---
title: "81 Elaine Pagels Quotes - Famous Historian (The gnostic Gospels)"
description: "Elaine Pagels quotes on religious freedom, betrayal, and the purpose of faith."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/uploads/sms4s/authors/processed/b009/author-elaine-pagels-32192.jpg"
---

![Portrait of Elaine Pagels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/uploads/sms4s/authors/processed/b009/author-elaine-pagels-32192.jpg)

# Elaine Pagels

(1943)   Historian

 **81** quotes in **659** categories

Elaine Pagels notes that the Jews under Roman rule were allowed to separate political duties from religious ones, a rare freedom. She points out that many religions fail to affirm others’ choices, and she examines betrayals like Judas and the Antichrist’s role in Revelation. Her curiosity drives her to ask why people still cling to religion.

Rate this collection:  ★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

Elaine Pagels is a historian, best known for *The gnostic Gospels*.

## Quick Facts About Elaine Pagels

Born February 13, 1943

Profession Historian

Notable works The gnostic Gospels

## About Elaine Pagels

Elaine Pagels, née Hiesey, is an American historian of religion. She is the Harrington Spear Paine Professor of Religion Emeritus at Princeton University. Pagels has conducted extensive research into early Christianity and Gnosticism.

##  Quotes by Elaine Pagels

> [These ancient stories in religion speak to our desire. But they move us toward hope.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elaine-pagels/these-ancient-stories-in-religion-speak-to-our-desire-but-they-move/)

[Elaine Pagels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elaine-pagels/)

[Ancient](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ancient/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/436/elaine-pagels-8423_ancient_these-ancient-stories-in-religion-speak_2014579.jpg)

> [“thus the story of Eden was made to reinforce the patriarchal structure”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elaine-pagels/thus-the-story-of-eden-was-made-to-reinforce-the-patriarchal-structure/)

[Elaine Pagels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elaine-pagels/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1d8/elaine-pagels-8423_patriarchal_thus-the-story-of-eden-was-made-to-reinf_322169.jpg)

> [He's an intimate betrayer. That's what's so troubling. Judas turned in his own teacher.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elaine-pagels/he-s-an-intimate-betrayer-that-s-what-s-so-troubling-judas-turned-in/)

[Elaine Pagels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elaine-pagels/)

[Betrayal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/betrayal/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/153/elaine-pagels-8423_betrayal_he-s-an-intimate-betrayer-that-s-what-s_67547.jpg)

> [I am enormously susceptible to religious environments - the music, the liturgy and the prayers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elaine-pagels/i-am-enormously-susceptible-to-religious-environments-the-music-the/)

[Elaine Pagels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elaine-pagels/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bc7/elaine-pagels-8423_am_i-am-enormously-susceptible-to-religious_1821253.jpg)

> [It is the winners who write history - their way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elaine-pagels/it-is-the-winners-who-write-history-their-way/)

[Elaine Pagels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elaine-pagels/)

[History](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f4a/elaine-pagels-8423_history_it-is-the-winners-who-write-history-thei_943523.jpg)

> [“gnostics celebrated as proof of spiritual maturity, the orthodox denounced as “deviation”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elaine-pagels/gnostics-celebrated-as-proof-of-spiritual-maturity-the-orthodox/)

[Elaine Pagels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elaine-pagels/)

[Religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/476/elaine-pagels-8423_religion_gnostics-celebrated-as-proof-of-spiritua_328934.jpg)

> [The Gospel of Judas is a kind of protest literature. It's challenging leaders of the church.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elaine-pagels/the-gospel-of-judas-is-a-kind-of-protest-literature-it-s-challenging/)

[Elaine Pagels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elaine-pagels/)

[Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/af5/elaine-pagels-8423_books_the-gospel-of-judas-is-a-kind-of-protest_1382827.jpg)

> [I realize that I cannot live without a spiritual dimension in my life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elaine-pagels/i-realize-that-i-cannot-live-without-a-spiritual-dimension-in-my-life/)

[Elaine Pagels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elaine-pagels/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4d7/elaine-pagels-8423_cannot_i-realize-that-i-cannot-live-without-a-s_708971.jpg)

> [The Romans weren't trying to kill all the Jews, but they did destroy Jewish resistance to Roman rule. Jerusalem was turned into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elaine-pagels/the-romans-weren-t-trying-to-kill-all-the-jews-but-they-did-destroy/)

[Elaine Pagels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elaine-pagels/)

[Army](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/army/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/50a/elaine-pagels-8423_army_the-romans-weren-t-trying-to-kill-all-th_651108.jpg)

> [“Among Jesus’ Jewish contemporaries no one questioned the legitimacy of divorce. The only question was what constituted adequate grounds;”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elaine-pagels/among-jesus-jewish-contemporaries-no-one-questioned-the-legitimacy-of/)

[Elaine Pagels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elaine-pagels/)

[Legitimacy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/legitimacy/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3b6/elaine-pagels-8423_legitimacy_among-jesus-jewish-contemporaries-no-one_2693473.jpg)

> [The Book of Revelation is all about the conflict, the contest between the forces of Good and Evil.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elaine-pagels/the-book-of-revelation-is-all-about-the-conflict-the-contest-between/)

[Elaine Pagels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elaine-pagels/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/746/elaine-pagels-8423_about_the-book-of-revelation-is-all-about-the_490199.jpg)

> [“But what made Christians especially dangerous to the Roman order was their refusal to pay what Romans regarded as ordinary respect to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elaine-pagels/but-what-made-christians-especially-dangerous-to-the-roman-order-was/)

[Elaine Pagels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elaine-pagels/)

[Christianity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/christianity/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/497/elaine-pagels-8423_christianity_but-what-made-christians-especially-dang_2599464.jpg)

> [About the gnostic writers themselves and the setting in which they lived we know little, although gnostic Christians were influential enough to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elaine-pagels/about-the-gnostic-writers-themselves-and-the-setting-in-which-they/)

[Elaine Pagels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elaine-pagels/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2f3/elaine-pagels-8423_about_about-the-gnostic-writers-themselves-and_2640908.jpg)

> [“Both polygamy and divorce, on the other hand, increased opportunities for reproduction—not for women, but for the men who wrote the laws…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elaine-pagels/both-polygamy-and-divorce-on-the-other-hand-increased-opportunities/)

[Elaine Pagels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elaine-pagels/)

[Polygamy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/polygamy/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/03f/elaine-pagels-8423_polygamy_both-polygamy-and-divorce-on-the-other-h_2308572.jpg)

> [The story of the betrayal of Jesus by Judas gave a moral and religious rationale to anti-Jewish sentiment, and that's what made…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elaine-pagels/the-story-of-the-betrayal-of-jesus-by-judas-gave-a-moral-and/)

[Elaine Pagels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elaine-pagels/)

[Betrayal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/betrayal/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/237/elaine-pagels-8423_betrayal_the-story-of-the-betrayal-of-jesus-by-ju_2801010.jpg)

> [ “Even Tacitus admitted that “whatever their origin, \[the Jews’\] observances are sanctioned by their antiquity,”64 and the Romans respected tradition. Christians, however,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elaine-pagels/even-tacitus-admitted-that-whatever-their-origin-the-jews-observances/)

[Elaine Pagels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elaine-pagels/)

[Jews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/jews/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/865/elaine-pagels-8423_jews_even-tacitus-admitted-that-whatever-thei_61864.jpg)

> [Once you start to look at the gospels one by one, you realize that followers of Jesus were trying to understand what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elaine-pagels/once-you-start-to-look-at-the-gospels-one-by-one-you-realize-that/)

[Elaine Pagels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elaine-pagels/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/67d/elaine-pagels-8423_after_once-you-start-to-look-at-the-gospels-on_3106698.jpg)

