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Why Religion?

Page 21

by Elaine Pagels


  DiMatteo, Rebekah, 208–9

  DiMatteo, Sarah Pagels. See Pagels, Sarah

  DiMatteo, Thomas, 208–9

  Dinka religion, 51–52, 53

  “Discernment of spirits,” 191

  Divine Mother, 43

  Donne, John, 19, 32

  Doresse, Jean, 28

  Dreams of Reason, The (Pagels), 107–8

  Drew University, 65

  Duben-Vaughn, Sarah, 133–35

  Dyson, Freeman, 154

  Echocardiogram, 61

  Edelson, Mary Beth, 59–60

  Edwards, Jonathan, 194

  Edwards, Rebekah, 73, 74, 86, 89–90, 95–96

  Einstein, Albert, 51, 151

  Elisha, 101

  Epicurus, 103

  Epstein, Jason, 47

  Essenes, 27, 157

  “Ethnic cleansing,” 162

  Eucharist, 26, 201

  Evangelical Christianity, 4, 8, 14, 19, 56, 208

  Eve. See Adam and Eve

  Evil, “problem of evil,” 151

  “Evilness,” 102

  Exodus, 144

  Ezekiel, 69

  Faust, Drew, 208–9

  Feminism, 42

  Fertility rituals, 59–60

  First International Coptic Studies Conference, 49–51

  Fitzmyer, Joseph, 48

  Frankl, Viktor, 153

  Freud, Sigmund, 49, 103, 205

  Gager, John, 114

  Garcia, Jerry, 12–14, 16–17

  Geertz, Clifford, 95

  Gender roles, 42–46, 54–55, 100–101

  Genesis, 45, 52, 53, 54, 56, 143, 156, 198–99

  Gibson, Mel, 193–94

  Gladney Center for Adoption, 82–83

  Gnosis, 28–29, 202

  “Gnostic,” 28–29

  Gnostic Gospels, The (Pagels), 41, 47–48, 49, 64, 70

  Goebbels, Joseph, 188

  Good, Theodore, 19–20

  Gospel of John, 160, 189–90, 193

  Gospel of Luke, 170–71, 173

  Gospel of Mark, 29–30, 158–60, 168–76

  Gospel of Matthew, 158, 160, 170, 171, 201

  Gospel of Philip, 22, 27, 30, 206

  Gospel of Thomas, 23, 26, 27–28, 30, 33, 97–98, 175–78, 206

  Gospel of Truth, 26, 29, 30, 195–98, 200–205

  Goya, Francisco, 108

  Graham, Billy, 1–2, 15, 191

  Graham, Martha, 17–18

  Grateful Dead, 13, 17

  Graubard, Phoebe, 13, 16

  Greeks, ancient, 43, 150–51, 207

  Grief (grieving), 118–21, 133, 141–42, 155, 165–66

  “Grief and a Headhunter’s Rage” (Rosaldo), 141–42

  Grief counseling, 120–21, 123–24

  Gross, Shulamith, 193

  Guilt, 67–68, 96–97, 100–103, 167–68

  Hairesis, 31

  Harvard Divinity School, 24

  Harvard Health Services, 25–26

  Harvard University, 18, 20–26, 36, 41

  Honorary Degree, 208–11

  Hathor, 43

  Headhunting, 141–42, 162

  Hebrew University, 51

  Heisey, Louise, xviii, 3, 5–6, 7, 14, 94–95, 130

  Heisey, Ralph, xviii, 3, 5, 6, 94

  Heisey, William, xviii, 3, 4–5, 18, 21, 94–95, 130

  Helen of Troy, 150–51

  Herbert, George, 32

  “Heresy,” 31, 192

  “Heretics,” 23, 43, 206

  Hermes, 207

  Hess, Linda, 114

  Hildesley, Hugh, 82–83

  Hippolytus, 206

  Historiography of early Christianity, 20–24

  Hitler, Adolf, 188

  Holy Trinity Lutheran Church (New York City), 65

  Homer, 150–51

  Homosexuality, 49, 52, 54, 185

  Hopi Indians, 102

  Hopkins, Donald, 209, 210

  Hopkins, Gerard Manley, 32, 122

  Horus, 43

  Howe, Julia Ward, 188

  Iliad (Homer), 151

  “Illness,” 102

  Ilongot culture, 141–42, 143

  “Infidels,” 161

  Institute for Advanced Study, 154–55

  Institutionalization, 10–12

  International League for Human Rights, 107, 125, 127–28

  Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum, 85

  Iraq war, 185–86, 188–89

  Irenaeus, 28–29, 30, 31, 43, 45, 175, 192, 199, 203

  Isaiah, 1, 101, 190

  Isis, 43

  Islamophobia, 185–86

  James, 159, 195

  James, William, 205–6

  Jeremiah, 101

  Jerusalem Temple, 159

  Jerusalem visit, 51

