Adam, Eve, and the Serpent

Rating:
Summary: The many influences of one myth...
Review: "Adam, Eve, and the Serpent" is a brief, fascinating introduction to the world that shaped early Christian thought. Pagels writes that, during the first four centuries of the common era, there were many different schools of thought about religion, almost as many as there are in the contemporary American setting that she writes.

In this book, she examines how one myth -- the story of the fall of Adam and Eve-- shaped different religious thinkers. Some, like Augustine, took it as an illustration of the inherantly sinful nature of people, and used the story to flesh out his highly influential beliefs about original sin. Other religious thinkers, like Gnostics, saw the myth as an allegory about the spirit (Eve) within the flesh (Adam) and even went so far to see the serpant as an early foreshadowing to Christ. The fall wasn't a bad thing -- it was an allegory of emerging spiritual consciousness.

Readers may be surprised to discover just how influential the Adam and Eve myth really was. For many under Roman rule, it was the first introduction to a notion of human equality-- all people were equal creations of God-- and a spark that lead to contemporary American concepts that "all men are created equal." (Just to be accurate, in both of these periods it was only men who were seen as equal, and no consideration was given to women, slaves, etc...) Pagels points out that an idea like this, which the American founding fathers took to be 'self-evident' is in fact an empirically unprovable concept, and philosophers like Aristotle would have found it absurd.

Elsewhere in the book, Pagels provides an interesting window into Christian attitudes about celibacy. I was surprised to learn a life of renunciation was seen as a freedom from the responsibilities of family life -- my modern mind was more trained to see it as a purely religious concept, not a practical one.

Pagels has a succint, controlled writing style that is hypnotic. In just 154 pages, she covers a lot of ground. I thoroughly enjoyed the book, and would be curious to see other treatments of the singular influence of certain Bible stories.

Rating:
Summary: Hmm...
Review: A little boring at times, but otherwise very enjoyable. I particularly enjoyed reading about Augustine and the different Gnostic interpretations of Genesis. Wish there was more about this though.

Rating:
Summary: excellent scholarship
Review: A refreshingly unbiased look at early Christian thought be a very serious scholar.

Rating:
Summary: Paradise Revisited
Review: Anyone even remotely familiar with Western civilization knows the story of the Garden of Eden. What we often don't know is how profoundly that story has influenced society for the past few thousand years. Elaine Pagels does a wonderul job of describing the evolution of some of our most basic social values, such as the inherent value of each soul, freedom of choice, and the sinful nature of sexual desire, all stemming from the early Christian "Church Fathers'" interpretation of the Garden story. What did God mean that "man (and woman) was created in the image of God?" What was the meaning of the forbidden fruit? And how has that influenced the politics of today? All of these and more are addressed between the covers of this book.

One of the signature's of Pagels writing is the in-depth exploration of the writings and debates of the early Christian thinkers who, by the fifth century, largely shaped Christianity into the paradigm we know today. Augustine in particular gets a great deal of ink in this book, as well as Julian (the heretic from Italy), John Chrysostom, Clement and others. In particular, the last two chapters on the Politics of Paradise and the Nature of Nature strongly portray the power of Augustine's philosophy, and Pagels analysis of the psychic attraction to Augustine's paradoxical philosophy regarding "will" is exceptional. I also very much enjoyed her description of the evolution of Christian thinking from one of ultimate free will (so powerful that it resulted in thousands of Christian martyrs in the second and third century), to one of the inherent wickedness of humans by virtue of the original sin, resulting in the need for punitive and controling church and civic governments to rule over all people. The result was the power of the Catholic Church for 1600 years, not to mention the horror of the Dark Ages of christianity.

Elaine Pagels is a delight to read, and ranks up there with Karen Armstrong as a commentator and analyst of the evolution of religion. This is a great little book!