> [Startling as the Gospel of Judas sounds, it amplifies hints we have long read in the Gospels of Mark and John that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elaine-pagels/startling-as-the-gospel-of-judas-sounds-it-amplifies-hints-we-have/)

[Elaine Pagels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elaine-pagels/)

[Christianity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/christianity/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0ce/elaine-pagels-8423_christianity_startling-as-the-gospel-of-judas-sounds_474418.jpg)

> [“American revolutionaries would invoke the same creation story against the British king’s claim to divine right, declaring: We hold these truths to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elaine-pagels/american-revolutionaries-would-invoke-the-same-creation-story-against/)

[Elaine Pagels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elaine-pagels/)

[American revolution](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/american-revolution/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/768/elaine-pagels-8423_american-revolution_american-revolutionaries-would-invoke-th_671232.jpg)

> [People who study the way religions develop have shown that if you have a charismatic teacher, and you don't have an institution…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elaine-pagels/people-who-study-the-way-religions-develop-have-shown-that-if-you/)

[Elaine Pagels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elaine-pagels/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/335/elaine-pagels-8423_about_people-who-study-the-way-religions-devel_2770168.jpg)

> [I have sympathy for anyone who finds consolation anywhere we can. And many people do find it in religious tradition as it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elaine-pagels/i-have-sympathy-for-anyone-who-finds-consolation-anywhere-we-can-and/)

[Elaine Pagels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elaine-pagels/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e4e/elaine-pagels-8423_anyone_i-have-sympathy-for-anyone-who-finds-con_3012413.jpg)

> [The Secret Revelation of John opens, again, in crisis. The disciple John, grieving Jesus' death, is walking toward the temple when he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elaine-pagels/the-secret-revelation-of-john-opens-again-in-crisis-the-disciple-john/)

[Elaine Pagels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elaine-pagels/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f07/elaine-pagels-8423_again_the-secret-revelation-of-john-opens-agai_1766384.jpg)

> [So often, religion is identified in terms coined by Christianity as sets of belief. But I had the sense that it not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elaine-pagels/so-often-religion-is-identified-in-terms-coined-by-christianity-as/)

[Elaine Pagels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elaine-pagels/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dbd/elaine-pagels-8423_almost_so-often-religion-is-identified-in-terms_700155.jpg)

> [We use the word 'synoptic' to talk about Matthew, Mark, and Luke, and it really means 'seeing together,' because they all have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elaine-pagels/we-use-the-word-synoptic-to-talk-about-matthew-mark-and-luke-and-it/)

[Elaine Pagels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elaine-pagels/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/562/elaine-pagels-8423_about_we-use-the-word-synoptic-to-talk-about-m_1106855.jpg)

> [Christians have ... identified their opponents, whether Jews, pagans, or heretics, with forces of evil, and so with Satan... Nor have things…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elaine-pagels/christians-have-identified-their-opponents-whether-jews-pagans-or/)

[Elaine Pagels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elaine-pagels/)

[Atheism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/atheism/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/58a/elaine-pagels-8423_atheism_christians-have-identified-their-opponen_1154660.jpg)

> [“The Gospel of Philip takes up the same theme: Jesus took them all by stealth, for he did not reveal himself in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elaine-pagels/the-gospel-of-philip-takes-up-the-same-theme-jesus-took-them-all-by/)

[Elaine Pagels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elaine-pagels/)

[Christianity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/christianity/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/628/elaine-pagels-8423_christianity_the-gospel-of-philip-takes-up-the-same-t_2074735.jpg)

> [Contemporary Christianity, diverse and complex as we find it, actually may show more unanimity than the Christian churches of the first and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elaine-pagels/contemporary-christianity-diverse-and-complex-as-we-find-it-actually/)

[Elaine Pagels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elaine-pagels/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9a6/elaine-pagels-8423_accepting_contemporary-christianity-diverse-and-co_291821.jpg)

> [Why did the consensus of Christian churches not only accept these astonishing views but establish them as the only true form of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elaine-pagels/why-did-the-consensus-of-christian-churches-not-only-accept-these/)

[Elaine Pagels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elaine-pagels/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/731/elaine-pagels-8423_accepting_why-did-the-consensus-of-christian-churc_1109480.jpg)

> [The idea that each individual has intrinsic, God-given value and is of infinite worth quite apart from any social contribution - an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elaine-pagels/the-idea-that-each-individual-has-intrinsic-god-given-value-and-is-of/)

[Elaine Pagels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elaine-pagels/)

[Absurd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/absurd/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e35/elaine-pagels-8423_absurd_the-idea-that-each-individual-has-intrin_2722030.jpg)

> [“Many pagans who had been brought up to regard marriage essentially as a social and economic arrangement, homosexual relationships as an expected…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elaine-pagels/many-pagans-who-had-been-brought-up-to-regard-marriage-essentially-as/)

[Elaine Pagels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elaine-pagels/)

[Education](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/education/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d3a/elaine-pagels-8423_education_many-pagans-who-had-been-brought-up-to-r_950891.jpg)

> [“What Christians see, or claim to see, in Genesis 1-3 changed as the church itself changed from a dissident Jewish sect to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elaine-pagels/what-christians-see-or-claim-to-see-in-genesis-1-3-changed-as-the/)

[Elaine Pagels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elaine-pagels/)

[Christianity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/christianity/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ad2/elaine-pagels-8423_christianity_what-christians-see-or-claim-to-see-in-g_2672195.jpg)

> [“The controversy over resurrection, then, proved critical in shaping the Christian movement into an institutional religion. All Christians agreed in principle that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elaine-pagels/the-controversy-over-resurrection-then-proved-critical-in-shaping-the/)

[Elaine Pagels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elaine-pagels/)

[Christianity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/christianity/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2bd/elaine-pagels-8423_christianity_the-controversy-over-resurrection-then-p_1416718.jpg)

> [“The gnostic understands Christ’s message not as offering a set of answers, but as encouragement to engage in a process of searching:…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elaine-pagels/the-gnostic-understands-christ-s-message-not-as-offering-a-set-of/)

[Elaine Pagels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elaine-pagels/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2aa/elaine-pagels-8423_seeking_the-gnostic-understands-christ-s-message_3017870.jpg)

> [“What interested these gnostics far more than past events attributed to the “historical Jesus” was the possibility of encountering the risen Christ…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elaine-pagels/what-interested-these-gnostics-far-more-than-past-events-attributed/)

[Elaine Pagels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elaine-pagels/)

[Divine inspiration](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/divine-inspiration/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/74f/elaine-pagels-8423_divine-inspiration_what-interested-these-gnostics-far-more_1523354.jpg)

> [The Book of Revelation is such a dream landscape that you can plug any major conflict in it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elaine-pagels/the-book-of-revelation-is-such-a-dream-landscape-that-you-can-plug/)

[Elaine Pagels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elaine-pagels/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/abd/elaine-pagels-8423_any_the-book-of-revelation-is-such-a-dream-l_568156.jpg)

> [ “Augustine reflects that “what made me a slave to it was the habit \[consuetudo\] of satisfying an insatiable lust.”31” ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elaine-pagels/augustine-reflects-that-what-made-me-a-slave-to-it-was-the-habit/)

[Elaine Pagels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elaine-pagels/)

[Habits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/habits/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c77/elaine-pagels-8423_habits_augustine-reflects-that-what-made-me-a-s_240814.jpg)

> [Fundamentalism does mean reading quite conservatively and literally, saying 'the Bible is the word of God and we have to follow it.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elaine-pagels/fundamentalism-does-mean-reading-quite-conservatively-and-literally/)

[Elaine Pagels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elaine-pagels/)