  Jewish–Roman War, 159, 189

  Job, 147, 148–51, 156, 168

  John

  Gospel of John, 160, 189–90, 193

  Secret Book of John, 42, 44, 190–91

  John of the Cross, 31–32

  Judas Iscariot, 158

  Judea, 157–59, 189–90

  Jupiter, 43

  Kaddish, 121

  Keating, Thomas, 97–98, 128–29

  Kepler’s Books, 12

  Khoury, Nick, 63, 114

  King, Martin Luther, Jr., 32, 173

  King’s College, London, 51

  Koester, Helmut, 24–26, 38

  Leiden University, 6

  Leviathan, 150

  Lipkowitz, Jeanne, 4

  Lloyd, Seth, 108–9, 110, 111, 118–19, 139

  London Review of Books, 48

  Los Trancos Woods, 13

  Love of God, 1–2, 15

  LSD, 40–41

  Lucretius, 103

  Luke, 170–71, 173

  Luther, Martin, 146–47, 187–88, 194

  Luxor, Egypt, 27, 50

  MacArthur Fellowship, 68–69, 70, 76–77

  McCully, Emily, 60, 98, 100, 111, 131–32

  MacRae, George, 42

  Maimonides, 182

  Mann, Lucy, 97

  Mann, Robert, 97, 131

  Marcus Aurelius, 205

  Marcuse, Herbert, 18

  Mark the Evangelist, 29–30, 158–60, 168–76

  Maroon Bells, 110–11

  Maroon Lake, 98, 110

  Martha Graham School (New York City), 17–18

  Mary Magdalene, 170

  Mary of Paris, 32, 104, 173

  Massachusetts General Hospital, 80

  Matthew, 158, 160, 170, 171, 201

  Mays, Willie, 1

  Meditation, 50, 98, 129, 152–53, 208

  Menino, Tom, 209, 210

  Mental illness, 9–12

  Messiaen, Olivier, 188

  Midori Gotō, 98

  Misogyny, 55

  Mohammed Ali, 27–28, 31, 49–50

  Moore, Marianne, 190

  Morrison, Toni, 181

  Morton, Nelle, 65, 67, 68

  Moscow, 125–27

  Moses, 144

  Mother, Divine, 43

  Mount Sinai, 51

  Mourning, 80, 89–90, 94–96, 98, 149

  Nag Hammadi texts, 27–28, 31, 41, 44, 49–50, 55–56, 190, 192, 206–7

  Nazi concentration camps, 104, 147–48, 188

  Nazi Germany, 104, 147–48, 188

  New Year’s Eve, 132–33

  New York Academy of Sciences, xiii, 105, 125, 154

  New York City Marathon, 60

  New York Psychoanalytic Society, 143

  New York Review of Books, 47

  New York Times, 69, 104–5, 114

  New York Times Book Review, 47

  New York University, 18

  Nicene Creed, 33

  Nietzsche, Friedrich, 18, 129, 172

  “Nightmare parable,” 203

  Nuclear weapons, 1–2

  Nut, 50

  Olds, Sharon, 48, 88, 89, 114, 131–32

  On the Origin of Species (Darwin), 11

  “Original sin,” 108, 194


  Origin of Satan, The (Pagels), 154, 155–56, 158–59, 161–63, 175

  Origins of Christianity, 26–31

  Oxford University, 37

  Pagels, David

  adoption of, 105

  in Colorado, 108, 152

  father’s death and, 109–10, 113–14, 116, 117–18, 124–25, 132–34

  mother’s Harvard Honorary Degree, 209, 210

  in Princeton, 154–55, 184

  second birthday of, 136

  Pagels, Heinz, xiii, xiv, 35–40

  adoption and, 82–83, 84–85

  in Colorado, 62, 71, 72, 96, 98, 106, 107, 108–12

  death of, 109–15, 118–35, 139–40, 151–52, 165–66

  first anniversary of death, 152–53

  funeral service of, 115–17

  interment ceremony for, 134–35

  at International League for Human Rights, 107, 125, 127–28

  Mark and, 58, 60–69, 71–82, 85–89, 100, 164

  memorial service at Rockefeller University, 128–29, 131

  Moscow trip, 125–27

  at New York Academy of Sciences, xiii, 100, 125

  postpolio syndrome of, 139–40

  proposal and wedding, 34, 38–39

  research work of, 39–41, 46–47, 51, 107–8

  at Rockefeller University, 36, 39, 70–71, 125

  Sarah and, 84–85, 90, 98–99, 100

  Pagels, Marie, 38, 125

  death of, 165–66

  memorial service at Rockefeller University for son, 129–31

  son Heinz’s death, 113–14, 165–66

  Pagels, Mark

