Why Religion?
A Personal Story
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Narrated by:
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Eunice Wong
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By:
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Elaine Pagels
About this listen
New York Times best seller
One of PW’s Best Books of the Year
One of Amazon’s Best Books of the Month
Why is religion still around in the 21st century? Why do so many still believe? And how do various traditions still shape the way people experience everything from sexuality to politics, whether they are religious or not? In Why Religion? Elaine Pagels looks to her own life to help address these questions.
These questions took on a new urgency for Pagels when dealing with unimaginable loss - the death of her young son, followed a year later by the shocking loss of her husband. Here she interweaves a personal story with the work that she loves, illuminating how, for better and worse, religious traditions have shaped how we understand ourselves; how we relate to one another; and, most importantly, how to get through the most difficult challenges we face.
Drawing upon the perspectives of neurologists, anthropologists, and historians, as well as her own research, Pagels opens unexpected ways of understanding persistent religious aspects of our culture.
A provocative and deeply moving account from one of the most compelling religious thinkers at work today, Why Religion? explores the spiritual dimension of human experience.
©2019 Elaine Pagels (P)2019 HarperAudioListeners also enjoyed...
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In My Sisters the Saints, author Colleen Carroll Campbell blends her personal narrative of spiritual seeking, trials, stumbles, and breakthroughs with the stories of six women saints who profoundly changed her life: Teresa of Avila, Therese of Lisieux, Faustina of Poland, Edith Stein of Germany, Mother Teresa of Calcutta, and Mary of Nazareth. Drawing upon the rich writings and examples of these extraordinary women, the author reveals Christianity's liberating power for women and the relevance of the saints to the lives of contemporary Christians.
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Beautifully written and sincere
- By mamabakineer on 01-23-20
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The Kingdom
- By: Emmanuel Carrère, John Lambert - translator, Claire Bloom - director
- Narrated by: Stefan Rudnicki
- Length: 16 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
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Gripped by the tale of a Messiah whose blood we drink and body we eat, the genre-defying author Emmanuel Carrère revisits the story of the early Church in his latest work. With an idiosyncratic and at times iconoclastic take on the charms and foibles of the Church fathers, Carrère ferries listeners through his "doors" into the biblical narrative. Once inside, he follows the ragtag group of early Christians through the tumultuous days of the faith's founding.
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The Gospel of Emmanuel
- By Mark on 12-31-17
By: Emmanuel Carrère, and others
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My Life With the Saints
- By: James Martin SJ
- Narrated by: James Martin SJ
- Length: 12 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
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Be inspired by saints like never before in My Life with the Saints by James Martin, SJ. This best-selling memoir of spiritual self-discovery is an homage to the saints who have accompanied Fr. Martin throughout his life. From a lukewarm childhood Catholicism, to the Wharton School of Business, to the executive fast track at General Electric, to the Jesuits, to a media career in Manhattan, Martin has relied on the saints to intervene in and guide his life.
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The title describes the book
- By Richard K. on 12-09-10
By: James Martin SJ
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Dirty Glory
- Go Where Your Best Prayers Take You
- By: Pete Greig
- Narrated by: Pete Greig
- Length: 12 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
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You were created to walk and talk with the living God. Prayer is the most natural, powerful, and universal expression of Christian faith. Why then is it sometimes so difficult? Continuing the adventures described in his best-selling memoir, Red Moon Rising, Pete Greig reveals the struggles, miracles, and hard-won insights gleaned from 15 years of 24-7 prayer, mission, and justice.
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Without Any Doubt The BEST Audible Book for Any Person of Faith
- By Mark Herndon on 02-27-21
By: Pete Greig
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If the Oceans Were Ink
- An Unlikely Friendship and a Journey to the Heart of the Quran
- By: Carla Power
- Narrated by: Kate Reading
- Length: 12 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
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If the Oceans Were Ink is Carla Power's eye-opening story of how she and her longtime friend, Sheikh Mohammad Akram Nadwi, found a way to confront ugly stereotypes and persistent misperceptions that were cleaving their communities. Their friendship - between a secular American and a madrasa-trained sheikh - had always seemed unlikely, but now they were frustrated and bewildered by the battles being fought in their names.
