DDR: Miracles and Wonder: The Historical Mystery of Jesus by Elaine Pagels

I'm pretty excited about starting this one. I first encountered Ms. Pagels on her The Gnostic Gospels, and it helped to ignite my interest (still burning brightly) in gnosticism. No renews on this one (which is good, in that Somebody Else wants it, too), so no time to silly dally.

320 pages. 

Oh...looks like I got this pretty much hot off the press:

Thank you LFPL.

Day 1 (DDRD 2,757) May 19, 2025

Read to page 43.

Some very disturbing stuff here...not only questioning the vurgin birth, but suggesting that Mary was raped by a Roman soldier...and offering some circumstantial evidence to bolster that perspective. 

Also, the mention was made of one Jane Schaberg, who sounds interesting (and disturbing). To wit:

The Illegitimacy of Jesus: A Feminist Theological Interpretation of the Infancy Narratives

The Resurrection of Mary Magdalene: Legends, Apocrypha and the Christian Testament

Mary Magdalene Understood

Hmmmm.

That's a spicey a-meat-a-ball.

I also took a little peek at the Josephus book. It's intimidating...1149 double-columned pages...but it looked doable. Hmmm. Dare I eat a 🍑?

Day 2 (DDRD 2,758) May 20, 2025

Read to page 84.

Day 3 (DDRD 2,759) May 21, 2025

Read to page 144.

Here's a showstopper: "Mark's account sounds like nothing but a fantasy spun around a failed Messiah, and the birth stories seem only elaborate attempts to cover up an illegitimate birth." (94) Elaine wipes out Jesus's story in one sentence!

So close.

Day 4 (DDRD 2,760) May 22, 2025

Read to page 181.

Pagels made reference to a 1513 painting ("The Ascension of Christ") I'd never heard of by a painter (Hans Süss von Kulmbach) I'd never heard of, so I had to Google. And...

Wow. And guess what? It can be found  at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 607...and guess who's going to NYC in a few months? Mmm-hmmm.

Day 5 (DDRD 2,761) May 23, 2025

Read to page 211.

"...Paul's letters...constitute over 60 percent of the New Testament writings." (185)

On page 194, Pagels breaks the 4th Wall for a paragraph and a half to say that she has come to believe in an afterlife because of some things that have happened to her. Alas, no details. 

And then this: "...totalitarian rulers understood that arresting and killing a few key leaders, and randomly targeting a specific group of them, can effectively terrify and silence countless others." (201)

Day 6 (DDRD 2,762) May 24, 2025

Read to page 244.

Movie to look for: Son of Man (2006)

Another movie to look for: Mary Magdalene (2018)

And speaking of Jane Schaberg...I was about to see what I could find at Thrift Books or Better World Books, but took a gander at Internet Archive first and...

So there's a few dollars saved.

Or not. Turns out it's Borrow Unavailable for most of them. 😠

Day 7 (DDRD 2,763) May 25, 2025

Read to page 320, The End. This was an interesting and disturbing book. You could conclude that Jesus was born of rape (by a Roman soldier), performed no miracles, and died and was left to rot on the cross. What does that leave you with? Is it enough to still be able to say you you are a Christian? I don't know. 

This book also gave me plenty of other things to look for and at--books, movies. 

So onward.