Michael W Grondin | Wayne State University (original) (raw)

(241214) Discussion of five examples of the secret use of the Greek Number System in the Coptic G... more (241214) Discussion of five examples of the secret use of the Greek Number System in the Coptic Gospel of Thomas (includes reformatted GNS primer last rev170916)

(210919, notes 211124) A summary of the puzzle-text theory and the evidence behind it.

(201021) Front-page Detroit News article from October 1st, 2020, with notes. As reported by Fran... more (201021) Front-page Detroit News article from October 1st, 2020, with notes.
As reported by Francis X. Donnelly, based on personal interviews.

(230614, corrected 230625) A preliminary description of what's needed to work with the hidden sid... more (230614, corrected 230625) A preliminary description of what's needed to work with the hidden side of the Coptic Gospel of Thomas in order to transform its chaotic and imperfect public side into the intended perfection of "Secret Thomas".

(210310) A response to the assumption that the imperfections of the Coptic Gospel of Thomas were ... more (210310) A response to the assumption that the imperfections of the Coptic Gospel of Thomas were due to ineptitude. (210726 - correction to p.7)

Other Latest by Michael W Grondin

(240109, revised 240129) A showing that Th61.4 ("I'm your disciple") wasn't intended to stay put ... more (240109, revised 240129) A showing that Th61.4 ("I'm your disciple") wasn't intended to stay put in the Salome Saying (Th61) as transformed by Thomasine insiders but was rather intended to be uttered by Mariam in Th21.1.

(Session notes added 231204) Two-time keywords are words that occur only twice, or only in two sa... more (Session notes added 231204) Two-time keywords are words that occur only twice, or only in two sayings within the Coptic Gospel of Thomas. My findings indicate that they are one of the types of clues used by the designers of the text to alert Thomasine initiates to either what they should do to the text or what they should know about it. Seven examples are discussed. (231110, corrected 231112)

(Proof completed 230207) A brief note in which I suggest a new candidate for the "Three Words" ... more (Proof completed 230207)
A brief note in which I suggest a new candidate for the "Three Words" referred to in Gospel of Thomas logion 13.6.
(rev 2 Jan 18: added Gathercole addendum formerly separate)

Foundational by Michael W Grondin

(190815, reformatted and slightly revised 240208) The structure of the Thomas Puzzle, and what ma... more (190815, reformatted and slightly revised 240208) The structure of the Thomas Puzzle, and what may be the first step in solving it.

(240213) These comments form a bridge between "Hidden World" and "Hidden Father," which I had not... more (240213) These comments form a bridge between "Hidden World" and "Hidden Father," which I had not then written, but which was anticipated in "Hidden World" by the suggested movement of Th42 (the textual "Father") from line 280 to line 670 - the uppermost line of the upper "textual heaven".

(190912 rev 190919) A companion piece to "Hidden World". Evidence based on both Th42 and its poin... more (190912 rev 190919) A companion piece to "Hidden World". Evidence based on both Th42 and its pointer-saying Th27 is adduced to show that the former acted as "the Father" within the Coptic Thomas puzzle. With discussion of Th100.

Expanded 200517 to include comments from Academia feedback session. A proposed solution to the di... more Expanded 200517 to include comments from Academia feedback session. A proposed solution to the dilemma posed to the Thomas Puzzle Theory by the prologue not being included in the 16800 letters of the main body. (first posted 200425)

(new intro and revamped 05/09/23) A showing that the size of the main body of Coptic Thomas is ... more (new intro and revamped 05/09/23)
A showing that the size of the main body of Coptic Thomas is 16800 letters, clearly an intentional number, given that only it and its multiples are divisible by the values of both IC (210) and XC (800), nomina sacra for IHSOUS and XRISTOS. Taken in conjunction with the findings about the use of Greek loan-words and names in Coptic Thomas (500 occurrences consisting of 2400 letters), there can be no doubt that the text in NHC II,2 is a careful copy of a meticulously designed Coptic source.

(230322-5) Compressed, converted to Unicode, and brought up to date with added Foreword. (1602... more (230322-5) Compressed, converted to Unicode, and brought up to date with added Foreword.

