Book Reviewed: All the Apostles of the Bible: Thomas Ben Levi: Apostle to India by M. E. Rosson

Did Apostle Thomas preach In Southern India? Did Apostle Thomas live in the southern state of Kerala? Did he preach the gospels and conducted the missionary work in India? Saint Thomas is considered as one of the Twelve disciples of Jesus Christ, but as we understand the life and work Jesus from the scholars of Jesus Seminar, the history of gospels is doubtful and unreliable. The historicity of Thomas and his missionary work in India is not only murky, but probably invented by Portuguese colonists when Catholic missionaries found it increasingly difficult to convert Hindu population. Early missions in Goa, Kerala and Tamil Nadu included brutality, force, and coercion of Hindus to become Catholics. Roman Catholic Church showed heavy-handedness and played a significant role to proselytize Hindus in Goa and Kerala. Thomas’s work described in the apocryphal/gnostic literature the “Acts of Thomas.” is known to have been written in the Third Century, almost 200 years after Thomas’s death, in Syriac language, and later Greek versions were re-written. According to the legend, Jesus (who was supposed to have been crucified, died, resurrected & ascended to heaven) comes back to trick reluctant disciple Thomas to spread the teachings of his ministry in India. He “sells” Thomas as a carpenter to Abbanes, a Merchant from the kingdom of Gondaphares. This is an Indo-Parthian Kingdom that included parts of Afghanistan, Baluchistan, and Northwest India. According to Christian tradition, The remains of Thomas were entombed in Edessa, Turkey. This book is highly condensed and described in 44 pages. Much of the text is copied verbatim from “Acts of Thomas,” the Seventh Act: of the Captain. The book is confusing and not easy to comprehend. I recommend staying away from this work since there is little to learn from this author.