408 D.W. Kim “they shall stand as a single one (Logion 23b)” (84). The saying “Blessed is the man who has suffered” (85) shows that the religio- political separation was not only a distressing experience in the era of the ideological conflict, but also brought internal and external sufferings, caused by the conservative remainders of Judaism. The process of the painful deliverance proves the socio-religious persecution motivated by (Jewish) fellows or family members: “when you are hated and persecuted” (86). The Q 6,22, “blessed are you when they insult and persecute”, is reminiscent of the sayings in Logia 58b and 68 (87). Koester, through Logion 68, asserts the authenticity of the persecution saying, because the “persecution has disappeared in the Lukan redaction of this saying, but is preserved in Mt. 5:11” (88). Such a view of oppression came from the traditional Jews and their confidence in their future. Logion 69 clearly manifests the internal anxiety and agonising about the decision of conversion from the old religion to the new religion (89), because the religious change was not an easy decision or temporary shift, but was a life-changing commitment through personal agony: “those who have been persecuted in their heart” (90). Regarding the connection of Logion 69a to the previous Logion 68, Funk contends that the beatitude formulation of Thomas’ persecution “has been influenced by the persecution of the members of the Christian community” (91). (84) By the statement: “These solitary individuals formed small groups which led their own lives within large groupings of communities”, Klauck does not specify one particular Christian group, but it is certain that his concept includes the Thomas group as well, since the Thomasine community was also an early Christian community, not a second- or third-century Gentile group reproduced somewhere in Syria. KLAUCK, The Religious Context of Early Christianity, 112. (85) Logion 58a. (86) Logion 68. (87) H.W. ATTRIDGE, “Reflections on Research into Q”, Semeia 55 (1992) 223-234. (88) “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you” (Matt 5,11). KOESTER, Ancient Christian Gospels, 89. (89) Even though the saying contains some elements of Matthew 5,6.8.10. (90) The Coptic Gospel of Thomas in general is quoted as per Thomas G. Lambdin’s translation, but this part is from the first English translation of A. Guillaumont and others in 1959. T.O. LAMBDIN, “The Gospel of Thomas (II, 2)”, The Nag Hammadi Library in English (ed. J.M. ROBINSON) (Leiden – New York – Köln 41996) 124-138. The Gospel According to Thomas. Coptic Text Established and Translated (eds. A. GUILLAUMONT – H.-CH. PUECH, ET AL.) (Leiden – London 1959). (91) This phrase is also in Q 6,21a. Cf. The Five Gospels. The Search for the