  birth and first year of life, 58, 60–69

  Colorado trip post-surgery and, 71–72

  death of, xiv, 85–90, 118, 137–38, 166–67

  father and, 58, 60–69, 71–82, 85–89, 100, 164

  funeral service of, 88–89, 94, 112

  grieving of death of, 89–91, 93–105

  open-heart surgery of, 61, 63, 64–69

  post-surgery life of, 71–82, 83–86

  in Santa Cruz, 71–73, 80–81, 83–84

  at The Town School, 77, 78–79, 85, 92

  Pagels, Sarah, 136

  adoption of, 84–85

  in Colorado, 94, 96, 107, 108–12, 140–41, 152

  father’s death and, 109–10, 112, 113–14, 116, 117–18, 124–25, 132–34, 140–41

  Mark’s death and, 86, 88, 90, 93–94

  mother’s Harvard Honorary Degree, 208–9, 210

  in Princeton, 154–55, 184

  Park Avenue Methodist Church (New York City), 74

  Passion of the Christ, The (film), 193–94

  Paul the Apostle, 159, 195–98, 199–202

  Pediatric Ethics Committee, 77–78

  Peninsula Bible Church (Palo Alto), 14, 194, 195

  Perkins, Pheme, 24

  Peter, 159, 170, 195

  Plato, 199, 203, 206, 207

  Pneuma, 43

  Pontius Pilate, 160, 171, 201–2

  Postpolio syndrome, 139–40

  Post-traumatic stress syndrome, 118, 167

  Pre-existence of Christ, 199–200

  Primordial time, 198–201

  Princeton Theological Seminary Library, 189

  Princeton University, 98–100, 123–24, 153–54

  “Problem of evil,” 151

  Pulmonary hypertension, 72, 75–76, 90

  Pyramid Peak, 110, 113, 114, 117, 152

  Quartet for the End of Time (Messiaen), 188

  Raboteau, Al, 114

  Rage, 4, 120, 141–42, 143

  Ra God, 43

  Ramadan, 50

  Random House, 47

  Reformation, 187

  Religious experience, 205–6

  Religious institutions, xiv–xv

  “Religious problem,” 19–20

  Religious violence, 162

  Republic (Plato), 206, 207

  Resurrection of Jesus, 169–72

  Revelation of Zostrianos, 181, 190, 207

  Road to Emmaus appearance, 170

  Robin Hood, 8, 13

  Rockefeller University, 36, 39, 70–71, 105, 125

  memorial service for Heinz, 128–29, 131

  Romero, Oscar, 173

  Rosaldo, Renato, 141–42, 161, 162

  Rossetti, Christina, 19

  Rumsfeld, Donald, 186

  Russell, Jeffrey Burton, 156

  St. Aloysius Church (Palo Alto), 3–4

  St. Benedict’s Monastery (Snowmass), 97–98, 115–16, 117–18, 141, 152–53

  Saint Michael’s Alley (Palo Alto), 35

  Saint Patrick’s Cathedral (New York City), 52

  Sakharov, Andrei, 125–26, 128

  San Francisco Chronicle, 1

  Satan, 145–50, 155–57, 161–13, 172–74, 186–87

  The Origin of Satan (Pagels), 154, 155–56, 158–59, 161–63, 175

  Schapiro, Meyer, 18

  Schick, Mike, 35

  Schneemann, Carolee, 60

  Schramm, Judith, 119

  “Second sex,” 45–46

  Secret Book of John, 42, 44, 190–91

  Secret gospels, 22–23, 26–31, 42, 56–57

  Segrè, Gino, 113–14

  September 11 attacks, 185–86

  Sexism, 20, 24–25, 38, 41–42, 45–46

  Sexual assault, 24–26

  Sexuality and gender, 42–46, 54–55, 100–101, 108, 143

  Sharia law, 51

  Shenouda III, Pope, 51

  Shock treatment, 11–12

  Silko, Leslie Marmon, 181

  “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” (Edwards), 194

  “Situational depression,” 79–80

  Smoking, 80–81

  “Sociology of Mental Illness, The” (course), 10–11, 12

  Sodom, 54, 167

  “Sodomy,” 54

  “Solutions of the imagination,” 161, 162–63

  Soviet Academy of Science, 125–26

  Speegle, Paul, 9–10, 14–16, 39–40

  Spider Woman, 102

  “Spirit” (Ruah), 42–43, 198

  Spirituality, 8, 206

  Spiritus, 43

  Stanford Linear Accelerator, 39

  Stanford Research Institute, 40

  Stanford University, 10, 13, 16, 17, 19–21, 35–36, 131

  Stark, Richard, 8, 15–16, 114

