Elaine Pagels's Books

Why Religion?

A Personal Story

By: Elaine Pagels

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New York Times bestseller One of PW’s Best Books of the Year One of Amazon’s Best Books of the Month Why is religion still around in the twenty-first century? Why do so many still believe? And how do various traditions still shape the way people experience everything from sexuality to politics, whether they are religious or not? In Why Religion? Elaine Pagels looks to her own life to help address these questions. These questions took on a new urgency for Pagels when dealing with unimaginable loss—the death of her young son, followed a year later by the shocking loss of her husband. Here she interweaves a personal story with the work that she loves, illuminating how, for better and worse, religious traditions have shaped how we understand ourselves; how we relate to one another; and, most importantly, how to get through the most difficult challenges we face. Drawing upon the perspectives of neurologists, anthropologists, and historians, as well as her own research, Pagels opens unexpected ways of understanding persistent religious aspects of our culture. A provocative and deeply moving account from one of the most compelling religious thinkers at work today, Why Religion? explores the spiritual dimension of human experience.

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238

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HarperCollins

Published Date

ISBN 10

0062368559

ISBN 13

9780062368553

Adam, Eve, and the Serpent

Sex and Politics in Early Christianity

By: Elaine Pagels

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Adam, Eve, and the Serpent

Sex and Politics in Early Christianity

By: Elaine Pagels

A National Book Award winner and New York Times bestselling author deepens and refreshes our view of early Christianity while casting a disturbing light on the evolution of the attitudes passed down to us. "Confirms her reputation as both a scholar and a popular interpreter.... Continuously rewarding and illuminating." —The New York Times How did the early Christians come to believe that sex was inherently sinful? When did the Fall of Adam become synonymous with the fall of humanity? What turned Christianity from a dissident sect that championed the integrity of the individual and the idea of free will into the bulwark of a new imperial order—with the central belief that human beings cannot not choose to sin? In this provocative masterpiece of historical scholarship Elaine Pagels re-creates the controversies that racked the early church as it confronted the riddles of sexuality, freedom, and sin as embodied in the story of Genesis. And she shows how what was once heresy came to shape our own attitudes toward the body and the soul.

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226

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Vintage

Published Date

ISBN 10

0307807355

ISBN 13

9780307807359

The Gnostic Gospels

By: Elaine Pagels

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The Gnostic Gospels

By: Elaine Pagels

Selected by the Modern Library as one of the 100 best nonfiction books of all time The Gnostic Gospels is a landmark study of the long-buried roots of Christianity, a work of luminous scholarship and wide popular appeal. First published in 1979 to critical acclaim, winning the National Book Award and the National Book Critics Circle Award, The Gnostic Gospels has continued to grow in reputation and influence over the past two decades. It is now widely recognized as one of the most brilliant and accessible histories of early Christian spirituality published in our time. In 1945 an Egyptian peasant unearthed what proved to be the Gnostic Gospels, thirteen papyrus volumes that expounded a radically different view of the life and teachings of Jesus Christ from that of the New Testament. In this spellbinding book, renowned religious scholar Elaine Pagels elucidates the mysteries and meanings of these sacred texts both in the world of the first Christians and in the context of Christianity today. With insight and passion, Pagels explores a remarkable range of recently discovered gospels, including the Gospel of Thomas and the Gospel of Mary Magdalene, to show how a variety of “Christianities” emerged at a time of extraordinary spiritual upheaval. Some Christians questioned the need for clergy and church doctrine, and taught that the divine could be discovered through spiritual search. Many others, like Buddhists and Hindus, sought enlightenment—and access to God—within. Such explorations raised questions: Was the resurrection to be understood symbolically and not literally? Was God to be envisioned only in masculine form, or feminine as well? Was martyrdom a necessary—or worthy—expression of faith? These early Christians dared to ask questions that orthodox Christians later suppressed—and their explorations led to profoundly different visions of Jesus and his message. Brilliant, provocative, and stunning in its implications, The Gnostic Gospels is a radical, eloquent reconsideration of the origins of the Christian faith.

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250

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Random House

Published Date

ISBN 10

1588364178

ISBN 13

9781588364173

The Origin of Satan

How Christians Demonized Jews, Pagans, and Heretics

By: Elaine Pagels

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The Origin of Satan

How Christians Demonized Jews, Pagans, and Heretics

By: Elaine Pagels

From the National Book Award-winning and National Book Critics Circle Award-winning author of The Gnostic Gospels comes a dramatic interpretation of Satan and his role on the Christian tradition. "Arresting...brilliant...this book illuminates the angels with which we must wrestle to come to the truth of our bedeviling spritual problems." —The Boston Globe With magisterial learning and the elan of a born storyteller, Pagels turns Satan’s story into an audacious exploration of Christianity’s shadow side, in which the gospel of love gives way to irrational hatreds that continue to haunt Christians and non-Christians alike.