[Bible](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bible/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/223/elaine-pagels-8423_bible_fundamentalism-does-mean-reading-quite-c_3064806.jpg)

> [At the end of the day I'll go to a yoga class. I used to say that my work was my yoga,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elaine-pagels/at-the-end-of-the-day-i-ll-go-to-a-yoga-class-i-used-to-say-that-my/)

[Elaine Pagels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elaine-pagels/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4c5/elaine-pagels-8423_because_at-the-end-of-the-day-i-ll-go-to-a-yoga_3229026.jpg)

> [What survived as orthodox Christianity did so by suppressing and forcibly eliminating a lot of other material.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elaine-pagels/what-survived-as-orthodox-christianity-did-so-by-suppressing-and/)

[Elaine Pagels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elaine-pagels/)

[Christianity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/christianity/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/77d/elaine-pagels-8423_christianity_what-survived-as-orthodox-christianity-d_3197610.jpg)

> [We don't actually know if the person who wrote the Gospel of John had a written copy of Thomas because we don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elaine-pagels/we-don-t-actually-know-if-the-person-who-wrote-the-gospel-of-john-had/)

[Elaine Pagels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elaine-pagels/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/19f/elaine-pagels-8423_actually_we-don-t-actually-know-if-the-person-who_1265620.jpg)

