He's a Very Naughty Boy: The Infancy Gospel of Thomas

Episode Outline:
0:00 Special episode: two fascinating non-canonical infancy gospels
0:25 Bart introduces the Infancy Gospel of Thomas and the Proto-Gospel of James
2:10 Introducing guest scholar Christopher Frilingos and his work on the infancy gospels
7:19 What are “infancy gospels,” and why the label is a bit misleading
8:59 Which Thomas is attached to the Infancy Gospel of Thomas?
12:31 What the canonical Gospels do and do not say about Jesus as a child
17:05 When was the Infancy Gospel of Thomas written, and how should we understand it?
19:15 Jesus at age five: clay birds, Sabbath controversy, and miracle power
23:31 Darker stories: Jesus curses other children and teachers
27:25 Stories of healing and restoration in the gospel
30:44 How earlier scholars dismissed the text
32:19 Ancient biography, prophecy of greatness, and why Jesus is powerful from the start
36:46 Why Frilingos reads it as a “family gospel,” not just an infancy gospel
39:29 Joseph, Mary, and the challenge of parenting the Son of God
44:38 How the text fits broader early Christian debates about family life
48:11 Final thoughts and setup for the next episode on the Proto-Gospel of James

Episode Description
The Infancy Gospel of Thomas is one of the most intriguing and peculiar non-canonical accounts of Jesus' life from outside the New Testament. The New Testament itself provides only one story about Jesus as a boy (as a twelve-year old, in Luke 2); this later account contains intriguing stories of the mischievous Son of God from ages 5-12. Is he an ungovernable supernatural being who hasn't yet learned to control his power? Or a Savior already confronting the evils of the world? Or a prime example of a resident family problem? In this special episode Bart interviews Christopher Frilingos, professor of Early Christianity at Michigan State, an expert in the non-canonical Gospels with an unusual theory about the Infancy Gospel of Thomas.

Also watch these episodes:
A Giant Jesus and a Walking-Talking Cross: The Fascinating Gospel of Peter
A Giant Jesus and a Walking-Talking Cross: The Fascinating Gospel of Peter

Decoding Gnosticism: Secrets of a Heretical Christian Belief
Decoding Gnosticism: Secrets of a Heretical Christian Belief

Was Jesus Literate?
Was Jesus Literate?

Discount Code: FRILINGOS30 (enter at checkout)

Jesus, Mary and Joseph: Family Trouble in the Infancy Gospels (Penn Press, 2017)

https://www.pennpress.org/9780812249507/jesus-mary-and-joseph/

AND

Spectacles of Empire: Monsters, Martyrs, and the Book of Revelation (Penn Press, 2004)

https://www.pennpress.org/9780812238228/spectacles-of-empire/