Rating:
Summary: Paradise Revisited
Review: Anyone even remotely familiar with Western civilization knows the story of the Garden of Eden. What we often don't know is how profoundly that story has influenced society for the past few thousand years. Elaine Pagels does a wonderul job of describing the evolution of some of our most basic social values, such as the inherent value of each soul, freedom of choice, and the sinful nature of sexual desire, all stemming from the early Christian "Church Fathers'" interpretation of the Garden story. What did God mean that "man (and woman) was created in the image of God?" What was the meaning of the forbidden fruit? And how has that influenced the politics of today? All of these and more are addressed between the covers of this book.

One of the signature's of Pagels writing is the in-depth exploration of the writings and debates of the early Christian thinkers who, by the fifth century, largely shaped Christianity into the paradigm we know today. Augustine in particular gets a great deal of ink in this book, as well as Julian (the heretic from Italy), John Chrysostom, Clement and others. In particular, the last two chapters on the Politics of Paradise and the Nature of Nature strongly portray the power of Augustine's philosophy, and Pagels analysis of the psychic attraction to Augustine's paradoxical philosophy regarding "will" is exceptional. I also very much enjoyed her description of the evolution of Christian thinking from one of ultimate free will (so powerful that it resulted in thousands of Christian martyrs in the second and third century), to one of the inherent wickedness of humans by virtue of the original sin, resulting in the need for punitive and controling church and civic governments to rule over all people. The result was the power of the Catholic Church for 1600 years, not to mention the horror of the Dark Ages of christianity.

Elaine Pagels is a delight to read, and ranks up there with Karen Armstrong as a commentator and analyst of the evolution of religion. This is a great little book!

Rating:
Summary: The mirror she holds before you will blind most
Review: Elaine Pagels fascinates me. Her research and comprehension as a writer/historian helps one focus, if one has an open mind and the comprehension to do so, on questions vital to our understanding who we are and how we became who we are. For those of us who believe in high ethics and individual responsibility, who have charity and compassion in our hearts yet believe ourselves to be intelligent and educated, this book is a triumph. One begins to understand how one can live and believe in the ethics and example of the great spiritual leaders of antiquity without believing the myths, the fear and miracles, and the need to elevate ourselves above all other forms of life. Elaine Pagels holds the mirror before you, as she does in her other books, and blinds those who must hang on to salvation and anything that saves them from the natural ebb and flow of life. We know too much but not enough, so we struggle for something more, anything to comfort us from the truth. "Adam, Eve, and the Serpent" reveals too much for those who need a "fix" to get through the day. Elaine Pagels deals with something larger and profounder than saving one's soul. She is a true liberator of the human spirit, even with the harsh truths that flow from her typewriter.

Rating:
Summary: Adam, Eve, and the Serpent
Review: Elaine Pagels is one of my favorite authors and her books on early Christianity have given me many key insights into the early Church. Others have already critiqued at length so I'll just add my enthusiatic recommendation.

Rating:
Summary: All things old are new again...
Review: Elaine Pagels is perhaps best known as the author of the popular text, `The Gnostic Gospels', highlighting a lesser known arena in early Christian history. Her reputation is somewhat controversial, as is her writing, but one thing is certain - she is a good writer, interesting to read, and she will make her readers think. This particular book, `Adam, Eve and the Serpent' deals with issues surrounding sexuality and gender, a hot topic in the social and cultural situations of today, but similarly of concern throughout much of Christian history. There is a tug-of-war between `traditional values' (leaving aside that there are various traditions) and `revisionist' or `modern' ideas, and few are in agreement over where the boundaries should be drawn.

Pagels explores some of the ways in which these traditional roles of gender and patterns of sexual expression arose to become so powerfully ingrained in western Christian society. To this day, most people make the appeal to the early chapters of Genesis both as the paradigm for what God intended for the world as well as the explanation, if not the actual instance, of sin and evil encroaching upon the world. Pagels begins with a copy of the first few chapters of Genesis, and traces ways in which ancient Jewish and early Christian communities interpreted these chapters.