## Elaine Pagels by topic

[Religion (35)](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion/elaine-pagels/) [Christianity (29)](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/christianity/elaine-pagels/) [Jesus (11)](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/jesus/elaine-pagels/) [Books (11)](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/elaine-pagels/) [Revelation (10)](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/revelation/elaine-pagels/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "ItemList",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elaine-pagels/#itemlist",
            "name": "Elaine Pagels Quotes",
            "numberOfItems": 40,
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "item": {
                        "@type": "Quotation",
                        "text": "These ancient stories in religion speak to our desire. But they move us toward hope.",
                        "creator": {
                            "@type": "Person",
                            "name": "Elaine Pagels"
                        },
                        "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elaine-pagels/these-ancient-stories-in-religion-speak-to-our-desire-but-they-move/",
                        "image": {
                            "@type": "ImageObject",
                            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/436/elaine-pagels-8423_ancient_these-ancient-stories-in-religion-speak_2014579.jpg",
                            "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/436/elaine-pagels-8423_ancient_these-ancient-stories-in-religion-speak_2014579.jpg",
                            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/436/elaine-pagels-8423_ancient_these-ancient-stories-in-religion-speak_2014579.jpg",
                            "width": 1080,
                            "height": 1080,
                            "caption": "“These ancient stories in religion speak to our desire. But they move us toward hope.” — Elaine Pagels",
                            "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                            "creator": {
                                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                            }
                        }
                    }
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "item": {
                        "@type": "Quotation",
                        "text": "“thus the story of Eden was made to reinforce the patriarchal structure”",
                        "creator": {
                            "@type": "Person",
                            "name": "Elaine Pagels"
                        },
                        "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elaine-pagels/thus-the-story-of-eden-was-made-to-reinforce-the-patriarchal-structure/",
                        "image": {
                            "@type": "ImageObject",
                            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1d8/elaine-pagels-8423_patriarchal_thus-the-story-of-eden-was-made-to-reinf_322169.jpg",
                            "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1d8/elaine-pagels-8423_patriarchal_thus-the-story-of-eden-was-made-to-reinf_322169.jpg",
                            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1d8/elaine-pagels-8423_patriarchal_thus-the-story-of-eden-was-made-to-reinf_322169.jpg",
                            "width": 1080,
                            "height": 1080,
                            "caption": "“thus the story of Eden was made to reinforce the patriarchal structure” — Elaine Pagels",
                            "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                            "creator": {
                                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                            }
                        }
                    }
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "item": {
                        "@type": "Quotation",
                        "text": "He's an intimate betrayer. That's what's so troubling. Judas turned in his own teacher.",
                        "creator": {
                            "@type": "Person",
                            "name": "Elaine Pagels"
                        },
                        "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elaine-pagels/he-s-an-intimate-betrayer-that-s-what-s-so-troubling-judas-turned-in/",
                        "image": {
                            "@type": "ImageObject",
                            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/153/elaine-pagels-8423_betrayal_he-s-an-intimate-betrayer-that-s-what-s_67547.jpg",
                            "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/153/elaine-pagels-8423_betrayal_he-s-an-intimate-betrayer-that-s-what-s_67547.jpg",
                            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/153/elaine-pagels-8423_betrayal_he-s-an-intimate-betrayer-that-s-what-s_67547.jpg",
                            "width": 1080,
                            "height": 1080,
                            "caption": "“He's an intimate betrayer. That's what's so troubling. Judas turned in his own teacher.” — Elaine Pagels",
                            "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                            "creator": {
                                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                            }
                        }
                    }
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "item": {
                        "@type": "Quotation",
                        "text": "I am enormously susceptible to religious environments - the music, the liturgy and the prayers.",
                        "creator": {
                            "@type": "Person",
                            "name": "Elaine Pagels"
                        },
                        "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elaine-pagels/i-am-enormously-susceptible-to-religious-environments-the-music-the/",
                        "image": {
                            "@type": "ImageObject",
                            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bc7/elaine-pagels-8423_am_i-am-enormously-susceptible-to-religious_1821253.jpg",
                            "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bc7/elaine-pagels-8423_am_i-am-enormously-susceptible-to-religious_1821253.jpg",
                            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bc7/elaine-pagels-8423_am_i-am-enormously-susceptible-to-religious_1821253.jpg",
                            "width": 1080,
                            "height": 1080,
                            "caption": "“I am enormously susceptible to religious environments - the music, the liturgy and the prayers.” — Elaine Pagels",
                            "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                            "creator": {
                                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                            }
                        }
                    }
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 5,
                    "item": {
                        "@type": "Quotation",
                        "text": "It is the winners who write history - their way.",
                        "creator": {
                            "@type": "Person",
                            "name": "Elaine Pagels"
                        },
                        "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elaine-pagels/it-is-the-winners-who-write-history-their-way/",
                        "image": {
                            "@type": "ImageObject",
                            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f4a/elaine-pagels-8423_history_it-is-the-winners-who-write-history-thei_943523.jpg",
                            "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f4a/elaine-pagels-8423_history_it-is-the-winners-who-write-history-thei_943523.jpg",
                            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f4a/elaine-pagels-8423_history_it-is-the-winners-who-write-history-thei_943523.jpg",
                            "width": 1080,
                            "height": 1080,
                            "caption": "“It is the winners who write history - their way.” — Elaine Pagels",
                            "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                            "creator": {
                                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                            }
                        }
                    }
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 6,
                    "item": {
                        "@type": "Quotation",
                        "text": "“gnostics celebrated as proof of spiritual maturity, the orthodox denounced as “deviation”",
                        "creator": {
                            "@type": "Person",
                            "name": "Elaine Pagels"
                        },
                        "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elaine-pagels/gnostics-celebrated-as-proof-of-spiritual-maturity-the-orthodox/",
                        "image": {
                            "@type": "ImageObject",
                            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/476/elaine-pagels-8423_religion_gnostics-celebrated-as-proof-of-spiritua_328934.jpg",
                            "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/476/elaine-pagels-8423_religion_gnostics-celebrated-as-proof-of-spiritua_328934.jpg",
                            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/476/elaine-pagels-8423_religion_gnostics-celebrated-as-proof-of-spiritua_328934.jpg",
                            "width": 1080,
                            "height": 1080,
                            "caption": "“gnostics celebrated as proof of spiritual maturity, the orthodox denounced as “deviation” — Elaine Pagels",
                            "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                            "creator": {
                                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                            }
                        }
                    }
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 7,
                    "item": {
                        "@type": "Quotation",
                        "text": "The Gospel of Judas is a kind of protest literature. It's challenging leaders of the church.",
                        "creator": {
                            "@type": "Person",
                            "name": "Elaine Pagels"
                        },
                        "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elaine-pagels/the-gospel-of-judas-is-a-kind-of-protest-literature-it-s-challenging/",
                        "image": {
                            "@type": "ImageObject",
                            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/af5/elaine-pagels-8423_books_the-gospel-of-judas-is-a-kind-of-protest_1382827.jpg",
                            "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/af5/elaine-pagels-8423_books_the-gospel-of-judas-is-a-kind-of-protest_1382827.jpg",
                            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/af5/elaine-pagels-8423_books_the-gospel-of-judas-is-a-kind-of-protest_1382827.jpg",
                            "width": 1080,
                            "height": 1080,
                            "caption": "“The Gospel of Judas is a kind of protest literature. It's challenging leaders of the church.” — Elaine Pagels",
                            "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                            "creator": {
                                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                            }
                        }
                    }
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 8,
                    "item": {
                        "@type": "Quotation",
                        "text": "I realize that I cannot live without a spiritual dimension in my life.",
                        "creator": {
                            "@type": "Person",
                            "name": "Elaine Pagels"
                        },
                        "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elaine-pagels/i-realize-that-i-cannot-live-without-a-spiritual-dimension-in-my-life/",
                        "image": {
                            "@type": "ImageObject",
                            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4d7/elaine-pagels-8423_cannot_i-realize-that-i-cannot-live-without-a-s_708971.jpg",
                            "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4d7/elaine-pagels-8423_cannot_i-realize-that-i-cannot-live-without-a-s_708971.jpg",
                            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4d7/elaine-pagels-8423_cannot_i-realize-that-i-cannot-live-without-a-s_708971.jpg",
                            "width": 1080,
                            "height": 1080,
                            "caption": "“I realize that I cannot live without a spiritual dimension in my life.” — Elaine Pagels",
                            "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                            "creator": {
                                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                            }
                        }
                    }
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 9,
                    "item": {
                        "@type": "Quotation",
                        "text": "The Romans weren't trying to kill all the Jews, but they did destroy Jewish resistance to Roman rule. Jerusalem was turned into a Roman army camp, and it was a total devastation.",
                        "creator": {
