Lebbeus Thaddaeus, one of the original twelve disciples of Jesus is the author of The Gospel of the Sermon on the Mount, also known as the Gospel of Thaddaeus.
Thaddaeus’ gospel is the favoured book of the Disciples of Jesus, a Christian sect found throughout Cascadia and the Union of West African States. Consisting exclusively of those teachings of Jesus that have become known as the Sermon on the Mount, its adherents consider it to be a clear road map to goodness in action, as exemplified by Christ. Doctrine, spiritual philosophy, and the apocryphal books are perfectly fine, but they should not be mistaken for actual Christianity, which is above all, kindness in action. Thaddaeus, however, does not disallow any part of the gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.
Only four scraps of parchment have been discovered to date that makes mention of Thaddaeus’ gospel, and the little information that can be gleaned has been studied exhaustively. Scholars have attempted to wring what meaning there is in those scraps and it is not surprising that some have suggested that their “professional” extrapolations are somewhat forced. One fact does emerge upon which all researchers agree: Thaddaeus was concerned that Christ’s message was in danger of becoming “religious.”
We also know that Thaddaeus considered Paul’s influence on the fledgling faith detrimental. Under the influence of Paul, many things were being codified – church officers, church protocols, who may speak and where they could speak, who may teach and who may not, who should be confined to the house and who was free to go where they liked.
Thaddaeus was also sceptical of Paul’s persistent attempts to justify being supported by church members, and how very much he was worth supporting. The rules inaugurated and promulgated by Paul were, according to Thaddaeus, nearly all in direct opposition to Christ’s teaching. He suspected Paul’s pharisee roots were defiling the true message of Jesus.
Thaddaeus felt the Sermon on the Mount, as described by Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, and himself were the truest, unadorned expressions of Christ’s truth. Further, Thaddaeus thought that the Sermon on the Mount was all anyone needed to learn and observe Christ’s teaching. Introducing rules and organization were not required, in fact, they were damaging. Why, asked Thaddaeus, provide people with so many more ways to go wrong and run wild? Humans have a penchant for ferreting out some minor aspect of any doctrine or message and then elevating it to extremes. People abhor complexity. They seek simplicity, practicality, and above all, something that can make them appear righteous. It’s human nature. If they can, they will concentrate on trivia. According to Thaddaeus, Christianity should only be concerned with the well-being of others, as was Jesus.