Jessica Lee Jernigan: Work

What You Have Will Save You: Elaine Pagels on the Gospel of Thomas

As you explain in your book, Jesus, for John, is a uniquely divine being—the way, the truth, the water of life—and salvation requires belief in Jesus. What is Jesus for Thomas?

Elaine Pagels: Well, you see that in Thomas belief is never asked for and the only time it's mentioned—when the disciples seem sort of desperate and they say, "Tell us who you are so that we may believe in you"—Jesus doesn't answer them. So, this gospel comes from someone or some group for whom believing in Jesus is not the point. Read more...

Questioning Matriarchy: Cynthia Eller on the Myth of a Gynocentric Past

There are cultures about which we know a great deal—ancient Greece, Japan—in which veneration of female deities does not translate into status for women. Why do matriarchalists believe that prehistoric societies that worshipped goddesses were necessarily environments in which women are equal to men or superior to men?

Cynthia Eller: You're right, it's no secret that goddess worship doesn't automatically produce societies that treat women with respect and give them opportunities equal to those offered to men. The examples you mention—ancient Greece and Japan—are good ones, and of course there are others, too. The way matriarchalists get around this problem is that they see ancient Greece and Japan not as examples of goddess worship per se, but of goddess worship as it has been corrupted by "the patriarchy." Read more...