Each chapter in Pagel's book highlights a particular theme. The first chapter looks at the understanding of Jewish culture of the early Genesis stories that would have formed the world view of Jesus, Paul, and the other apostles and church leaders, all of whom were born and raised into this Jewish culture. Jesus and Paul do not seem to see original sin as being a sexual sin or act, according to Pagels, and humanity after Adam and Eve are still called to make a moral choice out of freedom that goes beyond sexuality.

Later chapters deal with the development of interpretation in light of the political and social situation, first as an oppressed minority, then later as a significant political presence in the empire. Pagels also devotes a chapter to looking at the Gnostics and their views toward gender and sexuality, the radicality of which sowed some of the discord between their community and the greater orthodox church. Pagels then devotes considerable space to the Augustinian development of ideas of sexuality, gender and human nature in relation to Genesis, as all subsequent Christian viewpoints in the West have some relationship, pro or con, to the Augustinian foundations. The prevailing idea of original sin as being sexual derives largely from Augustine (although some of it is based upon misinterpretation).

Pagels discusses briefly the issues of exegesis (interpretation) versus eisegesis (reading into the text, or projection) - it is often said that one can find most anything one wants in the bible by interpretation; Pagels has been charged with this as well. However, as an explanation of the ways in which certain texts were understood and passed on, Pagels is a good voice to include - her scholarship and research support is sound, and her interpretations fit within reasonable limits. This is a book that introduces the reader to ideas perhaps unknown, intriguing, and certainly worthy of conversation.


Rating:
Summary: How Sex Became Sin
Review: Elaine Pagels writes about how sex became sinful among Christians. In its early stages, most of the followers of Jesus were Jews who understood that the command of God was to be fruitful and multiply. But in Jesus' own commands to repent and purefy many followers found the "primary point of reference" to change the Jewish attitude toward sex. Later gnostics and ascetics emphasized that converting meant more than accepting baptism and following a set of moral codes; it meant finding one's spiritual nature. As Christianity changed from a persecuted religion to a state religion, this emphasis increased. By the time of Jerome, Christian writers wrote to Christian women to be better than their sisters by abstaining from sex.

Of course, with the fall of the Roman Empire, this was the heritage carried into the Dark Ages. Even though there is no such thing as a Golden Age in early Christianity, the attitude of Christianity toward sex had changed. For comparison one might want to have a look at Catherine Johns' _Sex or Symbol_ or Aline Rouselle's _Porneia_.

Rating:
Summary: So Much For That Simple And Unified Body Of Early Christians
Review: Elaine Pagels' knowledge of the development of Christianity during its first four centuries is very much in evidence in ADAM, EVE AND THE SERPENT as she describes the evolution of diverse interpretations of the Genesis creation stories held by succeeding generations of the new sect. In her account attitudes toward marriage, family, procreation and celibacy are shown to vary widely.

The author portrays Jesus as a man who views himself as a prophet sent to warn mankind of the coming Kingdom of God. Preparation for this event, according to Jesus, will require an allegiance that is stronger even than one's ties to family and nation.

The message of Jesus and later Paul was mostly about repentance and purification. Pagels claims that this emphasis became modified as the religion spread to Rome, Greece, Asia and Africa. A struggle then ensued between orthodox believers who sought a new ethical system and institutional structure which set them apart from the neighboring pagans and the gnostics who wished to achieve an elevated level of spiritual consciousness without the supervision of bishops and clergy.

The author points out that the lessons of the creation stories as interpreted by the first Christians allow them to validate the freedom of humans to choose between good and evil. In the fifth century Augustine looks at Genesis more as a story of human bondage. While the earlier Christians see people as being capable of self government, the prevailing attitude among believers reverses itself abruptly after the time of Constantine.

Elaine Pagels writes with clarity and she has the ability to make difficult material seem understandable to those of us who are not academics.

In this book I learned more about the incredible assortment of beliefs prevalent within the early church. The vision of a simple and unified body of beginning Christians has always apparently been just a myth.