                            "@type": "Person",
                            "name": "Elaine Pagels"
                        },
                        "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elaine-pagels/the-romans-weren-t-trying-to-kill-all-the-jews-but-they-did-destroy/",
                        "image": {
                            "@type": "ImageObject",
                            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/50a/elaine-pagels-8423_army_the-romans-weren-t-trying-to-kill-all-th_651108.jpg",
                            "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/50a/elaine-pagels-8423_army_the-romans-weren-t-trying-to-kill-all-th_651108.jpg",
                            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/50a/elaine-pagels-8423_army_the-romans-weren-t-trying-to-kill-all-th_651108.jpg",
                            "width": 1080,
                            "height": 1080,
                            "caption": "“The Romans weren't trying to kill all the Jews, but they did destroy Jewish resistance to Roman rule…” — Elaine Pagels",
                            "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                            "creator": {
                                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                            }
                        }
                    }
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 10,
                    "item": {
                        "@type": "Quotation",
                        "text": "“Among Jesus’ Jewish contemporaries no one questioned the legitimacy of divorce. The only question was what constituted adequate grounds;”",
                        "creator": {
                            "@type": "Person",
                            "name": "Elaine Pagels"
                        },
                        "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elaine-pagels/among-jesus-jewish-contemporaries-no-one-questioned-the-legitimacy-of/",
                        "image": {
                            "@type": "ImageObject",
                            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3b6/elaine-pagels-8423_legitimacy_among-jesus-jewish-contemporaries-no-one_2693473.jpg",
                            "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3b6/elaine-pagels-8423_legitimacy_among-jesus-jewish-contemporaries-no-one_2693473.jpg",
                            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3b6/elaine-pagels-8423_legitimacy_among-jesus-jewish-contemporaries-no-one_2693473.jpg",
                            "width": 1080,
                            "height": 1080,
                            "caption": "“Among Jesus’ Jewish contemporaries no one questioned the legitimacy of divorce. The only question was what…” — Elaine Pagels",
                            "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                            "creator": {
                                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                            }
                        }
                    }
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 11,
                    "item": {
                        "@type": "Quotation",
                        "text": "The Book of Revelation is all about the conflict, the contest between the forces of Good and Evil.",
                        "creator": {
                            "@type": "Person",
                            "name": "Elaine Pagels"
                        },
                        "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elaine-pagels/the-book-of-revelation-is-all-about-the-conflict-the-contest-between/",
                        "image": {
                            "@type": "ImageObject",
                            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/746/elaine-pagels-8423_about_the-book-of-revelation-is-all-about-the_490199.jpg",
                            "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/746/elaine-pagels-8423_about_the-book-of-revelation-is-all-about-the_490199.jpg",
                            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/746/elaine-pagels-8423_about_the-book-of-revelation-is-all-about-the_490199.jpg",
                            "width": 1080,
                            "height": 1080,
                            "caption": "“The Book of Revelation is all about the conflict, the contest between the forces of Good and Evil.” — Elaine Pagels",
                            "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                            "creator": {
                                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                            }
                        }
                    }
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 12,
                    "item": {
                        "@type": "Quotation",
                        "text": "“But what made Christians especially dangerous to the Roman order was their refusal to pay what Romans regarded as ordinary respect to their Roman rulers;”",
                        "creator": {
                            "@type": "Person",
                            "name": "Elaine Pagels"
                        },
                        "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elaine-pagels/but-what-made-christians-especially-dangerous-to-the-roman-order-was/",
                        "image": {
                            "@type": "ImageObject",
                            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/497/elaine-pagels-8423_christianity_but-what-made-christians-especially-dang_2599464.jpg",
                            "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/497/elaine-pagels-8423_christianity_but-what-made-christians-especially-dang_2599464.jpg",
                            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/497/elaine-pagels-8423_christianity_but-what-made-christians-especially-dang_2599464.jpg",
                            "width": 1080,
                            "height": 1080,
                            "caption": "“But what made Christians especially dangerous to the Roman order was their refusal to pay what Romans…” — Elaine Pagels",
                            "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                            "creator": {
                                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                            }
                        }
                    }
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 13,
                    "item": {
                        "@type": "Quotation",
                        "text": "About the gnostic writers themselves and the setting in which they lived we know little, although gnostic Christians were influential enough to be denounced at length.",
                        "creator": {
                            "@type": "Person",
                            "name": "Elaine Pagels"
                        },
                        "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elaine-pagels/about-the-gnostic-writers-themselves-and-the-setting-in-which-they/",
                        "image": {
                            "@type": "ImageObject",
                            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2f3/elaine-pagels-8423_about_about-the-gnostic-writers-themselves-and_2640908.jpg",
                            "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2f3/elaine-pagels-8423_about_about-the-gnostic-writers-themselves-and_2640908.jpg",
                            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2f3/elaine-pagels-8423_about_about-the-gnostic-writers-themselves-and_2640908.jpg",
                            "width": 1080,
                            "height": 1080,
                            "caption": "“About the gnostic writers themselves and the setting in which they lived we know little, although gnostic…” — Elaine Pagels",
                            "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                            "creator": {
                                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                            }
                        }
                    }
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 14,
                    "item": {
                        "@type": "Quotation",
                        "text": "“Both polygamy and divorce, on the other hand, increased opportunities for reproduction—not for women, but for the men who wrote the laws and benefited from them.”",
                        "creator": {
                            "@type": "Person",
                            "name": "Elaine Pagels"
                        },
                        "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elaine-pagels/both-polygamy-and-divorce-on-the-other-hand-increased-opportunities/",
                        "image": {
                            "@type": "ImageObject",
                            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/03f/elaine-pagels-8423_polygamy_both-polygamy-and-divorce-on-the-other-h_2308572.jpg",
                            "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/03f/elaine-pagels-8423_polygamy_both-polygamy-and-divorce-on-the-other-h_2308572.jpg",
                            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/03f/elaine-pagels-8423_polygamy_both-polygamy-and-divorce-on-the-other-h_2308572.jpg",
                            "width": 1080,
                            "height": 1080,
                            "caption": "“Both polygamy and divorce, on the other hand, increased opportunities for reproduction—not for women, but…” — Elaine Pagels",
                            "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                            "creator": {
                                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                            }
                        }
                    }
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 15,
                    "item": {
                        "@type": "Quotation",
                        "text": "The story of the betrayal of Jesus by Judas gave a moral and religious rationale to anti-Jewish sentiment, and that's what made it persistent and vicious.",
                        "creator": {
                            "@type": "Person",
                            "name": "Elaine Pagels"
                        },
                        "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elaine-pagels/the-story-of-the-betrayal-of-jesus-by-judas-gave-a-moral-and/",
                        "image": {
                            "@type": "ImageObject",
                            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/237/elaine-pagels-8423_betrayal_the-story-of-the-betrayal-of-jesus-by-ju_2801010.jpg",
                            "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/237/elaine-pagels-8423_betrayal_the-story-of-the-betrayal-of-jesus-by-ju_2801010.jpg",
                            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/237/elaine-pagels-8423_betrayal_the-story-of-the-betrayal-of-jesus-by-ju_2801010.jpg",
                            "width": 1080,
                            "height": 1080,
                            "caption": "“The story of the betrayal of Jesus by Judas gave a moral and religious rationale to anti-Jewish sentiment…” — Elaine Pagels",
                            "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                            "creator": {
                                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                            }
                        }
                    }
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 16,
                    "item": {
                        "@type": "Quotation",
                        "text": "“Even Tacitus admitted that “whatever their origin, [the Jews’] observances are sanctioned by their antiquity,”64 and the Romans respected tradition. Christians, however, had no such excuse.”",
                        "creator": {
                            "@type": "Person",
                            "name": "Elaine Pagels"
                        },
                        "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elaine-pagels/even-tacitus-admitted-that-whatever-their-origin-the-jews-observances/",
                        "image": {
                            "@type": "ImageObject",
                            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/865/elaine-pagels-8423_jews_even-tacitus-admitted-that-whatever-thei_61864.jpg",
                            "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/865/elaine-pagels-8423_jews_even-tacitus-admitted-that-whatever-thei_61864.jpg",
                            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/865/elaine-pagels-8423_jews_even-tacitus-admitted-that-whatever-thei_61864.jpg",
                            "width": 1080,
                            "height": 1080,
                            "caption": "“Even Tacitus admitted that “whatever their origin, [the Jews’] observances are sanctioned by their…” — Elaine Pagels",
                            "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                            "creator": {
                                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                            }
                        }
                    }
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 17,
                    "item": {
                        "@type": "Quotation",
                        "text": "Once you start to look at the gospels one by one, you realize that followers of Jesus were trying to understand what had happened after he was arrested and killed. They knew Judas had handed him over to the people who arrested him.",
                        "creator": {
                            "@type": "Person",
                            "name": "Elaine Pagels"