(160207) The purpose of this paper is to establish that the Nag Hammadi (Coptic) version of the Gospel of Thomas contains 500 occurrences of Greek loan-words and names, comprising 2400 letters. Since there is very little chance that this could have been accidental, it was most likely intentional, leading to the conclusion that counting was used as a compositional device in Gos.Thom. (Revision of Session paper, 2/7/16)

About Me by Michael W Grondin

Ariel Sabar's account of how I came to create and post the interlinear version of the Coptic Gosp... more Ariel Sabar's account of how I came to create and post the interlinear version of the Coptic Gospel of Thomas that was used by the forger of the Jesus' Wife Fragment. (Pages 118-126 of "Veritas" (2020) reformatted.)(Based on personal interviews.)

(210217) Session comments on "The Gospel of Thomas Puzzle, the Jesus Wife Fragment, and I", plus ... more (210217) Session comments on "The Gospel of Thomas Puzzle, the Jesus Wife Fragment, and I", plus an afterthought on unintentional error v. intentional anomaly. (p.5 corrected 02/23)

Findings by Michael W Grondin

Addendum to "Controlled Use". A short note exploring the meaning of the omega for early Christian... more Addendum to "Controlled Use". A short note exploring the meaning of the omega for early Christians, and the implications of its use as the word 'oh' in Gos.Thom. logion 72. (Original abstract 171028) Expanded 200222 to include the 120402 Hurtado blog post "The Earliest Christian Graffito?"

(171015) A one-page analysis of the structure of the Greek prologue to Thomas, revised and correc... more (171015) A one-page analysis of the structure of the Greek prologue to Thomas, revised and corrected.

(180104) A one-page analysis of the hidden structure of the prologue to Gos.Thom., with reference... more (180104) A one-page analysis of the hidden structure of the prologue to Gos.Thom., with references to the Greek prologue. Revised 7 Aug 2018 with minor changes and now in Antinoou font.

(171117, retitled 240113) This paper makes the case that L100.4 ("give me what is mine") was inte... more (171117, retitled 240113) This paper makes the case that L100.4 ("give me what is mine") was intended to be moved to L72, which opens the possibility that the arrangement of parts of the "secret side" of Gos.Thom. was markedly different from its "public face".

(210919, notes 211124) A summary of the puzzle-text theory and the evidence behind it.

(230322-5) Compressed, converted to Unicode, and brought up to date with added Foreword. (1602... more (230322-5) Compressed, converted to Unicode, and brought up to date with added Foreword.

(180119) "Catchword at a distance" would seem to be a contradiction in terms. This is a first dra... more (180119) "Catchword at a distance" would seem to be a contradiction in terms. This is a first draft of a new work arguing that there is an intentional connection via catchword between logia 11.1 and 42, the latter the shortest and perhaps most important saying in Gos. Thom.

(180826) New theories are confirmed by being shown to have significant advantages, both explanato... more (180826) New theories are confirmed by being shown to have significant advantages, both explanatory and predictive, over pre-existing theories. That is to say, if a new theory can explain known anomalous phenomena better than pre-existing theories, and if it is able to predict the existence of hitherto unknown phenomena, it will eventually come to be considered more likely true than its competitors. Although better known in scientific circles, the field of textual interpretation is not immune to such " paradigm shifts" as I have proposed in putting forward the " Thomas Puzzle " theory against the conventional view that the Gospel of Thomas isn't much different from other early Christian texts. Based on textual evidence I've been able to uncover, I contend that it is, and that the Puzzle Theory is able to both (1) more satisfactorily explain known textual anomalies, and (2) predict the existence of textual phenomena which cannot be satisfactorily accounted for on the standard view.

(180922) ( Revised 11/2/18)(Formerly subtitled "L9.5 as a Pointer to L111 and 112") Do some Thoma... more (180922) ( Revised 11/2/18)(Formerly subtitled "L9.5 as a Pointer to L111 and 112") Do some Thomas sayings point to others? This piece presents evidence indicating that L111-112 may be a textual construct corresponding to the "good fruit" mentioned at the end of the Parable of the Sower (L9.5). Two pages, but jam-packed with suggestive details that have hitherto escaped attention.

(180211) The purpose of this piece is to present an alternative explanation of an apparent scriba... more (180211) The purpose of this piece is to present an alternative explanation of an apparent scribal error in Th74. It is suggested that the text is not corrupt at that point, but that the scribe intended to write exactly what appears. (Corrected, with additional appendix, 3/6/18)

(190130) A companion piece to "The 60 and the 120", this piece shows how Thomasine letter-countin... more (190130) A companion piece to "The 60 and the 120", this piece shows how Thomasine letter-counting can be a major factor in evaluating suggested analyses of Gospel of Thomas logia in general and L111 in particular.

