Elaine Pagels’s Miracles and Wonder presents itself as thoughtful engagement with the story of Jesus, but beneath the surface it follows a familiar pattern. By approaching the Gospels with the assumption that miracles must be symbolic or psychological rather than real, Pagels ends up stripping them of the very claims that make them meaningful to Christians. This kind of reading may sound open-minded, but it quietly closes the door on the possibility that the Gospels are telling the truth.
Her reliance on later texts like the Gospel of Thomas, written well after the time of Jesus and the apostles, raises real concerns. These writings reflect communities with very different beliefs about who Jesus was and what his message meant. To treat them as equally valid sources alongside the canonical Gospels is not just misleading. It reshapes the historical record to fit a different agenda.
If you don’t start by ruling out the supernatural, the Gospels read as they were meant to. They are eyewitness accounts of events that changed lives and launched a movement. The resurrection wasn’t an idea or a metaphor. It was a claim about something that happened in the world, witnessed by real people who staked everything on it.
Pagels’s project doesn’t offer clarity. It offers reinterpretation that ultimately undermines the core of the Christian message. We don't need another reinterpretation of Jesus. We just need to hear what he has to say. Books like Pagel's don't clarify, they obscure. And, they need to be called out for it.
Darn you Free Press! I already have a massively long reading list and now you just added three more to it (including one novel which is pretty amazing because they don't feature heavily in the rotation). Also Clive James? His New Year's Eve show was standard watching at our home when I was a teenager. Loved seeing him on the list as a non-American!
Astute and well read FRee Press Readers Have Just finished a book I want The Free Press to both cover and for Bari to have the author on her podcast.Bad Comany : Private Equity And The Death Of The American Dream by Megan Greenwell. I feel it is a must read for all because it both explains concisely and clearly what private equity does and how much it is part of every business in America and entwined it is in our government. If anyone knows how I can suggest this as a story to the free press editors please let me know.
I just finished “Dune: Messiah” by Frank Herbert, and I’m currently in the middle of “Emma” by Jane Austen.
Next, I’m excited to dive into a rabbit hole of real life spy novels. “Mossad” by Michael Bar-Zohar and Nissim Mishal covers some of the greatest missions of the Israeli secret service, while the others books I recently bought focus on how the CIA operated in Soviet Russia during the Cold War.
I appreciate the reading list provided here as well as the many thoughtful comments from fellow TFP readers. It’s refreshing to engage with intelligent, respectful, well-read people - especially those with different beliefs than my own. Much healthier for me than social media and cable “news.”
One more to add to this list: Yardena Schwartz’s “Ghosts of a Holy War: The 1929 Masscre in Palestine That Ignited the Arab-Israeli War,” (Union Square, 2024).
"The result is a pretty radical new vision of Jesus in his era, as a man but also as a political figure."
From the review, probably not. Professor Kenneth Bailey and Bishop N.T. Wright, among others, have covered this ground. Also try Joachim Jeremias and Jodi Magness.
When I read the intro, I thought 'I bet Niall Ferguson loves Neal Stephenson'. I guessed wrong with Cryptonomicon as his favourite, though. My advice is read all of Stephenson. He's amazing. I was just recommending The Diamond Age to a friend over dinner last week. Snow Crash, Zodiac, the Baroque Cycle series, ReamDe, to name a few.
I read Snow Crash when it came out and it renewed my hopes that science fiction wasn't lost, every book is amazing to brilliant and The Diamond Age has always been my favorite. Ananthem may be second.
It is inhuman to mention the late great Clive James without noting that he was an accomplished poet. His poem, Japanese Maple, will live as long as English does.
Love this!!
Elaine Pagels’s Miracles and Wonder presents itself as thoughtful engagement with the story of Jesus, but beneath the surface it follows a familiar pattern. By approaching the Gospels with the assumption that miracles must be symbolic or psychological rather than real, Pagels ends up stripping them of the very claims that make them meaningful to Christians. This kind of reading may sound open-minded, but it quietly closes the door on the possibility that the Gospels are telling the truth.