                        },
                        "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elaine-pagels/once-you-start-to-look-at-the-gospels-one-by-one-you-realize-that/",
                        "image": {
                            "@type": "ImageObject",
                            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/67d/elaine-pagels-8423_after_once-you-start-to-look-at-the-gospels-on_3106698.jpg",
                            "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/67d/elaine-pagels-8423_after_once-you-start-to-look-at-the-gospels-on_3106698.jpg",
                            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/67d/elaine-pagels-8423_after_once-you-start-to-look-at-the-gospels-on_3106698.jpg",
                            "width": 1080,
                            "height": 1080,
                            "caption": "“Once you start to look at the gospels one by one, you realize that followers of Jesus were trying to…” — Elaine Pagels",
                            "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                            "creator": {
                                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                            }
                        }
                    }
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 18,
                    "item": {
                        "@type": "Quotation",
                        "text": "Startling as the Gospel of Judas sounds, it amplifies hints we have long read in the Gospels of Mark and John that Jesus knew and even instigated the events of his passion, seeing them as part of a divine plan.",
                        "creator": {
                            "@type": "Person",
                            "name": "Elaine Pagels"
                        },
                        "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elaine-pagels/startling-as-the-gospel-of-judas-sounds-it-amplifies-hints-we-have/",
                        "image": {
                            "@type": "ImageObject",
                            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0ce/elaine-pagels-8423_christianity_startling-as-the-gospel-of-judas-sounds_474418.jpg",
                            "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0ce/elaine-pagels-8423_christianity_startling-as-the-gospel-of-judas-sounds_474418.jpg",
                            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0ce/elaine-pagels-8423_christianity_startling-as-the-gospel-of-judas-sounds_474418.jpg",
                            "width": 1080,
                            "height": 1080,
                            "caption": "“Startling as the Gospel of Judas sounds, it amplifies hints we have long read in the Gospels of Mark and…” — Elaine Pagels",
                            "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                            "creator": {
                                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                            }
                        }
                    }
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 19,
                    "item": {
                        "@type": "Quotation",
                        "text": "“American revolutionaries would invoke the same creation story against the British king’s claim to divine right, declaring: We hold these truths to be self-evident; that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights …”",
                        "creator": {
                            "@type": "Person",
                            "name": "Elaine Pagels"
                        },
                        "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elaine-pagels/american-revolutionaries-would-invoke-the-same-creation-story-against/",
                        "image": {
                            "@type": "ImageObject",
                            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/768/elaine-pagels-8423_american-revolution_american-revolutionaries-would-invoke-th_671232.jpg",
                            "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/768/elaine-pagels-8423_american-revolution_american-revolutionaries-would-invoke-th_671232.jpg",
                            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/768/elaine-pagels-8423_american-revolution_american-revolutionaries-would-invoke-th_671232.jpg",
                            "width": 1080,
                            "height": 1080,
                            "caption": "“American revolutionaries would invoke the same creation story against the British king’s claim to divine…” — Elaine Pagels",
                            "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                            "creator": {
                                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                            }
                        }
                    }
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 20,
                    "item": {
                        "@type": "Quotation",
                        "text": "People who study the way religions develop have shown that if you have a charismatic teacher, and you don't have an institution develop around that teacher within about a generation to transmit succession within the group, the movement just dies.",
                        "creator": {
                            "@type": "Person",
                            "name": "Elaine Pagels"
                        },
                        "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elaine-pagels/people-who-study-the-way-religions-develop-have-shown-that-if-you/",
                        "image": {
                            "@type": "ImageObject",
                            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/335/elaine-pagels-8423_about_people-who-study-the-way-religions-devel_2770168.jpg",
                            "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/335/elaine-pagels-8423_about_people-who-study-the-way-religions-devel_2770168.jpg",
                            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/335/elaine-pagels-8423_about_people-who-study-the-way-religions-devel_2770168.jpg",
                            "width": 1080,
                            "height": 1080,
                            "caption": "“People who study the way religions develop have shown that if you have a charismatic teacher, and you don't…” — Elaine Pagels",
                            "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                            "creator": {
                                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                            }
                        }
                    }
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 21,
                    "item": {
                        "@type": "Quotation",
                        "text": "I have sympathy for anyone who finds consolation anywhere we can. And many people do find it in religious tradition as it has been. I mean, I love much of that tradition. But somehow, that just didn't speak to me in the way that it does to some.",
                        "creator": {
                            "@type": "Person",
                            "name": "Elaine Pagels"
                        },
                        "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elaine-pagels/i-have-sympathy-for-anyone-who-finds-consolation-anywhere-we-can-and/",
                        "image": {
                            "@type": "ImageObject",
                            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e4e/elaine-pagels-8423_anyone_i-have-sympathy-for-anyone-who-finds-con_3012413.jpg",
                            "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e4e/elaine-pagels-8423_anyone_i-have-sympathy-for-anyone-who-finds-con_3012413.jpg",
                            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e4e/elaine-pagels-8423_anyone_i-have-sympathy-for-anyone-who-finds-con_3012413.jpg",
                            "width": 1080,
                            "height": 1080,
                            "caption": "“I have sympathy for anyone who finds consolation anywhere we can. And many people do find it in religious…” — Elaine Pagels",
                            "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                            "creator": {
                                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                            }
                        }
                    }
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 22,
                    "item": {
                        "@type": "Quotation",
                        "text": "The Secret Revelation of John opens, again, in crisis. The disciple John, grieving Jesus' death, is walking toward the temple when he meets a Pharisee who mocks him for having been deceived by a false messiah. These taunts echoed John's own fear and doubt.",
                        "creator": {
                            "@type": "Person",
                            "name": "Elaine Pagels"
                        },
                        "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elaine-pagels/the-secret-revelation-of-john-opens-again-in-crisis-the-disciple-john/",
                        "image": {
                            "@type": "ImageObject",
                            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f07/elaine-pagels-8423_again_the-secret-revelation-of-john-opens-agai_1766384.jpg",
                            "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f07/elaine-pagels-8423_again_the-secret-revelation-of-john-opens-agai_1766384.jpg",
                            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f07/elaine-pagels-8423_again_the-secret-revelation-of-john-opens-agai_1766384.jpg",
                            "width": 1080,
                            "height": 1080,
                            "caption": "“The Secret Revelation of John opens, again, in crisis. The disciple John, grieving Jesus' death, is walking…” — Elaine Pagels",
                            "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                            "creator": {
                                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                            }
                        }
                    }
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 23,
                    "item": {
                        "@type": "Quotation",
                        "text": "So often, religion is identified in terms coined by Christianity as sets of belief. But I had the sense that it not only involves practice, but also emotion and levels of our experience that are almost precognitive.",
                        "creator": {
                            "@type": "Person",
                            "name": "Elaine Pagels"
                        },
                        "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elaine-pagels/so-often-religion-is-identified-in-terms-coined-by-christianity-as/",
                        "image": {
                            "@type": "ImageObject",
                            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dbd/elaine-pagels-8423_almost_so-often-religion-is-identified-in-terms_700155.jpg",
                            "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dbd/elaine-pagels-8423_almost_so-often-religion-is-identified-in-terms_700155.jpg",
                            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dbd/elaine-pagels-8423_almost_so-often-religion-is-identified-in-terms_700155.jpg",
                            "width": 1080,
                            "height": 1080,
                            "caption": "“So often, religion is identified in terms coined by Christianity as sets of belief. But I had the sense that…” — Elaine Pagels",
                            "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                            "creator": {
                                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                            }
                        }
                    }
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 24,
                    "item": {
                        "@type": "Quotation",
                        "text": "We use the word 'synoptic' to talk about Matthew, Mark, and Luke, and it really means 'seeing together,' because they all have a similar perspective. Matthew and Luke - whoever wrote those Gospels - used Mark as a focus and as a basic story. So all of them have a lot in common.",
                        "creator": {
                            "@type": "Person",
                            "name": "Elaine Pagels"
                        },
                        "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elaine-pagels/we-use-the-word-synoptic-to-talk-about-matthew-mark-and-luke-and-it/",
                        "image": {
                            "@type": "ImageObject",
                            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/562/elaine-pagels-8423_about_we-use-the-word-synoptic-to-talk-about-m_1106855.jpg",
                            "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/562/elaine-pagels-8423_about_we-use-the-word-synoptic-to-talk-about-m_1106855.jpg",
                            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/562/elaine-pagels-8423_about_we-use-the-word-synoptic-to-talk-about-m_1106855.jpg",
                            "width": 1080,
                            "height": 1080,
                            "caption": "“We use the word 'synoptic' to talk about Matthew, Mark, and Luke, and it really means 'seeing together,'…” — Elaine Pagels",
                            "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                            "creator": {
                                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                            }
                        }
                    }
