Beyond the Gnostic Gospel : Studies Building on the Work of Elaine Pagels

Published initially in 1979, Pagels' The Gnostic Gospels represents a landmark of scholarship in religious studies. It not only made the Nag Hammadi writings and Gnosticism popular topics in modern culture, it also invited scholars to rethink early Christianity from new perspectives. After The Gnostic Gospels, Elaine Pagels extended her research in various directions, from perceptions of sexuality in early Christianity and identity politics in the creation of the "Satan figure" to the role of ritual in Nag Hammadi texts, and, recently, the Gospel of Judas and ancient apocalypses. The studies included in this volume engage each stage of Pagels' vast trajectory, and provide critical evaluations of the field of "Gnosticism studies." The studies include new interpretations of the Nag Hammadi texts and fresh analyses of ancient heresiological literature. Contributors: Harold Attridge, April DeConick, Ismo Dunderberg, John Gager, Deirdre Good, Eduard Iricinschi, Lance Jenott, David Jorgensen, Karen King, Nicola Denzey Lewis, AnneMarie Luijendijk, Hugo Lundhaug, John Marshall, Marvin Meyer, Geoff Smith, Einar Thomassen, John D. Turner, Michael A. Williams, Holger Zellentin

Born 1968; MA in Religious Studies from New York University; PhD in the Religions of Late Antiquity from Princeton University; currently visiting research fellow at the Käte Hamburger Kolleg, Ruhr University Bochum.

Geboren 1975; Abschlüsse in Klassischer Philologie (University of Cambridge und University College London) sowie in Religionswissenschaft (Harvard University und Princeton University); 2009 Promotion an der Princeton University; Dozentin für antike mediterrane Religionen an der University of Edinburgh.

Born 1980; studied History, Classics, and Religion at the University of Washington (Seattle) and Princeton University; PhD in the Religions of Late Antiquity from Princeton University; currently Lecturer in the Department of Classics and Program in Religious Studies at Washington University in St. Louis.

Born 1966; BA in Religious Studies from the University of Toronto; MA and PhD from Princeton University in Religion and the Program in the Ancient World; currently Visiting Associate Professor of Religious Studies at Brown University.