Page 4 - Finding Jesus News Today

>> in india, a tradition preserved in song, dance and the acts of thomas tells how the apostle came here to spread the word of jesus in the first century. >> i think its possible, even plausible that thomas went to india because we know that this was a fairly well trod route and we have a text that explains thomass evangelical mission to india, and we have a community in this corner of india that goes back to antiquity. >> to this day, st. thomas christians perform parts of the liturgy in syriac...

Lord jesus. >> it would have been challenge ing for someone to go to india. it would feel like being exiled to mars. >> the acts of thomas narrates thomas journey from jerusalem to india by boat. he lands in the southwest corner of what is tay cara. >> according to the story, upon arrival i india, thomas is introduced to a legendary king. its a fantastic tale, but could it be true. >> the acts of thomas is written over a century after books like the chronicle gospels we find in the new testament...

Oxford university england, professor tom and dr. george kazan are about to test a sample of bone, a sample taken from a rel relic venerated as being from the apostle thomas. teachings believed to be brought to india by jesus. >> the bone rather than the bone plus contamination. >> once the sample is clear of any form of chemical contamination, collagen is extracted from the bone. >> the end result is a material that looks rather like cotton wool. >> finally a mass spec trom ter is used to date t...

Significant event in the history of their church. the arrival of the apostle thomas, who they believe came here in 52a.d. >> jesus told the apostles go out of jerusalem and praise the good news. so thomas decided to go to india. >> is it possible the disciple famous for his lack of faith brought a form of christianity here? nearly 2,000 years ago. in the bible, the resurrected jesus leaves his disciplesith a final mission. >> go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of th...

On palm leaf manuscript was put to the flame. >> much of the documents of the saint thomas christians were burnt at the time so they were all destroyed. >> the team of archivists are hunting down the few surviving palm leaf records. >> all india, palm leaf was what was available readily. unlike in the middle east where you would have parchments or scrolls or paper. >> many of their inscriptions are written in the language of many early christians. close to the language spoken by jesus and thomas...

Southwest india, around 7 million christians here traced their faith directly to the apost apostle famous for his doubt. they believe their ancestors were baptized by one of jesus 12 disciples, thomas. >> stop doubting and believe. >> my god, my god lord. >> thomas vabishes from the new testament after the resurrection. but his story is take b up by a third century epic narrative. the acts of thomas. >> now it seems that the acts of thomas resort some historically accurate information. >> but th...

>> the day i receive my final freedom. >> he dies being pierce d with spears. >> thomas has understood something about discipleship that its about following jesus, whatever the consequences. that will include persecution, suffering and death. >> according to local tradition, in 72 a.d. his body is laid to rest in now part of modern day chini. but it will not e remain there. >> tradition holds that his followers took his body back to the west and that they lay in the city there until the crusade ...

>> the text is significant because its very closely related to a ra mic, and thats the language that jesus spoke with his disciples. so this is a fabulous piece to the puzzle in uncovering a a little more information than we had before about what thomas was up to. in this story goes, after jesus death, the disciples are getting together and trying to decide who goes where. ask they actually draw lines. thomas chooses the short straw. >> the disciples believe it would allow god to decide where th...

But it was certainly possible that thomas could have gone to india and if jesus message is to preach his good news, then india would have been on that list. >> a stranger coming for the first time must be quite a surreal experience. he would have incurred all kinds of people and languages and flavors and smells he had never seen before and gods he had never even heard of. >> you have a variety of different religious sects. youve got jaynes and buddhists. >> a first point of contact might have be...

India and holds a shrine dedicated to st. thomas. >> in terms of christianity in india, i think that declaration of thomas as a patron saint in india gave history or long held history to thomas and christians. >> it is the story of the importance of faith, reason and doubt. doubt and faith are two sides of the same coin. >> my lord, my god. >> without jesus commission to his disciples to become apostles, that is, to go out from ju dee a and gal lee and spread his message around the world, there ...