Release date: Aug. 21, 2007
Contact: Elaine Justice at 404-727-0643 or elaine.justice@emory.edu

Author Elaine Pagels to Discuss Gospel of Judas

Elaine Pagels, renowned religion scholar and author of the groundbreaking book "The Gnostic Gospels," will discuss the theological mystery surrounding Judas Iscariot at Emory University on Thursday, Sept. 6, at 7 p.m. Tickets are $10 for Pagels' talk, to be held in Glenn Memorial Auditorium.

Was Judas Iscariot a villain who betrayed Jesus for 30 pieces of silver? Or was Judas a trusted disciple to the end, acting on the orders of Jesus himself to turn him over to the authorities? Pagels' latest bestseller, "Reading Judas: The Gospel of Judas and the Shaping of Christianity," opens a window onto this ancient debate, and how it relates to our understanding of Christianity today.

Her lecture is part of a series of events surrounding the exhibit at Emory's Michael C. Carlos Museum, "Cradle of Christianity: Jewish and Christian Treasures from the Holy Land."

Click for full details, and to purchase tickets for the events.

Pagels, the Harrington Spear Paine Professor of Religion at Princeton University, changed the historical landscape of the Christian religion with her research that exploded the myth of the early Christian Church as a unified movement. Her findings were published in "The Gnostic Gospels," an analysis of 52 early Christian manuscripts found at Nag Hammadi in the Egyptian desert. The manuscripts show the pluralistic nature of the early church and the role of women in the developing Christian canon, rites and clergy. "The Gnostic Gospels" won the National Book Critic's Circle Award and the National Book Award and was chosen by the Modern Library as one of the 100 best books of the 20th century.

"Reading Judas," which Pagels co-wrote with Karen King, analyzes a Christian text from the second century, known as the Gospel of Judas, which was translated and published for the first time in 2006. The first gospel to be discovered since the sensational find of the other early Christian sources in 1945, the Gospel of Judas reveals sources that were suppressed for centuries, and the lively debate that engaged Christians during that tumultuous time.

Even after decades of scholarship Pagels says she was surprised when she learned that the Gospel of Judas existed. The manuscript, which had been lost for nearly 1,700 years, casts Judas not as a villain, but as the disciple chosen by Jesus for a most difficult mission: to hand Jesus over to the authorities so that he could fulfill his destiny.

"It's like looking at the moon from the other side," Pagels says. "You see a completely different possible understanding of the story of Judas. The Gospel of Judas doesn't necessarily tell us what actually happened, but it tells us what people were talking about and discussing at that time."

The Gospel of Judas also challenges the view that Jesus had to die for the sins of the world. "This text presents a startling different view," says Pagels. "It questions whether God wants people to die in that way. Instead, it suggests that what Jesus was teaching is that it is possible to go into the light of God's grace after death."

Click for a complete listing of news releases on the "Cradle of Christianity" exhibit.

The Michael C. Carlos Museum of Emory University brings visitors in contact with masterworks from Egypt, the Near East, Greece, Rome, the Americas, Asia and sub-Saharan Africa, as well as prints and drawings from the Middle Ages to the present day, all housed in the stunning spaces of a building by world-renowned architect Michael Graves. An exciting array of special exhibitions, lectures, concerts and programs for children and families make the Carlos Museum a dynamic destination to experience the world's great art.

Emory University is one of the nation's leading private research universities and a member of the Association of American Universities. Known for its demanding academics, outstanding undergraduate college of arts and sciences, highly ranked professional schools and state-of-the-art research facilities, Emory is ranked as one of the country's top 20 national universities by U.S. News & World Report. In addition to its nine schools, the university encompasses The Carter Center, Yerkes National Primate Research Center and Emory Healthcare, the state's largest and most comprehensive health care system.

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