How is a book lacking in scripture specifically related to a man who was responsible for a term used to describe a figure of speech, albeit pastiche?

edmund80

Gospel of Thomas (book lacking in Scripture). Thomas the Apostle, inspiration of the saying "doubting Thomas". The apocryphal Gospel of Thomas is not included in the Bible and was written for a group of early Christians who claimed Thomas the Apostle as their founder. "Doubting Thomas" is a common figure of speech used to describe a person who will not believe anything without direct evidence, much like Thomas the Apostle was said not to believe that Jesus had resurrected from the dead, at least without first touching Jesus' wounds with his own hands. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gospel_of_Thomas http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doubting_Thomas Oct 14 08, 9:01 PM

peasypod

Nice try, but no, dear. Have a lookie at the era, say, 17th century for the, er, 'wordless book', and then work backwards to the 8th century---watching out for that stone.... Oct 16 08, 2:48 PM

queproblema

Hilarious one, Peasy! No wonder your question (sorry)sounded like so much gibberish! The book "lacking in scripture" is the Mutus Liber (Mute, or Wordless, Book) published in France in the 17th century. It supposedly told how to make the Philosopher's Stone. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mutus_Liber The amazing 8th-century wizard, (Well, why not?) Abu Musa Jâbir ibn Hayyân, known in Latin as "Geber," whose "This theory appears to have originated the search for al-iksir, the elusive elixir that would make this transformation possible — which in European alchemy became known as the philosopher's stone." "The word gibberish is theorized to be derived from Jabir's name,[54] in reference to the incomprehensible technical jargon often used by alchemists, the most famous of whom was Jabir." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geber I guess two typos are appropriate on a gibberish question! (Ask a gibberish question, get a gibberish answer.) Oct 16 08, 9:55 PM

peasypod

Touche, darling, I knew you'd stumble over it in the end, eventually.... (she giggles) Oct 16 08, 10:58 PM