I subscribed, thank you

[@chandrajitkarmakar2333]

Could you make videos on Hinduism.

[@TheArmchairPriest]

•Brahman = YHWH (EL) •Vishnu = michaEL •Shiva = samaEL •Isha Putra = Yeshua HaMashiach

[@BuluBhoi-u3h]

you tum hindu ho isliye Aisa bol rahe ho ​@@TheArmchairPriest

[@AIagremm]

Has it ever been explained how the early Thomasine tradition may have influenced the "Saint Thomas Christians" of India? Despite their claims of descent from the Thomasine community, it does not seem they have in any way preserved any early scripture based around Thomas, such as the Gospel of Thomas or the Acts of Thomas.

[@--Paws--]

Didn't know fan-fiction and spin-offs were a popular early Christian tradtion back then.

[@imjessietr29]

Much of the Bible is fan fiction to itself.

[@threestars2164]

I am another secret twin of Jesus. There's me, Jesus, our brother Hong Xiuquan, and the youngest of us Isukiri.

[@GojiMet86]

Would be curious to see how Christians and their Christian churches and sects react if it was for proven beyond doubt that James was indeed a brother (not a cousin) AND that Thomas was as well. It would be such a contradiction to prior teachings (or lack of). It could really be a Buzz Lightyear "Years of academy training wasted" moment.

[@Godblest1]

Well for one thing my man here already confirmed that most historians do believe Jesus has a bro named James (not a cousin) which already lines up with what Christians already believe. As for any historical proof contradicting bla bla bla the reality is that faith doesn't work like that. Faith is essentially evidence that's not material bubbling up from within you that the path you are on is true cuz what you have heretofore experienced is real. Tldr; if any proof supposedly contradicting the Bible is found Christians will think, "do I believe human scholars or do I believe God?" And they will choose God every time.

[@lowenzahn3976]

Believers are usually not bothered about contradictions.

[@metakaolin]

they'd find a way to rationalize it away, don't worry

[@GhostThepit]

​@@lowenzahn3976 that's a lie anytime I have pointed out contradictions in the Bible I get a bunch of not soo nice things said about me or they start pointing out other texts in the Bible that has nothing to do with the text I'm talking about

[@andrewsuryali8540]

They would just include Protoevangelion Jacobii, the Gospel of Thomas, and the Acts of Thomas in the New New Testament. It's literally already thought of.

[@harijotkhalsa9496]

I met someone who told me they spent time at a temple in India that had a statue of the bust of Jesus. The caretakers pointed out portion of the land outside that was concave and said there was a miracle of Jesus that happened when he meditated there which caused the land to collapse. After watching this I have a theory that Thomas went to India as another form of Christ.

[@Peanutjoepap24]

How on earth did I never know Jesus had a brother at all?? 10 years of catholic school and this is the first I’m hearing of either of them.

[@Nate.De.Lajas1]

Because he didn't. The word for brother used in the gospels is very vague. It means brethren, which could refer to cousins or even step-brothers. Cause earliest christian tradition and belief states that Mary stayed a virgin and Jesus had no brothers.

[@thetruextremeicon]

Because there is a big difference between studying religions and how they develop versus being taught whatever doctrine the institution wants you to know.

[@chefchaudard3580]

Jesus brothers are listed in the Gospels, Paul of Tarsus cites « James, the brother of the Lord ». And Josephus, the Jewish historian says that this James was Jesus brother. Sources in the video. And the word used in Greek, adelphos, actually means brother, not cousin or brethren (there are other words for that).

[@ikengaspirit3063]

Catholics interprete it as Cousin Brother or Half brother, that's probably why.

[@whitebeans7292]

@@chefchaudard3580 If Jesus had a brother he couldn't have given Mary to John while he was on the cross. It was the legal obligation of any sons to take care of their widowed mother in jewish law, per the commandment "honor thy father and mother." Therefore any one of his brothers, not John, would have been required to "take Mary into his home." Also Jewish people called each other brothers even if they were only relatives. Abraham calls Lot his brother even though Lot is his nephew. Lastly, St. Paul writes, “[Jesus] appeared to more than five hundred…brothers at the same time” (1 Cor. 15:6), in no way does this mean Mary gave birth to 500. And Paul was writing in Greek!

[@TonksMoriarty]

I'm kinda flabbergasted that Red Dwarf referenced this in an episode somewhat accurately even including the link to India!