The Gospel of Thomas isn’t included in the Bible for several reasons, and offers some pretty different takes to sayings by Jesus in the Biblical Gospels.

The Gospel of Thomas has come under intense scrutiny from scholars and social media users, with one Twitter user even claiming it was ‘banned’ from the Bible.

While the Gospel of Thomas isn’t ‘banned’ from the Bible like the Twitter user suggested, it wasn’t included for several reasons. And it also includes some pretty different teachings when compared to Jesus’ other sayings listed in other religious texts.

The Gospel of Thomas wasn’t included in the Bible (Getty Stock Images)

What is the Gospel of Thomas?

Cross Examined explains the Gospel of Thomas ‘doesn’t follow a narrative structure’ and ‘doesn’t report on major parts of Jesus’ life’.

Instead, it’s reported as containing 114 ‘esoteric sayings’ which detail secrets Jesus allegedly told to his disciples.

One text reportedly begins: “These are the secret sayings which the living Jesus spoke and which Didymos Judas Thomas wrote down.”

In After the New Testament: A Reader in Early Christianity, Bart Ehrman predicts the document having ‘probably’ been ‘written early in the second century’ despite ‘some of these sayings’ potentially being older and ‘going back to Jesus himself’.

As a result, many scholars have questioned the legitimacy of the Gospel of Thomas as a whole – given the above timeframe would mean the Gospel was written after all the apostles died and so Apostle Thomas isn’t the actual author.

However, there’s more reasons why the Gospel isn’t included as a Biblical Gospel too.

There are reportedly three main reasons the Gospel didn’t make the cut (Getty Stock Images)

Why is the Gospel of Thomas not included in the Bible?

The Gospel of Thomas wasn’t included in the Bible for a number of reasons, with Cross Examined noting that the church typically looks for ‘three different attributes’ when assessing whether a text make the cut.

First up, in order to be considered one of the canon – series of definitive biblical texts – the Gospel needed to be traced back to an apostolic eye-witness testimony – and it wasn’t.

‘Apostolic eyewitness’ in Christianity refer to first hand accounts and teaching of the apostles – people chosen by Jesus to be eyewitnesses to his life, teachings, death and resurrection.

While one of Jesus’ apostles was named Thomas, the book was resolved as dating to the middle of the second century – long after the apostles had passed away.

Second, the Gospel didn’t align very closely with any other biblical texts, particularly given it’s more Gnostic – which emphasizes personal spiritual knowledge as the key to salvation – something which the early church rejected as being too different for the time.

And thirdly, the church at the time only really listed four Gospels and those didn’t include Thomas and given its differences to other texts, it wasn’t about to rock the boat anytime soon.

But what does the Gospel of Thomas reveal about the church or Jesus’ alleged teachings which differ so much to other biblical texts?

The messages in the Gospel differ somewhat to those in other biblical texts (Getty Stock Images)

Somewhat surprising messages in the Gospel of Thomas

The Gospel of Thomas doesn’t focus on Jesus’ life, actions in life and death, but more so Jesus as a voice and imparting ‘salvation through his teachings’ rather than ‘death and resurrection,’ Marko Marina, Ph.D. discusses.

In the Gospel of Thomas, rather than ‘sin’ being seen as the main issue with the world like other Biblical texts say it is, ignorance and not confronting the truth and our real identities.

The Gospel quotes ‘Jesus’ as saying: “Recognize what is in your sight, and that which is hidden from you will become plain to you. For there is nothing hidden which will not become manifest.”

Another quote reads: “And he said, ‘The man is like a wise fisherman who cast his net into the sea and drew it up from the sea full of small fish. Among them the wise fisherman found a fine large fish. He threw all the small fish back into the sea and chose the large fish without difficulty. Whoever has ears to hear, let him hear.'”

And the Gospel of Thomas’ Jesus also had some different ideas as to where the ‘kingdom’ is.

However, many scholars don’t consider the Apostle Thomas as the author of the document (Getty Stock Images)

In the Gospel of Thomas, an alleged quote from Jesus reads: “If those who lead you say to you, ‘See, the kingdom is in the sky,’ then the birds of the sky will precede you.

