Professor of New Testament exegesis at Charles University in Prague, Czech Republic. He is the author of 12 German monographs, textbooks and commentaries, a part of them is translated into English. Former president of the Studiorum Novi Testamenti Societas, fellow of several Learned Societies.

• Part I IntroductionI. BASIC INFORMATION 1. Discovery 2. Description3. Attestation 4. Text 5. Impact in Antiquity II. THE MEANING OF THE LITERARY SHAPE 1. The Literary Shape - Wisdom, Prophecy? 2. The Gospel as Oral Message and as a Book 3. Problems with Transmission of Jesus´ sayings 4. The Gospels as Feedback of Christian Proclamation and Prophecy 5. The Title of the Gospel of Thomas III. A SOURCE FOR JESUS RESEARCH? 1. The Problem of Methodology 2. Gospel of Thomas - A Possible Source of Information about Jesus? 3. John and Thomas 4. The Gospel of Thomas and the Synoptics 5. The Two Streams of Christian Tradition - the Two Ways of Christian Reflection 6. The Layers of the Gospel of Tomas7. The Name of Thomas and the Thomasian Writings IV. THE SPIRITUAL WORLD OF THE GOSPEL OF THOMAS 1. Between Gnosticism and Mainstream Christianity (Characteristics of the Gospel of Thomas)2. Theological Ideas of the Gospel of Thomas3. BibliographyPart III. A Successive Commentary on the Individual SayingsII. Conclusion: The Meaning and Significance of the Gospel of Thomas