The voice here is recognizably that of the Christ of Matthew's or John's accounts; authoritative, articulate, succinct, able to conjure up the most simple yet rich and resonant metaphors, occasionally gnomic but always speaking directly to the core of us. The difference is that these words have been spared the centuries of subtle adulteration that have skewed our translations of the more familiar Gospels in the direction of 'orthodox' doctrine. The Christ Thomas presents to us is no quasi-divine superbeing, sent to mysteriously take all of humanity's sins upon himself, but a teaching master whose aim is to provoke a direct experience of 'The Kingdom of Heaven' in his disciples, by whatever means he can. In this respect he is most unlike the Christ of the churches, and recognizably similar to the masters of mystical traditions like that of the Sufis. The fact that this Gospel is now widely accepted as authentic, and closest to the lost 'Q' that is believed to be the source of some of the other Gospels, presents a huge challenge to conventional Christianity in this respect.

Hugh McGregor Ross has done a wonderful job of producing an accessible yet accurate translation of this Gospel, accompanying his text with (unobtrusive) notes and paraphrases that suggest real insight into the meaning of these logia. As a translator, and careful 'interpreter', he has no axe to grind - his commentaries enhance our understanding without trying to steer us towards any doctrinal position. And the presentation of the text, in a calligraphic hand, also displays great sensitivity - reinforcing the immediate, intimate, spoken nature of these logia.

To anyone who has witnessed a master - and neither Thomas Judas Didymos nor George McGregor Ross suggests that Christ was in any way unique in this respect - this Gospel has the unmistakable 'flavour' of a real teaching situation. The 'antique religion' may be practised today alongside cars and computers, but the experience of learning - of words and experiences unfolding their meaning at progressively deeper levels - is exactly as McGregor Ross describes it here. These logia speak directly to anyone on a true way, echoing and indicating experiences that may be unfamiliar to others - the intervening two thousand years (thanks to the fine translation) making no difference at all. But for those who are still searching for this kind of experience (or inspired by the Gospel of Thomas to search for it), the words recorded here can do little more than indicate a possibility. A possibility that some readers might want to follow up by looking at accounts of a contemporary school, such as Juan Sgolastra's 'The Way' or Marco Santello's 'Between Heaven and Earth' (also listed here on amazon).