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WAY TOO LONG-but good material
- By teri_novabern on 07-30-16
By: Carla Power
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Holy Envy
- Finding God in the Faith of Others
- By: Barbara Brown Taylor
- Narrated by: Hillary Huber
- Length: 7 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
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The renowned and beloved New York Times best-selling author of An Altar in the World and Learning to Walk in the Dark recounts her moving discoveries of finding the sacred in unexpected places while teaching the world’s religions to undergraduates in rural Georgia, revealing how God delights in confounding our expectations.
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Narrator’s use of a “Southern Accent” was extremely distracting
- By Mary Pat on 03-13-19
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If All the Seas Were Ink
- A Memoir
- By: Ilana Kurshan
- Narrated by: Dara Rosenberg
- Length: 9 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
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This memoir is a tale of heartache and humor, of love and loss, of marriage and motherhood, and of learning to put one foot in front of the other by turning page after page. Ilana Kurshan takes us on a deeply accessible and personal guided tour of the Talmud, shedding new light on its stories and offering insights into its arguments - both for those already familiar with the text and for those who have never encountered it. For people of the book - both Jewish and non-Jewish - If All the Seas Were Ink is a celebration of learning how to fall in love once again.
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Started out interesting, but flagged badly
- By Chana Goanna on 01-27-20
By: Ilana Kurshan
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Living the Braveheart Life
- Finding the Courage to Follow Your Heart
- By: Randall Wallace
- Narrated by: Matt Baugher
- Length: 5 hrs and 51 mins
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Part autobiography, part master class, Living the Braveheart Life invites us to explore five major archetypes in Braveheart that resonate not only in Randall's life but in the modern-day lives of both men and women: the father, teacher, warrior, sage, and outlaw. Join blockbuster film director Randall Wallace on the journey of his creative and personal life.
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Braveheart has a valable message!
- By Mrs.Bushy on 04-28-21
By: Randall Wallace
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To Love and Be Loved
- A Personal Portrait of Mother Teresa
- By: Jim Towey
- Narrated by: Jim Towey
- Length: 7 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
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To Love and Be Loved is a firsthand account of Mother Teresa’s last years, and the first book ever to detail her dealings with worldly matters. We see her gracefully navigate the opportunities and challenges of leadership, the perils of celebrity, and the humiliations and triumphs of aging. We also catch her indulging in chocolate ice cream, making jokes about mini-skirts, and telling the president of the United States he’s wrong. Above all, we see her extraordinary devotion to God and to the very poorest of His children.
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Best book I've read in a long time
- By John on 04-02-24
By: Jim Towey
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Patience with God
- Faith for People Who Don't Like Religion (or Atheism)
- By: Frank Schaeffer
- Narrated by: Frank Schaeffer
- Length: 7 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
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Frank Schaeffer has a problem with Dawkins, Hitchens, Harris, Dennett, and the rest of the New Atheists—the self-anointed “Brights.” He also has a problem with the Rick Warrens and Tim LaHayes of the world—the religious fundamentalists. The problem is that he doesn’t see much of a difference between the two camps. As Schaeffer puts it, they “often share the same fallacy: truth claims that reek of false certainties.
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A Very Personal Book
- By Thomas on 09-24-10
By: Frank Schaeffer
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The Shelter of God's Promises
- By: Sheila Walsh
- Narrated by: Sheila Walsh
- Length: 5 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
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In a world of uncertainty, pain, and struggle, where do you find solid assurance and unshakeable truth? Gifted Bible teacher and inspiring Women of Faith speaker Sheila Walsh offers powerful, heart-filled teaching on ten bedrock promises of God, providing the foundation for daily confidence, joy, and hope. In The Shelter of God's Promises, Sheila searches Scripture for what God has promised us, what God's promises mean, and how encounters with Christ are the eternal fulfillment of His unrelenting commitment to us.
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Love It
- By Amazon Customer on 05-02-19
By: Sheila Walsh
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Create Dangerously
- The Immigrant Artist at Work
- By: Edwidge Danticat
- Narrated by: Kristin Kalbli
- Length: 4 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
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In this deeply personal book, the celebrated Haitian-American writer Edwidge Danticat reflects on art and exile. Inspired by Albert Camus and adapted from her own lectures for Princeton University’s Toni Morrison Lecture Series, here Danticat tells stories of artists who create despite (or because of) the horrors that drove them from their homelands. Combining memoir and essay, these moving and eloquent pieces examine what it means to be an artist from a country in crisis.
