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Also by Elaine Pagels:

Revelations, May 2012
Hardcover / e-Book
Reading Judas, March 2007
Hardcover
Beyond Belief, January 2005
Trade Size (reprint)
The Gnostic Gospels, April 2004
Hardcover (reprint)

Also by Karen L. King (2):

Reading Judas, March 2007
Hardcover
The Gospel of Mary of Magdala, November 2004
Hardcover

READING JUDAS
By: Elaine Pagels, Karen L. King (2)

The Gospel of Judas and the Shaping of Christianity

Viking
March 2007
On Sale: March 6, 2007
Featuring: Judas
224 pages
ISBN: 0670038458
EAN: 9780670038459
Hardcover
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Non-Fiction Religion

The two leading, bestselling experts on the Gnostic Gospels weigh in on the meaning of the controversial newly discovered Gospel of Judas

When the Gospel of Judas was published by the National Geographic Society in April 2006, it received extraordinary media attention and was immediately heralded as a major biblical discovery that rocked the world of scholars and laypeople alike. Elaine Pagels and Karen King are the first to reflect on this newfound text and its ramifications for telling the story of early Christianity. In Reading Judas, the two celebrated scholars illustrate how the newly discovered text provides a window onto understanding how Jesus’ followers understood his death, why Judas betrayed Jesus, and why God allowed it.

Most contemporary readers will find passages in the ancient Gospel of Judas difficult to comprehend outside of its context in the ancient world. Reading Judas illuminates the intellectual assumptions behind Jesus’ teaching to Judas and shows how conflict among the disciples was a tool frequently used by early Christian authors to explore matters of doubt and disagreement. Presented with the elegance, insight, and accessibility that has made Pagels and King the leading voices in this field, this is a book for academics and popular audience both. Pagels’s five previous books, including The New York Times bestseller Beyond Belief, and King’s The Gospel of Mary of Magdala prove that there is a considerable audience eager for this kind of informed and engaging writing.

Media Buzz

Colbert Report - April 17, 2007
Fresh Air - NPR - March 14, 2007