Manichaeans and the Insider-Outsider Debate
Some scholars treat Manicaheism the same way Americans treat Asian-Americans. They’re from somewhere else. Guests, but not from here – they’re outsiders. An interview with Dr. Jae Han.
By Shirley Paulson, PhD|2023-07-01T08:10:56-04:00September 7th, 2022|Tags: Christian Heresies, Christianity, Gnosticism, Manichaeism, Religious Boundaries|
Some scholars treat Manicaheism the same way Americans treat Asian-Americans. They’re from somewhere else. Guests, but not from here – they’re outsiders. An interview with Dr. Jae Han.
By Shirley Paulson, PhD|2022-07-06T04:24:43-04:00July 6th, 2022|Tags: Christian Heresies, Demiurge, Genesis, Gnosticism, Nag Hammadi|
Here’s a saying [of Jesus] that nobody else knows about! And if you can figure out this …or really understand what’s going on here, you will have a certain kind of power. An interview with Nicola Denzey Lewis.
By Shirley Paulson, PhD|2022-05-15T08:05:03-04:00May 18th, 2022|Tags: Christian Heresies, Empowerment, Gnosticism, Nag Hammadi, Secret Revelation of John|
For those who want to hold power and authority over others, the value of this ancient text remains controversial, because it discusses the kind of freedom that offends authoritarian control.
By Shirley Paulson, PhD|2023-08-01T05:46:57-04:00April 6th, 2022|Tags: Apocryphal Texts, Christian Heresies, Empowerment, Sex, Theology|
From then on, illness is associated with heresy, mostly because of the way it spreads. Diseases spread [when] you talk to somebody, and the ancients were aware of that type of dissemination. An interview with Dr. Jennifer Barry.
By Shirley Paulson, PhD|2022-05-14T23:57:15-04:00August 11th, 2021|Tags: Christian Heresies, Gnosticism, Gospel of Mary|
"This is the kind of life that seems most consistent with Jesus’s other teachings, and the accusations against Gnosticism hardly apply to this text."
By Shirley Paulson, PhD|2022-05-14T23:58:17-04:00June 2nd, 2021|Tags: Christian Heresies, Early Church, Gnosticism, Nag Hammadi, Religious Boundaries|
So they feel there’s a need to say, 'OK, we know this is a time of crisis, so we need to know who counts in our group and who doesn’t.' An Interview with Chance Bonar.
By Shirley Paulson, PhD|2020-02-11T09:58:19-05:00January 2nd, 2020|Tags: Christian Heresies, Deb Saxon, Extracanonical Texts, Mary Magdalene, Perpetua, Thecla|
"Orthodoxy glorifies martyrs. So the stories of women martyrs are lifted up, but women who speak up or stand up in any other way are criticized and challenged." An Interview with Deb Saxon, PhD.