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 25,
                    "item": {
                        "@type": "Quotation",
                        "text": "Christians have ... identified their opponents, whether Jews, pagans, or heretics, with forces of evil, and so with Satan... Nor have things improved since. The blood-soaked history of persecution, torture, murder, and destruction perpetrated in the name of religion is difficult to grasp, let alohne summarize, from the slaughter of Christians to the Crusades to the Inquisitiion to the Reformation to the European witchcraze to colonialization to today's bitter coflict in the Middle East.",
                        "creator": {
                            "@type": "Person",
                            "name": "Elaine Pagels"
                        },
                        "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elaine-pagels/christians-have-identified-their-opponents-whether-jews-pagans-or/",
                        "image": {
                            "@type": "ImageObject",
                            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/58a/elaine-pagels-8423_atheism_christians-have-identified-their-opponen_1154660.jpg",
                            "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/58a/elaine-pagels-8423_atheism_christians-have-identified-their-opponen_1154660.jpg",
                            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/58a/elaine-pagels-8423_atheism_christians-have-identified-their-opponen_1154660.jpg",
                            "width": 1080,
                            "height": 1080,
                            "caption": "“Christians have ... identified their opponents, whether Jews, pagans, or heretics, with forces of evil, and…” — Elaine Pagels",
                            "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                            "creator": {
                                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                            }
                        }
                    }
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 26,
                    "item": {
                        "@type": "Quotation",
                        "text": "“The Gospel of Philip takes up the same theme: Jesus took them all by stealth, for he did not reveal himself in the manner [in which] he was, but in the manner in which [they would] be able to see him. He revealed himself to [them all. He revealed himself] to the great as great … (and) to the small as small.69 To the immature disciple, Jesus appears as a child; to the mature, as an old man, symbol of wisdom. As the gnostic teacher Theodotus says, “each person recognizes the Lord in his own way, not all alike.”",
                        "creator": {
                            "@type": "Person",
                            "name": "Elaine Pagels"
                        },
                        "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elaine-pagels/the-gospel-of-philip-takes-up-the-same-theme-jesus-took-them-all-by/",
                        "image": {
                            "@type": "ImageObject",
                            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/628/elaine-pagels-8423_christianity_the-gospel-of-philip-takes-up-the-same-t_2074735.jpg",
                            "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/628/elaine-pagels-8423_christianity_the-gospel-of-philip-takes-up-the-same-t_2074735.jpg",
                            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/628/elaine-pagels-8423_christianity_the-gospel-of-philip-takes-up-the-same-t_2074735.jpg",
                            "width": 1080,
                            "height": 1080,
                            "caption": "“The Gospel of Philip takes up the same theme: Jesus took them all by stealth, for he did not reveal himself…” — Elaine Pagels",
                            "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                            "creator": {
                                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                            }
                        }
                    }
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 27,
                    "item": {
                        "@type": "Quotation",
                        "text": "Contemporary Christianity, diverse and complex as we find it, actually may show more unanimity than the Christian churches of the first and second centuries. For nearly all Christians since that time, Catholics, Protestants, or Orthodox, have shared three basic premises. First, they accept the canon of the New Testament; second, they confess the apostolic creed; and third, they affirm specific forms of church institution. But every one of these - the canon of Scripture, the creed, and the institutional structure - emerged in its present form only toward the end of the second century.",
                        "creator": {
                            "@type": "Person",
                            "name": "Elaine Pagels"
                        },
                        "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elaine-pagels/contemporary-christianity-diverse-and-complex-as-we-find-it-actually/",
                        "image": {
                            "@type": "ImageObject",
                            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9a6/elaine-pagels-8423_accepting_contemporary-christianity-diverse-and-co_291821.jpg",
                            "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9a6/elaine-pagels-8423_accepting_contemporary-christianity-diverse-and-co_291821.jpg",
                            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9a6/elaine-pagels-8423_accepting_contemporary-christianity-diverse-and-co_291821.jpg",
                            "width": 1080,
                            "height": 1080,
                            "caption": "“Contemporary Christianity, diverse and complex as we find it, actually may show more unanimity than the…” — Elaine Pagels",
                            "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                            "creator": {
                                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                            }
                        }
                    }
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 28,
                    "item": {
                        "@type": "Quotation",
                        "text": "Why did the consensus of Christian churches not only accept these astonishing views but establish them as the only true form of Christian doctrine? . . . these religious debates - questions of the nature of God, or of Christ - simultaneously bear social and political implications that are crucial to the development of Christianity as an institutional religion. In simplest terms, ideas which bear implications contrary to that development come to be labeled as 'heresy'; ideas which implicitly support it become 'orthodox.'",
                        "creator": {
                            "@type": "Person",
                            "name": "Elaine Pagels"
                        },
                        "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elaine-pagels/why-did-the-consensus-of-christian-churches-not-only-accept-these/",
                        "image": {
                            "@type": "ImageObject",
                            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/731/elaine-pagels-8423_accepting_why-did-the-consensus-of-christian-churc_1109480.jpg",
                            "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/731/elaine-pagels-8423_accepting_why-did-the-consensus-of-christian-churc_1109480.jpg",
                            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/731/elaine-pagels-8423_accepting_why-did-the-consensus-of-christian-churc_1109480.jpg",
                            "width": 1080,
                            "height": 1080,
                            "caption": "“Why did the consensus of Christian churches not only accept these astonishing views but establish them as…” — Elaine Pagels",
                            "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                            "creator": {
                                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                            }
                        }
                    }
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 29,
                    "item": {
                        "@type": "Quotation",
                        "text": "The idea that each individual has intrinsic, God-given value and is of infinite worth quite apart from any social contribution - an idea most pagans would have rejected as absurd - persists today as the ethical basis of western law and politics. Our secularized western idea of democratic society owes much to that early Christian vision of a new society - a society no longer formed by the natural bonds of family, tribe, or nation but by the voluntary choice of its members.",
                        "creator": {
                            "@type": "Person",
                            "name": "Elaine Pagels"
                        },
                        "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elaine-pagels/the-idea-that-each-individual-has-intrinsic-god-given-value-and-is-of/",
                        "image": {
                            "@type": "ImageObject",
                            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e35/elaine-pagels-8423_absurd_the-idea-that-each-individual-has-intrin_2722030.jpg",
                            "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e35/elaine-pagels-8423_absurd_the-idea-that-each-individual-has-intrin_2722030.jpg",
                            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e35/elaine-pagels-8423_absurd_the-idea-that-each-individual-has-intrin_2722030.jpg",
                            "width": 1080,
                            "height": 1080,
                            "caption": "“The idea that each individual has intrinsic, God-given value and is of infinite worth quite apart from any…” — Elaine Pagels",
                            "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                            "creator": {
                                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                            }
                        }
                    }
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 30,
                    "item": {
                        "@type": "Quotation",
                        "text": "“Many pagans who had been brought up to regard marriage essentially as a social and economic arrangement, homosexual relationships as an expected element of male education, prostitution, both male and female, as both ordinary and legal, and divorce, abortion, contraception, and exposure of unwanted infants as matters of practical expedience, embraced, to the astonishment of their families, the Christian message, which opposed these practices.”",
                        "creator": {
                            "@type": "Person",
                            "name": "Elaine Pagels"
                        },
                        "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elaine-pagels/many-pagans-who-had-been-brought-up-to-regard-marriage-essentially-as/",
                        "image": {
                            "@type": "ImageObject",
                            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d3a/elaine-pagels-8423_education_many-pagans-who-had-been-brought-up-to-r_950891.jpg",
                            "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d3a/elaine-pagels-8423_education_many-pagans-who-had-been-brought-up-to-r_950891.jpg",
                            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d3a/elaine-pagels-8423_education_many-pagans-who-had-been-brought-up-to-r_950891.jpg",
                            "width": 1080,
                            "height": 1080,
                            "caption": "“Many pagans who had been brought up to regard marriage essentially as a social and economic arrangement…” — Elaine Pagels",
                            "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                            "creator": {
                                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                            }
                        }
                    }
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 31,
                    "item": {
                        "@type": "Quotation",
                        "text": "“What Christians see, or claim to see, in Genesis 1-3 changed as the church itself changed from a dissident Jewish sect to a popular movement persecuted by the Roman government, and changed further as this movement increasingly gained members throughout Roman society, until finally even the Roman emperor himself converted to the new faith and Christianity became the official religion of the Roman empire.”",
                        "creator": {
                            "@type": "Person",
                            "name": "Elaine Pagels"
                        },
                        "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elaine-pagels/what-christians-see-or-claim-to-see-in-genesis-1-3-changed-as-the/",
                        "image": {
                            "@type": "ImageObject",
                            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ad2/elaine-pagels-8423_christianity_what-christians-see-or-claim-to-see-in-g_2672195.jpg",
                            "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ad2/elaine-pagels-8423_christianity_what-christians-see-or-claim-to-see-in-g_2672195.jpg",
                            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ad2/elaine-pagels-8423_christianity_what-christians-see-or-claim-to-see-in-g_2672195.jpg",
                            "width": 1080,
