Startling as the Gospel of Judas sounds, it amplifies hints we have long read in the Gospels of Mark and John that Jesus knew and even instigated the events of his passion, seeing them as part of a divine plan. Elaine Pagels amplifydivineevent share on social
Unlike many deities of the ancient Near East, the God of Israel shared his power with no female divinity, nor was he the divine husband or lover of any. Elaine Pagels ancientdeitydivine Change image and share on social
The Gospel of Judas really has been a surprise in many ways. For one thing, there's no other text that suggests that Judas Iscariot was an intimate, trusted disciple, one to whom Jesus revealed the secrets of the kingdom, and that conversely, the other disciples were misunderstanding what he meant by the gospel. Elaine Pagels converselydisciplegospel share on social
The Book of Revelation is such a dream landscape that you can plug any major conflict in it. Elaine Pagels bookconflictdream Change image and share on social
I never thought I would write about the Book of Revelation. It's so dense; it's so complex and puzzling. But then I found I was thinking about a number of themes, one of which has to do with politics and religion. Elaine Pagels bookcomplexdense share on social
I just have a sense that, you know, I'm curious about what is religion about, you know? Why do some of us still engage it? It's not because it's a set of old beliefs or old ideas. Or even, particularly, the view that this is the only true religion. Many of us no longer accept those views. Elaine Pagels acceptbeliefcurious share on social
We use the word 'synoptic' to talk about Matthew, Mark, and Luke, and it really means 'seeing together,' because they all have a similar perspective. Matthew and Luke - whoever wrote those Gospels - used Mark as a focus and as a basic story. So all of them have a lot in common. Elaine Pagels basiccommonfocus share on social
We don't actually know if the person who wrote the Gospel of John had a written copy of Thomas because we don't know exactly when it was written. Elaine Pagels copygospeljohn Change image and share on social
Once you start to look at the gospels one by one, you realize that followers of Jesus were trying to understand what had happened after he was arrested and killed. They knew Judas had handed him over to the people who arrested him. Elaine Pagels arrestfollowergospel share on social
I realize that I cannot live without a spiritual dimension in my life. Elaine Pagels dimensionlifelive Change image and share on social