Adam, Eve, and the Serpent: Sex and Politics in Early Christianity

It's a heavy book. Not the book itself, but reading it seemed heavy to me. I enjoyed reading it though. Helps me to look at these topics in a different perspective.

This was a great book that dealt with how the church changed it's interpretation of Adam & Eve. It was a great book that I read so fast and couldn't not put down!

Scholarly yet accessible. Pagels knows her early Christian history and I was challenged by each of her books.

An accessible overview of the Christian tradition from the early church fathers through Augustine and Julian of Eclanum as it pertains to questions of human free moral agency and theodicy. The author pays special attention to how various Christian thinkers interpreted the story of Adam, Eve and the serpent to defend their understandings of human nature, sexuality, sin, the human will, suffering...more

An accessible overview of the Christian tradition from the early church fathers through Augustine and Julian of Eclanum as it pertains to questions of human free moral agency and theodicy. The author pays special attention to how various Christian thinkers interpreted the story of Adam, Eve and the serpent to defend their understandings of human nature, sexuality, sin, the human will, suffering and death. Personally, I couldn't put the book down; I found it fascinating from beginning to end, especially the last chapter.   hide

At the beginning it was same-o, same-o, but then it gets eye-opening, the part about Augustine and St. John Chrysostom and all the rigmarole about original sin and sexuality and what happened to Jovinian because he said that chastity wasn't that important and Augustine with his differing point of view about chastity and sexuality and his sexual experience and little jewels like that. Before...more

At the beginning it was same-o, same-o, but then it gets eye-opening, the part about Augustine and St. John Chrysostom and all the rigmarole about original sin and sexuality and what happened to Jovinian because he said that chastity wasn't that important and Augustine with his differing point of view about chastity and sexuality and his sexual experience and little jewels like that. Before Vatican 2 it was thought that the most sainted state was the priestly/nun/brotherhood state and then I remember a poem that I read many years ago that saints could come from every state of life. Poor Jovinian. I went to the bathroom and 3 young uns were interested in what I had read about this book. It was great because their ears and eyes were open and the church is changing specially after the Cardinal (Un)Law(ful) gave communion to the high priest of Baal, Ted Kennedy and what the diocese of Boston did to the wife of one of his nephews (the brother of the child molester) and how she won when Rome was trying to tell her no, another priest versed in Canon Law was telling her what to do and also other horrible cases about the Marriage Tribunal in Massachusetts. So this book really puts you in the right path and about that Augustine did not read the original texts he read a translation in Latin to base himself on the original sin doctrine and other doozies which the Greek Orthodox do not beilieve in but the Western church does. Enjoy !!!!   hide

Its a Good Read!

Pagel's historical and contextual exposition of various translations and interpretations on the concept of original sin. Adam, Eve and the Serpent note how these varied religious and societal view points before and and after Christ have impact the world and Christianity's current concepts and behaviors. The wording is precise and accessible while maintaining an entertaining tone.

i love it....atleast some patrts r too romnantic

A look at the Gnostic belief system from one of the foremost Biblical scholars of our time.