Editing Gospel of Thomas (section)

==The historical Jesus==
Some modern scholars (most notably those belonging to the [[Jesus Seminar]]) believe that the Gospel of Thomas was written independently of the canonical gospels, and therefore is a useful guide to [[historical Jesus]] research.{{sfnp|Funk|Hoover|1993|p=15}}{{sfnp|Koester|1990|pp=84–86}} Scholars may utilize one of several critical tools in [[biblical criticism|biblical scholarship]], the [[criterion of multiple attestation]], to help build cases for historical reliability of the sayings of Jesus. By finding those sayings in the Gospel of Thomas that overlap with the [[Gospel of the Hebrews]], Q, Mark, Matthew, Luke, John, and Paul, scholars feel such sayings represent "multiple attestations" and therefore are more likely to come from a historical Jesus than sayings that are only singly attested.{{sfnp|Funk|Hoover|1993|pp=16ff}} However, [[Bart Ehrman]] states that the Gospel of Thomas has very little value in historical Jesus research, because the author placed no importance on the physical experiences of Jesus (e.g. his crucifixion) or the physical existence of believers.<ref>''Jesus: Apocalyptic Prophet of the New Millennium'' by Bart D. Ehrman 2001 {{ISBN|019512474X}} pp. 72–78</ref>