Daily Archives: October 25, 2000

Very interesting…. I just watched Stigmata last night, where I first heard about The Gospel of Thomas. I tend not to keep up with happenings in the religious realm, and had not heard of it.

After doing a little research on the web, and reading various translations of what the Gospel of Thomas contained, I don’t understand the controversy. It seems very plausible that Jesus could’ve said the things that Thomas (or whoever wrote this Gospel) attributed to Jesus. Nothing is a huge departure from what the four accepted gospels attribute to Jesus.

One of the most touching songs that I’ve ever heard is by Christian country artist Gary Chapman (the former Mr. Amy Grant). The song’s title is “Sweet Jesus”. Though it can be construed as a Christian song, it is really more the tragic story of a bridge that collapsed during a flood. A man in his 80s saw this happen, and dived into the river to see if he could help anyone. He came across a mother struggling to save her baby. He took the baby and swam for the shore. The mother drowned, the old man made the shore but died not long afterwards.

The lyrics are touching and almost heartbreaking. Describing the old man, Chapman (who wrote the song) sings, “He took the child/then he was swimming/like he was 20/he made shoreline/and then he died.” As the man that the baby boy became, Chapman sings “I miss my mother and that brave old man/though I didn’t know them/They are the soul in the man I am…”

It is an incredible song that most of the public hasn’t heard. But you should hear this song. Follow this link to buy Chapman’s Into the Light CD, or do a search for the song on Napster.