Johannine Gospel in Gnostic Exegesis

by Elaine Pagels

The Johannine Gospel in Gnostic Heracleon's Commentary on John

Genres: Religion

132 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1973

About the author

Elaine Pagels is a preeminent figure in the theological community whose scholarship has earned her international respect. The Harrington Spear Paine Professor of Religion at Princeton University, she was awarded the Rockefeller, Guggenheim & MacArthur Fellowships in three consecutive years.
As 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. Her findings were published in the bestselling book, The Gnostic Gospels, an analysis of 52 early Christian manuscripts that were unearthed in Egypt. 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. As the early church moved toward becoming an orthodox body with a canon, rites & clergy, the Nag Hammadi manuscripts were suppressed & deemed heretical. 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.

Reviews

[Erik Graff · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of Elaine Pagel's earliest publications and one of her best from an academic perspective. Most of her other books are written with the general public in mind. This one, a revision of her doctoral dissertation, demonstrates her capabilities as a scholar. It is not for beginners, but the student of "gnosticism" will benefit from it. Thinking myself such a one in college, my thesis being on the debate about the origins of 'gnosticism', I was certainly impressed.

[Alan Swartz]

The gnostic gospels by Elaine H. Pagels (1981), 1st Vintage Books ed