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A very important book.
- By Tyler on 12-07-19
By: Edwidge Danticat
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Gospel of Thomas is somewhat a misnomer
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The Gnostic Gospels provides engaging listening for those seeking a broader perspective on the early development of Christianity. Author and noted scholar Elaine Pagels suggests that Christianity could have developed quite differently if Gnostic texts had become part of the Christian canon.
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Millions of readers have turned to Elaine Pagels for her clear and insightful books about the Gnostic Gospels, the teachings of Jesus that have been lost for centuries. Sounds True is proud to present the first widely available audio recording of this extraordinary scholar as she explores the text that has changed the way many of us think about the message of Christ: The Gospel of Thomas.
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Very interesting lecture
- By Drayton on 03-05-06
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Must read for all practicing Christians
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Very interesting lecture
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Two celebrated scholars illustrate how the newly discovered Gospel of Judas provides a window into understanding how Jesus' followers understood his death, why Judas betrayed Jesus, and why God allowed it. Presented with the elegance, insight, and accessibility that has made Pagels and King the leading voices in this field, this is a book for academics and popular audiences alike.
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Judas Iscariot: Betrayer or Saint?
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Picking up where Bible expert Bart Ehrman's New York Times best seller, Misquoting Jesus, left off, Jesus, Interrupted addresses the larger issue of what the New Testament actually teaches...and it's not what most people think. This is the book that pastors, educators, and anyone interested in the Bible have been waiting for, a clear and compelling account of the central challenges we face when attempting to reconstruct the life and message of Jesus.
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Take a college course in New Testament in a book
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In a book that took eight years to research and write, leading Bible scholar Bart D. Ehrman explores how an apocalyptic prophet from the backwaters of rural Galilee crucified for crimes against the state came to be thought of as equal with the one God Almighty Creator of all things. Ehrman sketches Jesus's transformation from a human prophet to the Son of God exalted to divine status at his resurrection. Only when some of Jesus's followers had visions of him after his death - alive again - did anyone come to think that he, the prophet from Galilee, had become God.
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Wishing for a bit more meat on the bones
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In Armageddon, acclaimed New Testament authority Bart D. Ehrman delves into the most misunderstood—and possibly the most dangerous—book of the Bible, exploring the horrifying social and political consequences of expecting an imminent apocalypse and offering a fascinating tour through three millennia of Judeo-Christian thinking about how our world will end. By turns hilarious, moving, troubling, and provocative, Armageddon presents inspiring insights into how to live our lives in the face of an uncertain future.
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In this “eloquent understanding of how death is viewed through many spiritual traditions” (Publishers Weekly, starred review), Bart Ehrman recounts the long history of the afterlife, ranging from The Epic of Gilgamesh up to the writings of Augustine, focusing especially on the teachings of Jesus and his early followers. He discusses ancient guided tours of heaven and hell, in which a living person observes the sublime blessings of heaven for those who are saved and the horrifying torments of hell for those who are damned.
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It may not be what you expect
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Whether taken as a book of faith or a cultural artifact, the New Testament is among the most significant writings the world has ever known, its web of meaning relied upon by virtually every major writer in the last 2,000 years. Yet the New Testament is not only one of Western civilization’s most believed books, but also one of its most widely disputed, often maligned, and least clearly understood, with a vast number of people unaware of how it was written and transmitted.
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If you want a balanced overview this is not it
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What listeners say about Why Religion?
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Madison, WI
- 01-13-24
Most revealing and insightful
It's not often you get to listen to a book that weaves together scholarship, a personal narrative of love and loss, spiritual exploration, and a new take on life. And with heart and insight and impact! This is a rare book.
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Magnificent!
Questions I have struggled over for decades were enlightened with new dimensions through Elaine Pagels struggle to understand in the midst of deep grief and near despair. I am so grateful for her transparency and generosity in sharing this profound story.
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- B. Dickinson
- 01-06-21
Moving Story Powerfully Told
An incredibly moving personal story written beautifully and with great emotional and intellectual depth. In asking universal questions about suffering and weaving in her quest for meaning, Dr. Pagel shows us a way to accept the unknowable in life. A must-listen for anyone dealing with grief and seeking answers both inside and outside the traditional structure of religion.
