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Reading Acts of Thomas:
with
special consideration of its sexual ethic
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| Intro | Who Wrote Acts of Thomas? | What is the context of the author? | What is the context of Acts of Thomas? | What is the genre of AofT | Things not discussed in AofT | What is the purpose of AofT? | Conclusion |
What is the purpose of AofT, and who is its audience?
The book is not titled –Thomas Judas Didymos saint and apostle of The Way: - a biography, but rather more humbly, Acts of Thomas the Apostle. From the title the book appears to be an account of acts of St. Thomas.
One seeming sub-purpose, or dual purpose, of the book is to provide us insight to the early history of the church in India –early, from the author’s point of view. As a forty-five year old man, Xenophon probably looked back to his 18th year when he met the saint shortly after the Church started in India. He notes how the younger generation of devotees, hundreds or perhaps thousands of them, are not appreciative of the history of the movement. After all, three kings have been and gone, a war in between, and a new national ethic was in place. It is twenty-five years since the great earthquake and the new city is built, with modern things, and is expanding. The kingdom is overrun with foreigners from China and hordes of new languages and faces are all about. The great Gondophares and the dear Suren family are all forgotten and pushed aside to make place for modern things. Their dear friend, father, brother, and most excellent Teacher Thomas is almost an unknown entity as the congregations grow in his absence (he is ministering in the south). And the idea to write the Acts of Thomas comes to Xenophon’s mind and heart.
The book, Acts of Yesu our Lord and Saviour, recorded by Siphor, already circulated widely and was available in various languages. Many youngsters in the Church probably thought that the Church had been around north India since the Lord passed through there. An Acts of Thomas would be a good compliment to that history to show how Wayism became a religion.
Another sub-purpose we postulate is that Xenophon and Siphor’s respective places in the organisation needed to be justified, perhaps to the royal court or to the new initiates. Xenophon introduces himself in the third chapter, probably written during a time when Senior Council did not enjoy royal support - such a time could for instance be between the years 60 and 63 when St. Thomas was not in the country (he was with Misdeas) and a new king came to power. Later, Xenophon meets with Siphor and learns the detail of Thomas’ passing and of the northern diocese. Xenophon and Siphor, being the only two +Teachers of the area are therefore brought into AofT, shown to be ordained and placed in positions of authority in the Church. We know about two other +Teachers in the south, outside of the influence of the Kushan, but they are not mentioned–probably because Siphor and Xenophon considered the purpose of AofT to be restricted to their context only because they did not have first hand information about the ministry in the other areas. Other areas could write their own Acts of Thomas, for their area.
Another aim of AofT is evident in the common theme of almost every chapter –being the most important purpose of the book. We think Xenophon created a new genre, or he learned from the Hindu culture, and writes his AofT as a Spiritual Novel based on a true story. And the theme, which weaves throughout, is the inner battle between good and bad–on one hand the inner battle between one’s dharma and one’s will (he starts off with Thomas’ reluctance); and on the other hand the battle caused by passions gone wrong and the demons it creates and the suffering it brings. In bringing remedy to their afflicted society, sex and sensuality need to be liberated from the domain of vulgar men and made holy, beautiful, and sacred.
Conclusion
The main question postulated by the essay is, ‘does AofT have a problem with sex, and does it interfere even in a marriage?’ We believe the student armed with knowledge, enough to facilitate a correct reading of the book will discover that AofT speaks for itself in answer to the question. The discerning student will see that St. Thomas does not go about telling all married couples to stop having sex and neither does he tell unmarried people not to have sex. The list of people in AofT who were not told to stop having “this filthy intercourse” outnumber those characters who are part of the main theme, for example: Abban, the king and queen of Andrapolis, the flutist (semi-nude dancer) who joined the movement, King Gondophares and his wives, king Gad and his concubines, the multitude of families who received material help from Thomas (using Gondophares’ money), and the hundreds of other characters the saint met throughout the story.
One should not consider the theme of AofT as the only acts of Thomas, or as a pattern of Thomas’ work, or even as Thomas’ main works. St. Thomas worked with many royal households throughout his life and he made great contributions to societies consisting of married couples, single women, young men, and children. No one would have tolerated a frenzied fanatic going about denouncing sex under all circumstances –he would not have lasted forty years in India if he were like that at all. However, the one thing that really annoyed the man of God was indiscriminate sex for the sake of sex. Thomas (and The Magadhalene) was taught by the Lord that the senses are to be used to sense the presence of God in everything –and if we live like that then God is closer to us than our own hand, and we are never far from God-consciousness. Split a piece of wood and you will find God there, in smoke, water, the decomposing mud where the lotus is rooted –everywhere. How much more so shall we sense the presence of Tau in a kindred spirit, in touching another soul, in joining another in sensual ecstasy –together reaching beyond the abilities of mind into the Void and the Breast of our Mother where eternity begins and ends and time ceases in enveloped in love. Sex was no small matter for the saint, and it was a holy thing, an occasion where the Saviour and all that are at one with God will be present – a veritable sacrament.
There were at least eight forms of marriage in the mid-east and in the India of St. Thomas. Never did he or our Lord comment on any form of marriage, or one being better than another, or whether to be married or not. It is true that Christianity is following an errant route in this matter but Church of the East; drawing from St. Thomas, never had opinions in this regard. Christianity preaches celibacy for clergy and monogamy for all people –yet its Word of God preaches monogamy for clergy and accepts polygamy for all men (Timothy). St. Thomas worked among monogamous cultures but most were polygamous and polyamorous and a few were matriarchal polygamous and polyamorous societies – and never do we have a comment on the ethical validity of these relationships. However, the thing that got the saint off was infidelity and abuse. Whichever way one’s relationship is structured–be it casual, committed, heterosexual or homosexual or bisexual, monogamous, polyamorous, with male concubines or female concubines, that did not matter because morals rules are made by societies –the things that matter are the spiritual aspects of one’s deeper experiences and infidelity is a sin (sin=aiming to miss the mark) and leads to destructive things that hurt, and soul aches –and above all, infidelity is a bad character trait that works against healthy spirituality.
Acts of Thomas is not against sex; on the contrary, it is very much for sex -but it is vehemently against insensible sex.
END
| Intro | Who Wrote Acts of Thomas? | What is the context of the author? | What is the context of Acts of Thomas? | What is the genre of AofT | Things not discussed in AofT | What is the purpose of AofT? | Conclusion |
Distribute freely but retain Copyright © 2003 Church of the East Canada