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242

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Vintage

Published Date

ISBN 10

0679731180

ISBN 13

9780679731184

Beyond Belief

The Secret Gospel of Thomas

By: Elaine Pagels

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Beyond Belief

The Secret Gospel of Thomas

By: Elaine Pagels

In Beyond Belief, renowned religion scholar Elaine Pagels continues her groundbreaking examination of the earliest Christian texts, arguing for an ongoing assessment of faith and a questioning of religious orthodoxy. Spurred on by personal tragedy and new scholarship from an international group of researchers, Pagels returns to her investigation of the “secret” Gospel of Thomas, and breathes new life into writings once thought heretical. As she arrives at an ever-deeper conviction in her own faith, Pagels reveals how faith allows for a diversity of interpretations, and that the “rogue” voices of Christianity encourage and sustain “the recognition of the light within us all.”

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274

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Vintage

Published Date

ISBN 10

140007908X

ISBN 13

9781400079087

Revelations

Visions, Prophecy, and Politics in the Book of Revelation

By: Elaine Pagels

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Revelations

Visions, Prophecy, and Politics in the Book of Revelation

By: Elaine Pagels

A startling exploration of the history of the most controversial book of the Bible, by the bestselling author of Beyond Belief. Through the bestselling books of Elaine Pagels, thousands of readers have come to know and treasure the suppressed biblical texts known as the Gnostic Gospels. As one of the world's foremost religion scholars, she has been a pioneer in interpreting these books and illuminating their place in the early history of Christianity. Her new book, however, tackles a text that is firmly, dramatically within the New Testament canon: The Book of Revelation, the surreal apocalyptic vision of the end of the world . . . or is it? In this startling and timely book, Pagels returns The Book of Revelation to its historical origin, written as its author John of Patmos took aim at the Roman Empire after what is now known as "the Jewish War," in 66 CE. Militant Jews in Jerusalem, fired with religious fervor, waged an all-out war against Rome's occupation of Judea and their defeat resulted in the desecration of Jerusalem and its Great Temple. Pagels persuasively interprets Revelation as a scathing attack on the decadence of Rome. Soon after, however, a new sect known as "Christians" seized on John's text as a weapon against heresy and infidels of all kinds-Jews, even Christians who dissented from their increasingly rigid doctrines and hierarchies. In a time when global religious violence surges, Revelations explores how often those in power throughout history have sought to force "God's enemies" to submit or be killed. It is sure to appeal to Pagels's committed readers and bring her a whole new audience who want to understand the roots of dissent, violence, and division in the world's religions, and to appreciate the lasting appeal of this extraordinary text.

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253

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Penguin

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ISBN 10

110157707X

ISBN 13

9781101577073

Adam, Eve and the Serpent

By: Elaine H. Pagels

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Adam, Eve and the Serpent

By: Elaine H. Pagels

Om den kristne traditions grundlæggende holdninger til moral og seksualitet, samt om hvorledes traditionerne ændredes, da kristendommen i 300-tallet blev romersk statsreligion

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189

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ISBN 10

0297793268

ISBN 13

9780297793267

Reading Judas

The Gospel of Judas and the Shaping of Christianity

By: Elaine H. Pagels,Karen L. King

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Reading Judas

The Gospel of Judas and the Shaping of Christianity

By: Elaine H. Pagels,Karen L. King

Evaluates the meaning of the controversial, newly-discovered Gospel of Judas, illustrating how the text offers an understanding of Judas's betrayal, the apostles' understanding of Jesus's death, and God's role in the crucifixion.

