| Qty | Store | Section |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Beaverton | Religion Western- Gnosticism |
| 3 | Burnside | Christianity- Apocrypha |
| Hide store locations | ||
|
|
|
About This Book
ISBN13: 9780670038459 |
Synopses & Reviews
Publisher Comments:
When the Gospel of Judas was published by the National Geographic Society in April 2006, it received extraordinary media attention and was immediately heralded as a major biblical discovery that rocked the world of scholars and laypeople alike. Elaine Pagels and Karen King are the first to reflect on this newfound text and its ramifications for telling the story of early Christianity. In Reading Judas, the two celebrated scholars illustrate how the newly discovered text provides a window onto understanding how Jesus' followers understood his death, why Judas betrayed Jesus, and why God allowed it.
Most contemporary readers will find passages in the ancient Gospel of Judas difficult to comprehend outside of its context in the ancient world. Reading Judas illuminates the intellectual assumptions behind Jesus' teaching to Judas and shows how conflict among the disciples was a tool frequently used by early Christian authors to explore matters of doubt and disagreement. Presented with the elegance, insight, and accessibility that has made Pagels and King the leading voices in this field, this is a book for academics and popular audience both. Pagels's five previous books, including the New York Times bestseller Beyond Belief, and King's The Gospel of Mary of Magdala prove that there is a considerable audience eager for this kind of informed and engaging writing.
Review:
Review:
Synopsis:
About the Author
Elaine Pagels is Harrington Spear Paine Professor of religion at Princeton University.
What Our Readers Are Saying
Add a comment for a chance to win!
Average customer rating based on 2 comments:
-
dchendri, April 18, 2008 (view all comments by dchendri)
great book. easy to read and understand.brings light to an often dark subject.
-
Michelleyevshky, June 6, 2007 (view all comments by Michelleyevshky)
I am still coming to terms with this book. This book is the translation (by Karen King) of one of the newest Gnostic discoveries, the Gospel of Judas, accompanied with an interpretation of it by Elaine Pagels.
The book's layout is, in my opinion, sketchy. First comes Pagels' interpretation, followed by Kings' translation, followed by nearly 50 pages of notes and references. I dislike reading something after being told what to believe about it so after realizing I disliked the layout turned immediately to the Gospel of Judas.
My first impression of the Gospel of Judas was laughter. It was a bit ridiculous in a mean-spirited sort of way. There was homophobia and what could be dumbed down as racism and anti-Semitism, even anti-Christian sentiments. It was originally written in Greek in the first century C.E. although the translated version was from Coptic and the fourth century. The writer was not Judas, but presumably some early Christian. The setting is eight days before Jesus' death and the synopsis is that of Jesus picking Judas out from amongst the twelve to be given the Mysteries of the Kingdom. A great deal of the text has, unfortunately, been lost.
The notes were comprehensive, though very nitty-gritty. I went through the Gospel again with the aid of King's historical context and etymology. This helped sort out some of the places in which I found myself at sea.
Then I allowed myself to read Pagels' interpretation. She sees the writer as responding to the early Christian concept of martyrdom and sacrifice. There were those, like Irenaeus, who saw martyrdom as a gift from above, and the only way to obtain eternal life. The Gospel of Thomas, as Pagels reminds us, calls some victims "empty martyrs...testify only to themselves." (This brings to mind the likes of Eichmann. Surely if there ever were a martyr to a cause Eichmann would be one, though few Christians believe he might also obtain eternal life.) With this argument in place Pagels reiterates the Mysteries of the Kingdom which Jesus imparts to Judas, claiming that this anonymous first century writer was claiming that it is through becoming part with "divine spirit" that eternal life is obtained, not through martyrdom.
I found this to be a frustrating, enlightening, and interesting read. The Gospel of Judas itself, masterfully translated and torturously placed in context with history and etymology, was after all, only boorish bunk. Very old boorish bunk, granted, but still boorish bunk. I thought Pagels' explanation of early Christian histories fascinating and wonderful, but thought her explanations of what the anonymous author meant sometimes probable and often far-fetched. I don't think we CAN know what the writer meant, any more than we can know what the rest of the gospel writers meant. Her attempts to try came across at times too confident in her own knowledge, of which she is no doubt one of the most knoweldgable alive today.
I am not giving this book a rating because of an assumption formed off two facts.
Fact One: I dislike books on religion and only read them to understand the history of the world and why it is the way it is today and to come to terms with my own evangelical upbringing.
Fact Two: Elaine Pagels and Karen King are both competent scholars and good writers/translators.
Assumption: I am far, far, far from an objective reviewer, and as an amateur cannot effectively rate this book on a scale from 1 to 5. Any attempt to do so would be inaccurate.
View all 2 comments
Product Details
- ISBN:
- 9780670038459
- Subtitle:
- The Gospel of Judas and the Shaping of Christianity
- Author:
- Author:
- Author:
- Author:
- Publisher:
- Viking Books
- Subject:
- Christianity - History - General
- Subject:
- Biblical Studies - Controversial Speculation
- Subject:
- Church History
- Publication Date:
- March 2007
- Binding:
- Hardcover
- Grade Level:
- General/trade
- Language:
- English
- Pages:
- 198
- Dimensions:
- 8.48x6.06x.84 in. .76 lbs.
