Elaine Pagels, the Harrington Spear Paine Professor of Religion at Princeton University and one of the country’s leading scholars of religion, will speak at Vanderbilt University, on Thursday, Oct. 16, at Ingram Hall at the Blair School of Music. Her lecture is titled “Jesus, Mary Magdalene and Di Vinci: What We Know … and How We Know It.”
The event will begin at 6 p.m., preceded by a complimentary reception at 5 p.m. in Ingram Hall at The Blair School of Music. During the reception, Pagels will sign copies of her New York Times best-selling book Beyond Belief: The Secret Gospel of Thomas. Copies of the book will be available for sale at the reception for $13.
The event is free and open to the public. Reservations are not required, but seating is limited and available on a first-come, first-seated basis. Parking will be available in South Garage at 24th Avenue South and Children’s Way.
Pagels first became known for her in-depth study of 52 early Christian manuscripts known collectively as the Nag Hammadi Library. Her findings that the manuscripts demonstrate that the early Christian movement was far more diverse than previously thought became the basis for her first bestselling book, The Gnostic Gospels, published in 1979.
Expanding on questions raised in The Gnostic Gospels, Pagels wrote Adam, Eve and the Serpent (1988, Random House), a book that explores the Genesis creation stories and their role in the development of sexual attitudes in the Christian West — as well as the conviction, fundamental to American political life, that “all men are created equal.”
Pagels wrote The Origin of Satan (1995, Random House) after two tragic events in her life: the 1987 death of her 6-year-old son Mark and the 1988 death of her husband of 20 years. The book is a culmination of her reflections on the many ways that various religions have given imaginative form to what is invisible. She points out a clear connection between the primarily Western view of the world as a battleground between supernatural forces of good and evil, and the tendency of certain groups – both Christian and Muslim – to demonize others. This tendency, observes Pagels, resulted in “some very human tragedies.” She adds that demonization “is a cultural habit we can no longer afford.”
Her latest book, Reading Judas: The Gospel of Judas and the Shaping of Christianity (March 2007), is also aNew York Times best-seller. Co-authored with fellow scholar Karen King, the book is the first to illustrate how the newly discovered Gospel of Judas provides a window onto understanding how Jesus’ followers understood his death, why Judas betrayed Jesus and why God allowed it.
Pagels earned a B.A. in history and an M.A. in classical studies from Stanford University. In 1970, she earned a Ph.D. with distinction from Harvard University. In addition to Princeton,Pagels has taught at Barnard College and Columbia University.
There will be no recording or Web cast made of Pagels’ speech.
Pagels’ speech is part of the Chancellor’s Lecture Series, which serves to bring to Vanderbilt and the wider Nashville community intellectuals who are shaping the world today. For more information about the Chancellor’s Lecture Series, visit www.vanderbilt.edu/chancellor/cls.
Media Contact: Missy Pankake, (615) 322-NEWS
missy.pankake@vanderbilt.edu