According to the Gospel of Mary Our Conflicts Can Yield to Wholeness
We fight wholeness, even as we struggle to gain it. This paradox brings to mind the conflict in the Gospel of Mary.
By Shirley Paulson, PhD|2021-01-25T04:21:24-05:00September 10th, 2020|Tags: Conflict, Gospel of Mary, Jesus, Social Justice, Wholeness|
We fight wholeness, even as we struggle to gain it. This paradox brings to mind the conflict in the Gospel of Mary.
By Shirley Paulson, PhD|2020-09-21T06:52:19-04:00September 3rd, 2020|Tags: Extracanonical Texts, Odes of Solomon, Stephanie A. Duzant, The Thunder Perfect Mind, Thecla, Womanist|
"I saw that I was womanish. I saw myself in it…. In the feminist movement, it was about being a woman. In the womanist tradition, it’s about being a woman in community." An interview with Rev. Stephanie A. Duzant.
By Shirley Paulson, PhD|2021-01-25T04:21:48-05:00August 13th, 2020|Tags: Compassion, Early Christian Texts, Secret Revelation of John, Uncertainty|
I feel the tears in my city and from people everywhere who have become untethered from the promise of security. … a voice is speaking. “It is I, the compassionate.”
By Shirley Paulson, PhD|2020-08-06T04:37:55-04:00August 6th, 2020|Tags: Early Christian Communities, Elli Elliott, New Testament, Paul, Philemon|
"It’s interesting to read (Paul’s) letter to Philemon and imagine yourself hearing it as Onesimus. We do not often imagine life from the viewpoint of the slaves in the ancient world. " An interview with Elli Elliott, PhD.
By Shirley Paulson, PhD|2021-01-25T04:14:57-05:00July 9th, 2020|Tags: Early Christian Texts, Gospel of Philip, Injustice, Salvation|
Am I (and everybody else) supposed to work on my own behavior alone with God, or … should I sell everything I have and give to the poor, as Jesus teaches (Mark 10:21)?
By Shirley Paulson, PhD|2021-01-06T08:55:56-05:00July 1st, 2020|Tags: Apocrypha, Magic, Noncanonical Texts, Tony Burke|
"There are some strange things in these texts, and even Thomas’s skin is one of them. But … there’s plenty of strangeness in the New Testament as well. " An interview with Dr. Tony Burke.
By Shirley Paulson, PhD|2021-01-25T04:15:15-05:00June 11th, 2020|Tags: Early Christian Texts, Immovable Race, Injustice, Racial Justice, Secret Revelation of John|
But it’s neither a form of escapism, nor privilege for a favored few. It requires faithful living with the gifts of the spirit, not the alluring attractions of materialism.
By Shirley Paulson, PhD|2020-06-04T08:31:23-04:00June 4th, 2020|Tags: Deb Saxon, Early Christian Texts, Natalie Renee Perkins, Odes of Solomon|
Wow! Those are some really important words, and they went by so quickly. So, how can I (a composer) stretch them, so they have more weight to them than the textual space allows? An Interview with Natalie Perkins and Deborah Saxon.
By Shirley Paulson, PhD|2021-02-17T05:12:56-05:00May 29th, 2020|Tags: Early Christian Communities, Early Christian Texts, Early Jesus Followers, Hal Taussig|
He brings what we love most about the Early Christian Texts project: his willingness to listen like a pastor, his eagerness to probe the scholarly questions …, and a healthy dose of surprise.
By Shirley Paulson, PhD|2021-01-25T04:15:35-05:00May 14th, 2020|Tags: COVID-19, Extracanonical Texts, Prayer, The Thunder Perfect Mind, Vulnerability|
Somewhere in all this, I rebel. Is God really unwilling or unable to help? Can prayer do something to help the vulnerable during a pandemic?