Extracanonical Gospels
These are early Christian gospels which weren't included in the New Testament for various reasons.
These gospels claim to be based on eyewitness testimonies and to reveal information about Jesus, however these gospels were only written 120 C.E. or later.
| Book | Reason for rejection |
|---|---|
| Apocalypse of Peter | It was written around 2nd century. It supports docetism. |
| Gospel of Judas | It explains its contradictions with the other gospels as secret teachings from Jesus. This includes the claim that Judas is from immortal realm of Barbelo to which Jesus submit himself. The book also contains fictional traditions that cannot be proven. |
| Gospel of Peter | Contains many contradictions, one which is that Jesus claim God is his power, another that Jesus ascends to heaven before he could die. |
| Gospel of Thomas | It was only written around 180 AD and was discovered near Nag Hammadi, Egypt, in 1945. It has been interpreted by scholars as a Gnostic text. and does not support the Godhead doctrine. It explains it contradictions as secret teachings from Jesus that was only revealed to Thomas. In addition it claims that Jesus will turn Mary Magdalene into a man. |
| Infancy Gospel of Thomas | It was written 150-185 AD. The author is unfamiliar with Jewish customs of the 1 century. It depicts Jesus as a child doing miracles, which contradict the first miracle as an adult at the wedding of Cana (John 2:1-11). In addition Jesus is depicted as a ruthless murderer who kills his bullies. |