Elaine Pagels

This was a really informative look at the early days of Christianity. The Gnostic teachings were similar to Buddhist teachings, in that they felt that the divine was within each individual, and could only be reached by contemplation and the unwritten teachings of a mentor or teacher. During the early stages of a religion, this does not lend itself well to becoming a mass phenomenon, which in turn leads to the formation of most Christian churches as we know them today. As Pagels states, "the religious perspectives and methods of gnosticism did not lend themselves to mass religion. In this respect, it was no match for the highly effective system of organization of the catholic church."

Really interesting book for those interested in the beginnings of the Christian church, or anyone interested in the formation of any religion in general.… (mere)

Let me preface this saying I'm not a biography reader in general. I read this because I've read a couple of her books for a course. The why religion question gets examined through the lens of Pagels incredibly tragic misfortunes, but it's butting heads with the personal story and feels tacked on at times, like this is what she's known for and this is how you have to sell a biographical account of someone so known. While the story is high on pathos, due to Pagels ambivalence toward religion there's no real driving conclusion, like a grand conversion or reimagining of life in the light of some religious passage; rather it's some pertinent examples and discussion from religious history that sometimes intersect what's going on in her life, and she thinks might be worth considering. Rather tepid.… (mere)

Contextualizes Revelation in a landscape of similar texts in jewish writings, christian apocrypha and beyond. Also covers the long history of interpretations of the content. Content rich, uses Pagels knowledge of the gnostic texts well, a lot more on point than Ehrman's [b:Armageddon: What the Bible Really Says about the End|61271799|Armageddon What the Bible Really Says about the End|Bart D. Ehrman|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1675608536l/61271799._SX50_.jpg|96610951].… (mere)