← All authors
Gos. ThomasThe Gospel of Thomas (Nag Hammadi)LieAllegory
Gos. PeterThe Gospel of Peter (Akhmim fragment)LieChristology
Gos. JudasThe Gospel of Judas (Codex Tchacos)LieAllegory
Gos. BarnabasThe Gospel of BarnabasLieHistory
Inf. ThomasThe Infancy Gospel of ThomasAllegoryLie
Prot. JamesThe Protoevangelium of JamesAllegoryHistory
Second century onward
Unknown authors writing under borrowed names
No name survives for this. The years given are when the writing was done, not a life.
Worth knowing
- These books are named for apostles who did not write them. That is the point of the name — an unknown author borrows an authority he does not have.
- They are not all the same kind of thing. Some are gnostic (Thomas, Judas); some are pious legend filling gaps the Gospels leave (the Infancy Gospel of Thomas, the Protevangelium of James); the so-called Gospel of Barnabas is a medieval forgery, a thousand years later than the rest.
- They are worth knowing precisely because the early church knew them and did not accept them. The canon was not a list of everything available.
The 6 books
Gos. ThomasThe Gospel of Thomas (Nag Hammadi)LieAllegoryGos. PeterThe Gospel of Peter (Akhmim fragment)LieChristologyGos. JudasThe Gospel of Judas (Codex Tchacos)LieAllegoryGos. BarnabasThe Gospel of BarnabasLieHistoryInf. ThomasThe Infancy Gospel of ThomasAllegoryLieProt. JamesThe Protoevangelium of JamesAllegoryHistoryWho else was alive
Unknown authors writing under borrowed names against everyone else in the game.