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In the early centuries of Christian history, what we now know as the "New Testament" was not yet in place. Teachers like Valentinus, Marcion, and Mani, some nominally Christian, presented alternative belief-systems, some founding movements, with varying degrees of success. Most of the bishops of the Church at the time were appalled.

Orthodox writers such as Bishop Irenaeus of Lyons and his disciple Hippolytus of Rome, wrote in great detail against what they regarded as the heresy of 'Gnosticism', linking many different belief-systems under that title. The Gospel of Thomas was associated with Gnosticism by the heresy-hunters, since it was found to be in use among groups considered to be Gnostic. It was furthermore not believed by Church writers to have been a first century document, nor authored by the apostle Thomas. For these reasons, and because Irenaeus expressed the view (wide-spread among the bishops) that the only authentic gospels were those of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, other 'gospels' such as those attributed to Thomas, Matthias, Philip, Bartholomew, etc., some of which expressed views considered by the bishops to be inconsistent with the tenets of Christian faith, were never considered for inclusion in the developing canon. Perhaps one of the core reasons is because, although the Gospel of St. Thomas reveres Jesus highly, it does not mention many of what had become tenets of the Christian faith: miracles, resurrection, atoning value of Jesus' death, and so on.

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Q: Why is the Gospel of St. Thomas dismissed by the Vatican as heresy?
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