Reading Judas: The Gospel of Judas and the Shaping of Christianity

The instant New York Times bestseller interpreting the controversial long-lost gospel

The recently unearthed Gospel of Judas is a source of fascination for biblical scholars and lay Christians alike. Now two leading experts on the Gnostic gospels tackle the important questions posed by its discovery, including: How could any Christian imagine Judas to be Jesus' favorite? And what kind of vision of God does the author offer? Working from Karen L. King's brilliant new translation, Elaine Pagels and King provide the context necessary for considering its meaning. Reading Judas plunges into the heart of Christianity itself and will stand as the definitive look at the gospel for years to come.

Author: Elaine Pagels, Karen L. King
Publisher: Penguin Books
Published: 03/01/2008
Pages: 224
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 0.39lbs
Size: 7.74h x 5.24w x 0.59d
ISBN: 9780143113164

Review Citation(s):
New York Times Book Review 03/23/2008 pg. 24

About the Author
Elaine Pagels is the Harrington Spear Paine Foundation Professor of Religion at Princeton University. She is the author of several books, including Reading Judas: The Gospel of Judas and the Shaping of Christianity and Miracles and Wonder, the New York Times bestseller Beyond Belief: The Secret Gospel of Thomas, and The Gnostic Gospels, winner of the National Book Critics Circle Award and the National Book Award. Professor Pagels lives in Princeton, New Jersey.

Karen L. King is an American academic specializing in Gnosticism and early Christianity. She was the Winn Professor of Ecclesiastical History at Harvard Divinity School from 1998 to 2008, and succeeded Harvey Cox in 2009 to become the first woman appointed to that school's distinguished Hollis Chair, the oldest endowed chair in the United States.