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The Epic Interactive Encyclopedia 1997
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1992-09-03
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(Middle English `good news') In the New
Testament generally, the message of Christian
salvation; in particular the four written
accounts of the life of Jesus by Matthew,
Mark, Luke, and John. Although the first
three give approximately the same account or
synopsis (thus giving rise to the name
`Synoptic Gospels'), their differences from
John have raised problems for theologians.
The so-called fifth Gospel, or Gospel of St
Thomas (not connected with the disciple
Thomas), is a 2nd-century collection of 114
sayings of Jesus. It was found in a Coptic
translation contained in a group of 13
papyrus codices, discovered in Upper Egypt
1945, which may have formed the library of a
Gnostic community (see Gnosticism.)