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236

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Penguin

Published Date

ISBN 10

0670038458

ISBN 13

9780670038459

The Gnostic Paul

Gnostic Exegesis of the Pauline Letters

By: Elaine Pagels

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The Gnostic Paul

Gnostic Exegesis of the Pauline Letters

By: Elaine Pagels

In this highly original work, Elaine Pagels demonstrates how evidence from gnostic sources may challenge the assumption that Paul writes his letters to combat "gnostic opponents" and to repudiate their claims to secret wisdom. Drawing upon evidence from the gnostic exegesis of Paul, including several Nag Hammadi texts, the author examines how gnostic exegetes cite and interpret key passages in the letters they consider Pauline-1 & 2 Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, and Hebrews. Besides offering new insight into controversies over Paul in the second century, this analysis of gnostic exegesis suggests a new perspective for Pauline study, challenging students and scholars to recognize the presuppositions-hermenuetical and theological-involved in their own reading of Paul's letters. Elaine H. Pagels is the Harrington Spear Paine Professor of Religion at Princeton University. She is the author of The Gnostic Gospels, which won the National Book Award and the National Book Critics Circle Award, The Johannie Gospel in Gnostic Exegesis, Adam, Eve, and the Serpent, and the best-selling Beyond Belief: The Secret Gospel of Thomas.

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193

Publisher

Bloomsbury Publishing USA

Published Date

ISBN 10

1855395916

ISBN 13

9781855395916

Reading Judas

The Controversial Message of the Ancient Gospel of Judas

By: Elaine Pagels,Karen L. King

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Reading Judas

The Controversial Message of the Ancient Gospel of Judas

By: Elaine Pagels,Karen L. King

Discover the true meaning of the lost Gospel of Judas … Lost for 1,600 years, the Gospel of Judas has only now had its meaning unlocked for readers today. Its startling text included the claim that not only was Judas the favoured disciple of Jesus, but also that Judas was killed by the other disciples. Was Judas a betrayer or a loyal disciple? Did he write this shocking document? And what does it mean for us today? In Reading Judas Elaine Pagels and Karen L. King, world-renowned experts in religious texts, explore the meanings of this contentious gospel in detail. Here they reveal a gospel that, far from seeing Jesus’ death as a sacrifice for humanity’s sins, opposes the idea that God desires martyrdom and instead points towards a faith that is based on inner spiritual life. Containing a new translation of the Gospel of Judas from the original Coptic, Reading Judas radically challenges our notions of the Christian faith.

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165

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Penguin UK

Published Date

ISBN 10

0141030135

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9780141030135

Revelations

Visions, Prophecy, and Politics in the Book of Revelation

By: Elaine Pagels

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Revelations

Visions, Prophecy, and Politics in the Book of Revelation

By: Elaine Pagels

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253

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Penguin

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110157707X

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9781101577073

The Gnostic Paul

Gnostic Exegesis of the Pauline Letters

By: Elaine Pagels

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The Gnostic Paul

Gnostic Exegesis of the Pauline Letters

By: Elaine Pagels

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193

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Bloomsbury Publishing USA

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1855395916

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9781855395916

Beyond Belief

The Secret Gospel of Thomas

By: Elaine Pagels

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Beyond Belief

The Secret Gospel of Thomas

By: Elaine Pagels

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274

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Vintage

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ISBN 10

140007908X

ISBN 13

9781400079087

The Origin of Satan

How Christians Demonized Jews, Pagans, and Heretics

By: Elaine Pagels

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The Origin of Satan

How Christians Demonized Jews, Pagans, and Heretics

By: Elaine Pagels

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242

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Vintage

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ISBN 10

0307807363

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9780307807366

Reciprocal Ethnography and the Power of Women's Narratives

By: Elaine J. Lawless

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Reciprocal Ethnography and the Power of Women's Narratives

By: Elaine J. Lawless

Folklorist Elaine J. Lawless has devoted her career to ethnographic research with underserved groups in the American Midwest, including charismatic Pentecostals, clergywomen, victims of domestic violence, and displaced African Americans. She has consistently focused her research on women's speech in these contexts and has developed a new approach to ethnographic research which she calls "reciprocal ethnography," while growing a detailed corpus of work on women's narrative style and expressive speech. Reciprocal ethnography is a feminist and collaborative ethnographic approach that Lawless developed as a challenge to the reflexive turn in anthropological fieldwork and research in the 1970s, which was often male-centric, ignoring the contributions by and study of women's culture. Collected here for the first time are Lawless's key articles on the topics of reciprocal ethnography and women's narrative which influenced not only folklore, but also the allied fields of anthropology, sociology, performance studies, and women's and gender studies. Lawless's methods and research continue to be critically relevant in today's global struggle for gender equality.