  Stendahl, Krister, 20, 21–22, 27, 38, 175

  Stoicism, 205, 206

  Stout, Jeff, 114

  Suetonius, 22

  Suffering, 100–105, 148–51, 204–5

  Suicide, 10–11, 81, 122

  Superman, 137–38

  Tacitus, 22

  Tallis, Thomas, 26

  Tertullian, 45–46, 55, 192

  Testimony of Truth, 44, 56

  Theophane, 115, 129

  Theudas, 204

  Thomas. See Gospel of Thomas

  Thomas, Dylan, 32

  Thorazine, 11

  Thunder, Complete Mind, 179–81, 198

  Tibetan Buddhism, 166–67

  Timaeus (Plato), 199

  Tolstoy, Leo, 205–6

  Town School, The (New York City), 77, 78–79, 85

  Trappists, 97–98, 115–16

  Trist, Alan, 12–13, 15, 16

  Twain, Mark, 101

  Unconscious mind, 49, 52, 102, 147, 167–68

  University Lutheran Church (Cambridge), 24

  University of California, Berkeley, 17

  University of California, Los Angeles, summer course at, 10–11, 12

  University of Chicago, 18

  University of Khartoum, 51

  University of Texas, 166

  Unknown years of Jesus, 206

  Valentine’s Day, 100

  Valentinus, 196, 204

  Van Druten, Sophie, 6

  Varieties of Religious Experience, The (James), 205–6

  Vietnam War, 17

  Walker, Kara, 181

  War of the Sons of Light Against the Sons of Da
rkness, 157–58

  Weitzmann Institute, 51

  Welch, Bram, 74, 76, 90

  West, Geoff, 121

  “What do you believe?”, xiii–xiv

  Whitman, Walt, 19, 205, 206

  Whore of Babylon, 186, 187, 188, 190

  “Why religion,” 36–37

  Widowed, 123

  Williams, C. K., 19

  Willpower, 63–64

  Winfrey, Oprah, 209, 210

  “Wisdom” (Hokmah), 43

  Wizard of Oz, The, 7–8

  Women and the Bible, 42–46

  Women’s Conference at Barnard, 43–46, 48, 49

  Woody Creek Tavern, 98

  World War II, 188

  Yoga, 105, 208

  Zeus, 43

  Zostrianos, 181, 190, 207

  About the Author

  ELAINE PAGELS is a preeminent academic whose impressive scholarship has earned her international respect. The Harrington Spear Paine Foundation Professor of Religion at Princeton University, Pagels was awarded the Rockefeller, the Guggenheim, and the MacArthur Fellowships. She is the author of The Gnostic Gospels, Beyond Belief, and Revelations.

  Discover great authors, exclusive offers, and more at hc.com.

  Also by Elaine Pagels

  The Johannine Gospel in Gnostic Exegesis:

  Heracleon’s Commentary on John

  The Gnostic Paul:

  Gnostic Exegesis of the Pauline Letters

  The Gnostic Gospels

  Adam, Eve, and the Serpent:

  Sex and Politics in Early Christianity

  The Origin of Satan:

  How Christians Demonized Jews, Pagans, and Heretics

  Beyond Belief:

  The Secret Gospel of Thomas

  Reading Judas:

  The Gospel of Judas and the Shaping of Christianity (with Karen L. King)

  Revelations:

  Visions, Prophecy, and Politics in the Book of Revelation

  Copyright

  “The Thunder, Perfect Mind” and “Trimorphic Protennoia” from The Nag Hammadi Library in English, 3rd, Completely Revised Edition, James M. Robinson, General Editor. Copyright © 1978, 1988 by E. J. Brill, Leiden, The Netherlands. By permission of HarperCollins Publishers.

  WHY RELIGION? Copyright © 2018 by Elaine Pagels. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, nontransferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse-engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.

  FIRST EDITION

  Cover design by Allison Saltzman

  Photographs courtesy of the author

  Digital Edition NOVEMBER 2018 ISBN: 978-0-06-236855-3

  Version 09282018

  Print ISBN: 978-0-06-236853-9

 

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