Such ideas are created, adopted, and spread with intent. An idea like Satan, which lest we forget is an idea not a thing, much less a person, doesn’t get created randomly as a kind of spontaneous revelation. What Pagels reveals on her psycho-linguistic couch is rather startling. So I don’t think it’s too far fetched to suggest that historians like Pagels are really conducting cultural psychotherapy. And, least obvious of all, we can uncover our often hidden intentions, what isn’t visible at all, in what we say. The not so obvious consequence of visibility is that we can see how what we mean by what we say evolves. The obvious but largely unrecognised advantage of writing is that it makes language visible.

The Gnostic Gospels won both the Nat'l Book Critic’s Circle Award & the Nat'l Book Award & was chosen by the Modern Library as one of the 100 best books of the 20th Century. As the early church moved toward becoming an orthodox body with a canon, rites & clergy, the Nag Hammadi manuscripts were suppressed & deemed heretical. Known collectively as the Nag Hammadi Library, the manuscripts show the pluralistic nature of the early church & the role of women in the developing movement. Her findings were published in the bestselling book, The Gnostic Gospels, an analysis of 52 early Christian manuscripts that were unearthed in Egypt. The Harrington Spear Paine Professor of Religion at Princeton University, she was awarded the Rockefeller, Guggenheim & MacArthur Fellowships in three consecutive years.Īs a young researcher at Barnard College, she changed forever the historical landscape of the Christian religion by exploding the myth of the early Christian Church as a unified movement. Saving Earth Britannica Presents Earth’s To-Do List for the 21st Century.Elaine Pagels is a preeminent figure in the theological community whose scholarship has earned her international respect.100 Women Britannica celebrates the centennial of the Nineteenth Amendment, highlighting suffragists and history-making politicians.COVID-19 Portal While this global health crisis continues to evolve, it can be useful to look to past pandemics to better understand how to respond today.Student Portal Britannica is the ultimate student resource for key school subjects like history, government, literature, and more.This Time in History In these videos, find out what happened this month (or any month!) in history.#WTFact Videos In #WTFact Britannica shares some of the most bizarre facts we can find.Demystified Videos In Demystified, Britannica has all the answers to your burning questions.Britannica Classics Check out these retro videos from Encyclopedia Britannica’s archives.Britannica Explains In these videos, Britannica explains a variety of topics and answers frequently asked questions.

The origin of satan by elaine pagels