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2 people found this helpful
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- I'm all ears
- 07-08-19
Moving, Powerful, and Wise
Elaine Pagel’s life has been remarkable both for it’s stunning achievements and it’s tragic losses. This is an account of both. It begins with her introduction to religion at a Billy Graham revival as a teenager and follows her to eventual disillusionment with evangelical religion. It then continues along the circuitous route to what became her life-long career translating and interpreting the Nag Hammadi library, recently discovered texts of early Christianity, which present alternate interpretations of Jesus’ life and teaching to those offered by the Church’s “official” theologians. Along the way is the story of two devastating deaths, which left her utterly bereft. Behind it all is the question of the title, “why religion?” If she is not able to actually offer a final answer to this provocative question, she is able to provide many intriguing insights – insights drawn both from her life and from the rich texts she knows so well.
This is a moving and powerful, and very personal book, told with honesty and hard-won wisdom. Highly recommended.
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- Chris Wolak
- 10-09-19
Fantastic Memoir and Listening Experience
I was drawn to this title because years ago I read and admired Pagels' The Gnostic Gospels. This audio version, narrated by Lynde Houck, was a fantastic listening experience. Houck creates just the right tone for the content.
Pagels tells her life story from how she first became interested in Christianity, to her graduate studies and early career, to the death of her son and a year later the unexpected death of her husband, physicist Heinz Pagels. These tragedies both compelled and shaped her scholarly interests. The relationship the Pagels shared seems like such a true partnership and a beautiful intertwining of their love and intellectual interests.
One of the things I admired about this memoir is how Pagels seamlessly weaves together her interest in religion and her love for Heinz and their children with her work. I can't recall reading a memoir that so deftly and relevantly entwines the writer's work, love, and life. Perhaps this is due to the nature of Pagels' work in religion. She also brings in anthropology, philosophy, and science to look at issues of emotional pain, loss, and mourning. Pagels' work in religion after these tragedies was an exploration of how others have dealt with death and grief. She blasts traditional Christian platitudes around pain and death (e.g., God doesn't give us more than we can handle).
An excellent read (and listen) for those interested in a scholar's journey, religious studies, and dealing with the pain of death.
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4 people found this helpful
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- Patricia Rash
- 06-02-20
Thank you Elaine
Thank you for sharing your story and your insight and your studies that helped you gain insight. I heard this book in audible. I will have to buy this book either on Kindle or hardcopy as I will have to highlight, ponder/meditate on what you have written. Just know that I have been moved, that I have shed tears, and want to seek a better understanding of the insight you’ve gained through your experiences and your studies. I have not lost a child, but I have lost my husband, the love of my life.
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1 person found this helpful
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- Guille
- 07-14-19
A Quest for Meaning
I highly recommend Pagel's book especially for those who, like her are looking for meaning after adversity has knocked on our doors. In that sense if you have experienced the loss of a beloved one it is a balm, but if you have not, it will prepare you to deal with it creatively when the moment arrives.
Elaine is a great scholar of religions and in this book you understand why she is at the same time so intimate, personal and honest, which are principles very scarce in the social sciences. She belongs to the Ernest Becker's tradition that invite us to be brave, if we really want to declare ourselves lerners of the human condition.
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- R. P.
- 03-24-19
moving, emotional work
Elaine's story spoke to my heart, echoing many feelings I myself have felt while dealing with tragic personal loss. thank you, Elaine, for sharing these pieces of yourself with the world.
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3 people found this helpful
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- David
- 05-23-21
Fabulous
Once again Elaine Pagels reveals her crafty talent to elucidate the grip which religion maintains on human beings, while interweaving her poignant personal experiences sharing with the listener her life’s journey of Why Religion? I read the Origin of Satan years ago as well as the Gnostic Gospels, but somehow THIS is now my absolute favorite of her writings. It’s worth every listening moment, especially with Ms. Wong’s voice. Enjoy.
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- Lee Ring
- 12-13-19
A soulful journey into the ineffable.
Pagles takes us to the understanding that suffering is part of what binds us all together. She showed me how important it is to continue ones meditative journey into the unity with the divine.
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