(190226) An ordered list of logia involved in my work on the Coptic Gospel of Thomas posted to Ac... more (190226) An ordered list of logia involved in my work on the Coptic Gospel of Thomas posted to Academia.

(200112) A chronological list of my 2019 Gospel of Thomas writings with comments and reception st... more (200112) A chronological list of my 2019 Gospel of Thomas writings with comments and reception statistics.

(180515) A short statement of the puzzle-text theory, with citations of background and supportive... more (180515) A short statement of the puzzle-text theory, with citations of background and supportive material.

(171107) A short note providing a framework for understanding my findings about the Nag Hammadi G... more (171107) A short note providing a framework for understanding my findings about the Nag Hammadi Gospel of Thomas against the backdrop of established Thomas scholarship.

(171018) A summary of my findings (thru 2016) of textual evidence of counting and numbering withi... more (171018) A summary of my findings (thru 2016) of textual evidence of counting and numbering within Gos.Thom. (minor revision 10/25/17 to fix link)

(190306, 4th rev 0407) A chronological list of reputable English translations of the Gospel of Th... more (190306, 4th rev 0407) A chronological list of reputable English translations of the Gospel of Thomas.

(Rev 200616) A table of numbers, both open and hidden, associated with Gos.Thom. (NHC II,2).

One-page chart with notes. (3rd rev 25 Mar 2018)

A one-page summary of the block structure of Gos. Thom., with commentary on two significant block... more A one-page summary of the block structure of Gos. Thom., with commentary on two significant blocks. Revised 9 May 2018. (Original title "On the General Structure of Gos. Thom.")

A one-page presentation of the nomina sacra extant in our Greek and Coptic manuscripts of the Gos... more A one-page presentation of the nomina sacra extant in our Greek and Coptic manuscripts of the Gospel of Thomas, together with their numeric values. (revised 170921)

A combination of two items: (1) a short piece comparing what "listing the explicit" yields about ... more A combination of two items: (1) a short piece comparing what "listing the explicit" yields about the canonical (esp. Rev.) use of numbers, with what can be uncovered by the statistical and numerical techniques used in my analysis of Gos. Thom., and (2) a reference sheet listing numbers associated with Gos. Thom., both open and hidden. (Postscript added to first page, 3/14/21.)

Background info for "The Sickness in Th74: Scribal Error or Catchword at a Distance?", this is Si... more Background info for "The Sickness in Th74: Scribal Error or Catchword at a Distance?", this is Simon Gathercole's commentary on Gos.Thom. saying 74, from "The Gospel of Thomas: Introduction and Commentary" (Brill, 2014).

Traces the evolution of reconstructions of the lacuna in Th65 (parable of the vineyard). Argues... more Traces the evolution of reconstructions of the lacuna in Th65 (parable of the vineyard).
Argues that the reconstruction 'XRHSTHS' is without sufficient linguistic support.
(Image and format revised 200417.)
Also available at http://www.gospel-thomas.net/lacuna.htm

A two-page list of the differences between the Greek and Coptic mss. of the Gospel of Thomas, and... more A two-page list of the differences between the Greek and Coptic mss. of the Gospel of Thomas, and how DeConick handled them.

(rev 230713) A list of members of the Facebook group "Gospel of Thomas Studies" who have Thomas-r... more (rev 230713) A list of members of the Facebook group "Gospel of Thomas Studies" who have Thomas-related content here.

(190120) This is a report on the Nov 18-Dec 9 comment session for the subject paper.

(181018 rev 181027)(Session paper revised and retitled) This is a one-page introduction to, and t... more (181018 rev 181027)(Session paper revised and retitled) This is a one-page introduction to, and timeline of milestones in, the 2012-2016 controversy over what was called "The Gospel of Jesus' Wife." Combines Christian Askeland's timeline of 6/16/16 with my own introduction, additions, and rewordings.

A resource center available at gospel-thomas.net

An online interactive concordance available at gospel-thomas.net/concord.htm

A survey of suggested doublets, with commentary and links to displays. (gospel-thomas.net/dou... more A survey of suggested doublets, with commentary and links to displays.

(gospel-thomas.net/doublets)

Michael W Grondin | Wayne State University (original) (raw)

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