One of the central topics of all philosophical and theological thinking since the beginning of
organized philosophical structuring and before is that of the position and nature of time, as well as
its purpose, if existent, for “thinking” and “not-thinking” creatures, and whether it can or if it does
exist independently. When approaching Gospel According to Thomas (GThom), both scholars and
non-scholars try to “decipher” the meaning of this enigmatic collection of sayings. This fact
emphatically leaves one with the impression that the GThom contains an important message to
decrypt or to convey, and/or that human beings tend to see meaning or to look for understandings
and search for it as a fundamental need. The following thesis proposes a reading which uses a
Reader-Response method in order to be “free to imply” that Platonic and Aristotelian notions of
time in the GThom can be both valid as a possible source in Neoplatonic times as still present as
unmodified, despite the obviousness of the fact that Neoplatonic times did try to integrate both
philosophies, due to the lack of secondary literature on the GThom and Aristotelianism. It is very
important to note in this context, that the thesis was not aimed at proving such a position, but that
the position came out of the investigation itself. This is and was my effort towards “objectivity”
and “understanding” without a self-referential thesis or mindset in mind.