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120

Publisher

Indiana University Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

0253042992

ISBN 13

9780253042996

Reading Judas

The Gospel of Judas and the Shaping of Christianity

By: Elaine H. Pagels,Karen L. King

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Reading Judas

The Gospel of Judas and the Shaping of Christianity

By: Elaine H. Pagels,Karen L. King

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236

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Penguin

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0670038458

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9780670038459

Hysteria Beyond Freud

By: Sander L. Gilman,Helen King,Roy Porter,G. S. Rousseau,Elaine Showalter

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Hysteria Beyond Freud

By: Sander L. Gilman,Helen King,Roy Porter,G. S. Rousseau,Elaine Showalter

She's hysterical." For centuries, the term "hysteria" has been used by physicians and laymen to diagnose and dismiss the extreme emotionality and mysterious physical disorders presumed to bedevil others—especially women. How did this medical concept assume its power? What cultural purposes does it serve? Why do different centuries and different circumstances produce different kinds of hysteria? These are among the questions pursued in this absorbing, erudite reevaluation of the history of hysteria. The widely respected authors draw upon the insights of social and cultural history, rather than Freudian psychoanalysis, to examine the ways in which hysteria has been conceived by doctors and patients, writers and artists, in Europe and North America, from antiquity to the early years of the twentieth century. In so doing, they show that a history of hysteria is a history of how we understand the mind. This title is part of UC Press's Voices Revived program, which commemorates University of California Press’s mission to seek out and cultivate the brightest minds and give them voice, reach, and impact. Drawing on a backlist dating to 1893, Voices Revived makes high-quality, peer-reviewed scholarship accessible once again using print-on-demand technology. This title was originally published in 1993.

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502

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Univ of California Press

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ISBN 10

0520309936

ISBN 13

9780520309937

The Best American Poetry 2023

By: David Lehman,Elaine Equi

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The Best American Poetry 2023

By: David Lehman,Elaine Equi

Award-winning poet Elaine Equi selects the poems for the 2023 edition of The Best American Poetry, “a ‘best’ anthology that really lives up to its title” (Chicago Tribune). Since its debut in 1988, The Best American Poetry series has been “one of the mainstays of the poetry publication world” (Academy of American Poets). Each volume presents some of the year’s most striking and innovative poems, with comments from the poets themselves offering insight into their work. For The Best American Poetry 2023 guest editor Elaine Equi, whose own work is “deft, delicate [and] subversive” (August Kleinzahler), has made astute choices representing contemporary poetry at its most dynamic. The result is an exceptionally coherent vision of American poetry today. Including valuable introductory essays contributed by the series and guest editors, the 2023 volume is sure to capture the attention of both Best American Poetry loyalists and newcomers to the series.

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224

Publisher

Simon and Schuster

Published Date

ISBN 10

1982186771

ISBN 13

9781982186777

Letters to Grand Children

Discovering Enchantment and Amazement

By: Elaine Mayer

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Letters to Grand Children

Discovering Enchantment and Amazement

By: Elaine Mayer

Collection of letters from a grandmother about the mystery, magic and adventure of life and encouraging her grandchildren to see how lives are shaped by people and Nature.

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235

Publisher

Trafford Publishing

Published Date

ISBN 10

142691542X

ISBN 13

9781426915420

The Origin of Satan

How Christians Demonized Jews, Pagans, and Heretics

By: Elaine Pagels

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The Origin of Satan

How Christians Demonized Jews, Pagans, and Heretics

By: Elaine Pagels

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242

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Vintage

Published Date

ISBN 10

0307807363

ISBN 13

9780307807366

Nag Hammadi Codices Xi, Xii, Xiii

By: Elaine H. Pagels,Charles W. Hedrick

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Nag Hammadi Codices Xi, Xii, Xiii

By: Elaine H. Pagels,Charles W. Hedrick

Preliminary Material --Introduction to Codex XI /John D. Turner --NHC XI,I: The Interpretation of Knowledge /Elaine H. Pagels --NHC XI,2: A Valentinian Exposition 22,1-39,39 /John D. Turner --NHC XI,3: Allogenes, 45,1-69,20 /Elaine H. Pagels and John D. Turne --Introduction to Codex XII /Frederik Wisse --NHC XII,1: The Sentences of Sextus /Frederik Wisse --NHC XII,2: The Gospel of Truth /Frederik Wisse --NHC XII,3: Fragments /Frederik Wisse --Introduction To Codex XIII /John D. Turner --NHC XIII,I: Trimorphic Protennoia /John D. Turner --NHC XIII,2: On the Origin of the World /John D. Turner --Nag Hammadi Codices XI, XII, and XIII Indices of Coptic, Greek, and Proper Names /John D. Turner --Ancient Works and Authors --References to Modern Authors.

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Page Count

608

Publisher

BRILL

Published Date

ISBN 10

9004078258

ISBN 13

9789004078253

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