“If they say to you, ‘It’s in the sea,’ then the fish will precede you.

“Rather, the kingdom is inside of you, and it’s outside of you.”

And while some have seen the Gospel of Thomas’ alleged sayings from Jesus as a mockery of or as going against other sayings in the Bible, it’s important to recognise the sayings aren’t exactly mutually exclusive and can both co-exist.

And ultimately, the idea of faith being found within yourself rather than an establishment, building or authority is a lot more aligned with many more modern perspectives of the Church.

Grieving parents of Renna O’Rourke have issued a warning to others after their daughter died from doing an online trend.

Renna was pronounced brain dead on June 1 after several days in the ICU. She was just 19-years-old.

Renna died of sudden sniffing death syndrome as a result of doing an online trend called ‘dusting’, where someone gets high from inhaling aerosol products like computer dusting spray. It’s also known as chroming or huffing.

In the wake of her untimely death, Renna’s parents, Dana and Aaron O’Rourke, have made it their mission to raise awareness about the apparent trend in the hopes of stopping more young lives being lost to it.

Speaking about their late daughter, Dana told AZ Family: “She was vivacious and caring and loyal.”

Her father added: “She always said, ‘I’m gonna be famous, Dad. Just you watch. I’m gonna be famous’ and unfortunately this is not under the most optimal of circumstances.”

Dana continued to warn other parents: “There’s no ID required. It’s odorless. It’s everything kids look for. They can afford it, they can get it, and it doesn’t show in mom and dad’s drug test.”

Going on to share what Renna’s final days looked like, the heartbroken mom said: “She spent the next seven days in the ICU. She never regained consciousness.”

“We don’t have children to bury them,” Dana added.

Renna’s heartbroken parents are wanting to raise awareness about the dangers of ‘dusting’ (AZ Family)

Dr. Randy Weisman, who leads the Intensive Care Unit at HonorHealth Scottsdale Osborn Medical Center, has also weighed in on the concerning online trend.

“When they inhale these chemicals in the gas it will actually replace the oxygen within their lungs and within the rest of their body,” he explained.

It can take just one huff for someone to suffer life-changing consequences to their body, including failure of the liver, heart failure, disease of the lungs.

Dr Weisman continued to warn: “She’s not the only one that this has happened to. Several other teenagers have succumb to this same disorder.”

Renna was just 19 years old (AZ Family)

The O’Rourke family have set up a GoFundMe page for Renna following her death where, at the time of writing, over $10,000 has been raised.

Created by Aaron, the bio of the page describes he late daughter as ‘the light in every room she walked into’.

“The pain that her family and friends feel is simply immeasurable,” he added.

The money raised on the page will go towards ‘the extensive medical bills, burial costs, therapy costs, and to spread awareness about the dangers of Huffing/Dusting’, Aaron continued to write.

Three children have been returned safely home to their mom in Utah after disappearing in 2022, police have said.

The children were first reported missing back in October 2022, with their last known location being Beaver County, Utah.

However, Fredonia Police Department Chief Jason Peterson received a tip off of their whereabouts in August 2024.

Authorities suspect that their dad ‘orchestrated the disappearance and subsequent hiding’ after they were found in Fredonia – less than five miles from the Arizona border, according to a press release from Fredonia police, as per ABC 4 Utah.

Fredonia is located just over 30 miles from Colorado City where self-proclaimed FLDS prophet Samuel Bateman previously lived, according to WYMT.

The police’s press release also says that the father had supposedly received help from family members from the Fundamentalist Latter-Day Saint (FLDS) Church.

The three children were found in Arizona after disappearing in 2022 (ABC4 Utah)

According to ABC 4, police in Utah and Arizona conducted a multi-agency investigation to retrieve the three children, with the press release stating that ‘Coconino County Sheriff’s Office, Kanab City Police Department, Kane County Seriff’s Office, Kane County SWAT, Washington County Sheriff’s Office, Homeland Security Investigation, and volunteers from the children’s family’ were all involved in the plan.

