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For information on the author, click here
The cover of Thomas the Apostle features the shield
of Thomas with a carpenter's square, since he was a
carpenter, and a spear to show how he was martyred in
Mylapore, Chennai, South India, on the Bay of Bengal.
The background is of the beach of Mylapore.

Revealing and uplifting, this stunning and epic debut set 2,000 years ago follows Thomas, the questioning apostle, as he makes his way from Jerusalem through Parthia to South India.

Thomas the Apostle established many early Christian communities:
first in Parthia and then in India.

Parthia referred to the entire area between the Tigris River and the Indus River.
India referred to the entire area
east of the Indus River. click here to order a copy through Amazon.com

This novel also tells stories of:
James
Levi
Nathanael
Essenes
John the Baptizer
Jesus the Gatherer of Srinigar
Jesus of Nazareth in Himalayas Gospel of Thomas

Spiritual and highly informative, this historical fiction is a powerful debut based on over a decade of research. Taut and richly told, Thomas the Apostle by new author Barbara Bode Snyder is based on Bible scriptures,the Gospel of Thomas, and on stories learned when she lived in India, and tells the tale of the Apostle Thomas, beginning with his family's life in the small town of Cana in Israel.

The adventure gets under way the day before his and his twin brother's bar mitzvah and leads the reader down a long path scattered with tragedy, betrayal, and the beautiful love of Jesus.
Having traveled from Jerusalem to Parthia and then to India, Thomas spent his time and energy fanning the fires of Christianity into a powerful ministry.

Thomas's resounding voice and passion is immortalized in the Bible and remains strong in India, but is greatly misunderstood by most of the world.
Now, for the first time, readers are allowed a vivid and moving portrait of an apostle who did so much more than doubt.
Christian fiction has a strong new voice.

The Gospel of Thomas The Gospel of Thomas was written by some of the followers of Thomas many years after his death based on what was remembered
of what Thomas had taught. It was written independently of the canonical gospels: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.
The Gospel of Thomas incorporates 114 remembered sayings of Jesus rather than being a narrative.
The sayings are not presented in chronological order or even in a pattern that tells a story.
They are simply 114 discrete sayings from among all those that were remembered.
Most of these sayings are incorporated into the story of Thomas the Apostle with cross-references, if any, to the canonical gospels.

It is hoped that the reader will gain new insights from reading and studying these sayings, such as:
Jesus said, "If you bring forth what is within you, what you have will save you.
If you do not have that within you, what you do not have within you will kill you."
Gospel of Thomas, Saying 70.

The proper name of Thomas the Apostle was Judas bar Alphaeus, or Judas son of Alphaeus.
The word Thomas was never used as a proper name 2,000 years ago, but was usually used as a
nickname to describe the second of a pair of twins. The story of the older twin of the pair is given
in the novel, Thomas the Apostle. The impact of Thomas the Apostle was so strong that within
one hundred years of his death, children were sometimes formally named Thomas.

Many people call Thomas the Apostle "Doubting Thomas"
despite the fact that the other apostles and disciples
also doubted before they saw Jesus for themselves.

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Barbara Bode Snyder was the author of technical manuals and textbooks during her career as a systems engineer at IBM and later as an electronics instructor at San Jose City College. A Sunday school teacher for 25 years, she has given many classes, seminars, and sermons on a variety of topics.

She has traveled in more than 100 countries, and she has lived ten years outside of the USA. She has trekked extensively in the Himalayas, Andes, Alps, Transylvania, Sierras, and Appalachia.

She has volunteered on all six continents where there are people. She lived and worked as a volunteer for six months in Mylapore, Chennai, India, where she heard so many stories about Thomas the Apostle that she resolved to write his story as a novel.

Today, she is active with Habitat for Humanity both locally and internationally, having served with HFH for three years in Eastern Europe as well as numerous shorter term trips to help build in many countries. She lives with her husband, Don, in San Jose, California.

Thomas the Apostle is the first novel for Barbara Bode Snyder.
You can contact the author
by e-mailing: thomas_apostle@hotmail.com click here to send an e-mail to the author You can find out about Habitat for Humanity Silicon Valley, where Barbara is an active builder, at
www.habitatsiliconvalley.org Click here for HfHSV You can find out about Habitat for Humanity International at
www.habitat.org
Click here for HFHI Another great organization dedicated to the elimination of poverty housing is the
Fuller Center for Housing,
started by Millard Fuller,
founder of Habitat for Humanity. Click here for Fuller Center

Soon this novel will be available in other languages.

Remember that this website is www.thomasapostle.net

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Thomas the Apostle by Barbara Bode Snyder

Barbara Bode Snyder