Her reliance on later texts like the Gospel of Thomas, written well after the time of Jesus and the apostles, raises real concerns. These writings reflect communities with very different beliefs about who Jesus was and what his message meant. To treat them as equally valid sources alongside the canonical Gospels is not just misleading. It reshapes the historical record to fit a different agenda.
If you don’t start by ruling out the supernatural, the Gospels read as they were meant to. They are eyewitness accounts of events that changed lives and launched a movement. The resurrection wasn’t an idea or a metaphor. It was a claim about something that happened in the world, witnessed by real people who staked everything on it.
Pagels’s project doesn’t offer clarity. It offers reinterpretation that ultimately undermines the core of the Christian message. We don't need another reinterpretation of Jesus. We just need to hear what he has to say. Books like Pagel's don't clarify, they obscure. And, they need to be called out for it.
Darn you Free Press! I already have a massively long reading list and now you just added three more to it (including one novel which is pretty amazing because they don't feature heavily in the rotation). Also Clive James? His New Year's Eve show was standard watching at our home when I was a teenager. Loved seeing him on the list as a non-American!
Before you rush off to read the Nelly Bowles anti-Christian recommendations read this informative review: https://firstthings.com/its-always-open-season-on-christianity/
One can always welcome Bishop Barron to the conversation.
Astute and well read FRee Press Readers Have Just finished a book I want The Free Press to both cover and for Bari to have the author on her podcast.Bad Comany : Private Equity And The Death Of The American Dream by Megan Greenwell. I feel it is a must read for all because it both explains concisely and clearly what private equity does and how much it is part of every business in America and entwined it is in our government. If anyone knows how I can suggest this as a story to the free press editors please let me know.
A slight correction, to Nellie Bowles observation that "Elaine Pagels is the best living writer on early Christianity."
Elaine Pagels is the *worst* living writer on early Christianity.
Pagels built a career on undermining Christianity: https://firstthings.com/its-always-open-season-on-christianity/
I just finished “Dune: Messiah” by Frank Herbert, and I’m currently in the middle of “Emma” by Jane Austen.
Next, I’m excited to dive into a rabbit hole of real life spy novels. “Mossad” by Michael Bar-Zohar and Nissim Mishal covers some of the greatest missions of the Israeli secret service, while the others books I recently bought focus on how the CIA operated in Soviet Russia during the Cold War.
Give us the reading list, please!
I just added six of these recommendations to my reading list, but in fairness to the contributors I won't say which six. Thank you Free Press!
The Jesus freaks and Dave Smith fans are really in their feels about these picks... LMAO
I appreciate the reading list provided here as well as the many thoughtful comments from fellow TFP readers. It’s refreshing to engage with intelligent, respectful, well-read people - especially those with different beliefs than my own. Much healthier for me than social media and cable “news.”
One more to add to this list: Yardena Schwartz’s “Ghosts of a Holy War: The 1929 Masscre in Palestine That Ignited the Arab-Israeli War,” (Union Square, 2024).
"The result is a pretty radical new vision of Jesus in his era, as a man but also as a political figure."
From the review, probably not. Professor Kenneth Bailey and Bishop N.T. Wright, among others, have covered this ground. Also try Joachim Jeremias and Jodi Magness.
Pagels is only the best living writer on early Christianity if you have no appreciation of accuracy or facts.
When I read the intro, I thought 'I bet Niall Ferguson loves Neal Stephenson'. I guessed wrong with Cryptonomicon as his favourite, though. My advice is read all of Stephenson. He's amazing. I was just recommending The Diamond Age to a friend over dinner last week. Snow Crash, Zodiac, the Baroque Cycle series, ReamDe, to name a few.
I read Snow Crash when it came out and it renewed my hopes that science fiction wasn't lost, every book is amazing to brilliant and The Diamond Age has always been my favorite. Ananthem may be second.
Oops! I forgot Anathem!
Well, that’s 5 books sold, no doubt. No recommendation Coleman? Psh… weak. Hopefully he’ll tell us on Conversations With Coleman.
It is inhuman to mention the late great Clive James without noting that he was an accomplished poet. His poem, Japanese Maple, will live as long as English does.