On September 1, the children were successfully returned to their mother.

The statement continues: “On September 1, 2024, officers from the above agencies retrieved the three minors, returned them to their mother, and apprehended the children’s grandmother and aunt who appeared to be overseeing the children.

“The Fredonia Police Department would like to thank all involved for their assistance. As of today, the children are safe with their mother as this investigation continues.”

However, according to Newsweek, they are still searching for the children’s father.

Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints broke away from the Mormon Church due to doctrinal differences (Visions of America/Joe Sohm/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)

Fredonia police officer, Andrew Smith, told KSTU that the operation was ‘very short, very quick’.

“So, that’s just how that works. It’s not necessarily the FLDS group, but anybody gets wind that there’s more than just the normal force in town, especially in a small town like this, things start to move.” he said.

“It feels good to be able to actually get them and get them back to the parent that they belong to. That’s why we’re out here.”

The statement also added that due to the ‘sensitive nature’ of the current investigation into the children’s disappearance, ‘certain information is, and will continue to be, withheld to protect the innocent’.

An urgent warning has been given by the coroner of a six-year-old boy who died after inhaling helium out of a balloon just says after his birthday.

Gunner Hyatt, a little boy from Mt. Carmel, Illinois was pronounced dead shortly after emergency responders arrived at his home on May 29, eight days after his sixth birthday.

According to family and officials, Gunner had inhaled helium from a Mylar balloon, with officers from Wabash County Coroner’s Office confirming that Gunner could not have been saved.

It all began when the boy breathed in the gas, leading him to likely suffocate to death.

On June 4, Wabash County Coroner Office stated: “Shaun Keepes responded to a residence in Mount Carmel on Thursday, May 29, 2025, regarding the tragic accidental death of a juvenile.

“An autopsy was conducted in Springfield, Illinois, on Friday, May 30, 2025. Preliminary findings indicate that the cause of death is consistent with suffocation due to a Mylar-helium filled balloon. Additional testing and toxicology, are pending to determine the final cause of death.”

Gunner just celebrated his sixth birthday a week before the accident (GoFundMe)

As a result, a coroner has warned the public about the ‘unrecognized’ dangers of the large balloons.

The statement continued: “Coroner Keepes wishes to raise public awareness about the unrecognized potential dangers associated with large child size Mylar balloons.”

He shared that while the balloons are ‘often seen as harmless decorations’, the balloons can actually pose serious health risks young children.

This includes ‘the rare but devastating possibility of suffocation and/or helium toxicity’.

Helium toxicity can cause confusion, dizziness, nausea and even death.

According to the National Library of Medicine, the age of those who admitted to hospital because of helium inhalation emergencies, were (3.4%) 0-5 years, (65.3%) 6-12 years, (26.8%) 13-19 years, and (4.5%) 20 years or older in the last decade.

66 per cent of the patients seen during the data collection period were male, and Gunner’s age range saw the highest casualties.

Following Gunner’s death, the Office extended its sympathies to the grieving family during this time and urging the community to pull together, stating: “The Wabash County Coroner’s Office extends its deepest condolences to the family and loved ones affected by this heartbreaking accident.

The child inhaled a Mylar balloon before he became unresponsive (Saturated / Getty)

“As a community, please hold this family in your prayers. Agencies involved in the ongoing investigation include the Mount Carmel Police Department and the Illinois State Police Child Death Task Force. No other information will be released at this time.”

Gunner had just completed Kindergarten and has been remembered as a cheerful child whose ‘laughter brightened every room. He was the happiest outdoors-whether he was playing baseball, fishing by the water or exploring the woods hunting’.

“He had a huge love for monster trucks and never missed a chance to go mud riding with his family. Gunner lived life with a fearless spirit, a playful heart, and a smile that will never be forgotten,” shared to his obituary.

Bethany Hyatt, Gunner’s aunt shared a tribute on Facebook: “There’s not a person that knew him that would say he wasn’t an incredible child. There are no words to express how deeply we are feeling his absence. He will forever be in our thoughts and we will never truly recover from this. He touched so many lives in his short time here with us.”