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Miracles and Wonder: The Historical Mystery of Jesus
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About This Book
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • From a renowned National Book Award–winning scholar, an extraordinary new account of the life of Jesus that explores the mystery of how a poor young man inspired a religion that reshaped the world."This a brilliant and necessary book. Sober, wise, respectful, and fearless." —Jon Meacham, author of The Soul of America"Pagels' story is for believers and non-believers alike." —Tara Westover, author of Educated"The depth of spirituality she uncovers is profound." —The New York Times Book ReviewEarly in her career, Elaine Pagels changed our understanding of the origins of Christianity with her work in The Gnostic Gospels. Now, in the culmination of a decades-long career, she explores the biggest subject of all, Jesus. In Miracles and Wonder she sets out to discover how a poor young Jewish man inspired a religion that shaped the world.The book reads like a historical mystery, with each chapter addressing a fascinating question and answering it based on the gospels Jesus's followers left behind. Why is Jesus said to have had a virgin birth? Why do we say he rose from the dead? Did his miracles really happen and what did they mean?The story Pagels tells is thrilling and tense. Not just does Jesus comes to life but his desperate, hunted followers do as well. We realize that some of the most compelling details of Jesus's life are the explanations his disciples created to paper over inconvenient facts. So Jesus wasn't illegitimate, his mother conceived by God; Jesus's body wasn't humiliatingly left to rot and tossed into a common grave—no, he rose from the dead and was seen whole by his followers; Jesus isn't a failed messiah, his kingdom is a he lives in us. These necessary fabrications were the very details and promises that electrified their listeners and helped his followers' numbers grow.In Miracles and Wonder, Pagels does more than solve a historical mystery. She sheds light on Jesus's enduring power to inspire and attract.
Reviews
"In some cases, recontextualizing the old stories gives them an unexpected poignancy."
"Pagels presents decisions concerning the Gospel story and Christian doctrine as contrived, if not conspiratorial."
"I realized that while I knew a great deal more about the origins of Christianity than when I began, the mystery of Jesus himself had deepened."
"No matter how familiar readers are with the gospels, the stories Pagels has woven together offer new takes on who Jesus was and what it means to bring facts to faith with clarity and curiosity."
"Books like Pagels's go a long way."
"She concludes with a thoughtful examination of why Jesus' messages, though often contradictory depending on which gospel you're reading, still resonate."
"Less successful are her detours into personal anecdotes...and analyses of Jesus in movies and art."
"Intellectually mature, but demands a more well-crafted conclusion."
"There's a peculiar tension in Pagels's new book between her introductory approach and her brisk assumption of critical experience ..."
"Pagels, who has written many imposing and engrossing books on early Christianity, is back with a kind of culminating work ..."
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