                            "height": 1080,
                            "caption": "“What Christians see, or claim to see, in Genesis 1-3 changed as the church itself changed from a dissident…” — Elaine Pagels",
                            "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                            "creator": {
                                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                            }
                        }
                    }
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 32,
                    "item": {
                        "@type": "Quotation",
                        "text": "“The controversy over resurrection, then, proved critical in shaping the Christian movement into an institutional religion. All Christians agreed in principle that only Christ himself—or God—can be the ultimate source of spiritual authority. But the immediate question, of course, was the practical one: Who, in the present, administers that authority? Valentinus and his followers answered: Whoever comes into direct, personal contact with the “living One.” They argued that only one’s own experience offers the ultimate criterion of truth, taking precedence over all secondhand testimony and all tradition—even gnostic tradition! They celebrated every form of creative invention as evidence that a person has become spiritually alive. On this theory, the structure of authority can never be fixed into an institutional framework: it must remain spontaneous, charismatic, and open.”",
                        "creator": {
                            "@type": "Person",
                            "name": "Elaine Pagels"
                        },
                        "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elaine-pagels/the-controversy-over-resurrection-then-proved-critical-in-shaping-the/",
                        "image": {
                            "@type": "ImageObject",
                            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2bd/elaine-pagels-8423_christianity_the-controversy-over-resurrection-then-p_1416718.jpg",
                            "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2bd/elaine-pagels-8423_christianity_the-controversy-over-resurrection-then-p_1416718.jpg",
                            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2bd/elaine-pagels-8423_christianity_the-controversy-over-resurrection-then-p_1416718.jpg",
                            "width": 1080,
                            "height": 1080,
                            "caption": "“The controversy over resurrection, then, proved critical in shaping the Christian movement into an…” — Elaine Pagels",
                            "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                            "creator": {
                                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                            }
                        }
                    }
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 33,
                    "item": {
                        "@type": "Quotation",
                        "text": "“The gnostic understands Christ’s message not as offering a set of answers, but as encouragement to engage in a process of searching: “seek and inquire about the ways you should go, since there is nothing else as good as this.”48 The rational soul longs to see with her mind, and perceive her kinsmen, and learn about her root … in order that she might receive what is hers …49 What is the result? The author declares that she attains fulfillment:  … the rational soul who wearied herself in seeking—she learned about God. She labored with inquiring, enduring distress in the body, wearing out her feet after the evangelists, learning about the Inscrutable One.… She came to rest in him who is at rest. She reclined in the bride-chamber. She ate of the banquet for which she had hungered.… She found what she had sought.50”",
                        "creator": {
                            "@type": "Person",
                            "name": "Elaine Pagels"
                        },
                        "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elaine-pagels/the-gnostic-understands-christ-s-message-not-as-offering-a-set-of/",
                        "image": {
                            "@type": "ImageObject",
                            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2aa/elaine-pagels-8423_seeking_the-gnostic-understands-christ-s-message_3017870.jpg",
                            "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2aa/elaine-pagels-8423_seeking_the-gnostic-understands-christ-s-message_3017870.jpg",
                            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2aa/elaine-pagels-8423_seeking_the-gnostic-understands-christ-s-message_3017870.jpg",
                            "width": 1080,
                            "height": 1080,
                            "caption": "“The gnostic understands Christ’s message not as offering a set of answers, but as encouragement to engage in…” — Elaine Pagels",
                            "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                            "creator": {
                                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                            }
                        }
                    }
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 34,
                    "item": {
                        "@type": "Quotation",
                        "text": "“What interested these gnostics far more than past events attributed to the “historical Jesus” was the possibility of encountering the risen Christ in the present.49 The Gospel of Mary illustrates the contrast between orthodox and gnostic viewpoints. The account recalls what Mark relates: Now when he rose early on the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene … She went and told those who had been with him, as they mourned and wept. But when they heard that he was alive and had been seen by her, they would not believe it.50 As the Gospel of Mary opens, the disciples are mourning Jesus’ death and terrified for their own lives. Then Mary Magdalene stands up to encourage them, recalling Christ’s continual presence with them: “Do not weep, and do not grieve, and do not doubt; for his grace will be with you completely, and will protect you.”51 Peter invites Mary to “tell us the words of the Savior which you remember.”52 But to Peter’s surprise, Mary does not tell anecdotes from the past; instead, she explains that she has just seen the Lord in a vision received through the mind, and she goes on to tell what he revealed to her. When Mary finishes, she fell silent, since it was to this point that the Savior had spoken with her. But Andrew answered and said to the brethren, “Say what you will about what she has said. I, at least, do not believe that the Savior has said this. For certainly these teachings are strange ideas!”53 Peter agrees with Andrew, ridiculing the idea that Mary actually saw the Lord in her vision. Then, the story continues, Mary wept and said to Peter, “My brother Peter, what do you think? Do you think that I thought this up myself in my heart? Do you think I am lying about the Savior?” Levi answered and said to Peter, “Peter, you have always been hot-tempered … If the Savior made her worthy, who are you to reject her?”54 Finally Mary, vindicated, joins the other apostles as they go out to preach. Peter, apparently representing the orthodox position, looks to past events, suspicious of those who “see the Lord” in visions: Mary, representing the gnostic, claims to experience his continuing presence.55 These gnostics recognized that their theory, like the orthodox one, bore political implications. It suggests that whoever “sees the Lord” through inner vision can claim that his or her own authority equals, or surpasses, that of the Twelve—and of their successors. Consider the political implications of the Gospel of Mary: Peter and Andrew, here representing the leaders of the orthodox group, accuse Mary—the gnostic—of pretending to have seen the Lord in order to justify the strange ideas, fictions, and lies she invents and attributes to divine inspiration. Mary lacks the proper credentials for leadership, from the orthodox viewpoint: she is not one of the “twelve.” But as Mary stands up to Peter, so the gnostics who take her as their prototype challenge the authority of those priests and bishops who claim to be Peter’s successors.”",
                        "creator": {
                            "@type": "Person",
                            "name": "Elaine Pagels"
                        },
                        "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elaine-pagels/what-interested-these-gnostics-far-more-than-past-events-attributed/",
                        "image": {
                            "@type": "ImageObject",
                            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/74f/elaine-pagels-8423_divine-inspiration_what-interested-these-gnostics-far-more_1523354.jpg",
                            "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/74f/elaine-pagels-8423_divine-inspiration_what-interested-these-gnostics-far-more_1523354.jpg",
                            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/74f/elaine-pagels-8423_divine-inspiration_what-interested-these-gnostics-far-more_1523354.jpg",
                            "width": 1080,
                            "height": 1080,
                            "caption": "“What interested these gnostics far more than past events attributed to the “historical Jesus” was the…” — Elaine Pagels",
                            "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                            "creator": {
                                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                            }
                        }
                    }
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 35,
                    "item": {
                        "@type": "Quotation",
                        "text": "The Book of Revelation is such a dream landscape that you can plug any major conflict in it.",
                        "creator": {
                            "@type": "Person",
                            "name": "Elaine Pagels"
                        },
                        "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elaine-pagels/the-book-of-revelation-is-such-a-dream-landscape-that-you-can-plug/",
                        "image": {
                            "@type": "ImageObject",
                            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/abd/elaine-pagels-8423_any_the-book-of-revelation-is-such-a-dream-l_568156.jpg",
                            "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/abd/elaine-pagels-8423_any_the-book-of-revelation-is-such-a-dream-l_568156.jpg",
                            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/abd/elaine-pagels-8423_any_the-book-of-revelation-is-such-a-dream-l_568156.jpg",
                            "width": 1080,
                            "height": 1080,
                            "caption": "“The Book of Revelation is such a dream landscape that you can plug any major conflict in it.” — Elaine Pagels",
                            "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                            "creator": {
                                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                            }
                        }
                    }
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 36,
                    "item": {
                        "@type": "Quotation",
                        "text": "“Augustine reflects that “what made me a slave to it was the habit [consuetudo] of satisfying an insatiable lust.”31”",
                        "creator": {
                            "@type": "Person",
                            "name": "Elaine Pagels"
                        },
                        "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elaine-pagels/augustine-reflects-that-what-made-me-a-slave-to-it-was-the-habit/",
                        "image": {
                            "@type": "ImageObject",
                            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c77/elaine-pagels-8423_habits_augustine-reflects-that-what-made-me-a-s_240814.jpg",
                            "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c77/elaine-pagels-8423_habits_augustine-reflects-that-what-made-me-a-s_240814.jpg",
                            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c77/elaine-pagels-8423_habits_augustine-reflects-that-what-made-me-a-s_240814.jpg",
                            "width": 1080,
                            "height": 1080,
                            "caption": "“Augustine reflects that “what made me a slave to it was the habit [consuetudo] of satisfying an insatiable…” — Elaine Pagels",
                            "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                            "creator": {
                                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                            }
                        }
                    }
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 37,
                    "item": {
                        "@type": "Quotation",
                        "text": "Fundamentalism does mean reading quite conservatively and literally, saying 'the Bible is the word of God and we have to follow it. What it says is this.'",
                        "creator": {
                            "@type": "Person",
                            "name": "Elaine Pagels"
                        },
                        "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elaine-pagels/fundamentalism-does-mean-reading-quite-conservatively-and-literally/",
                        "image": {
                            "@type": "ImageObject",
                            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/223/elaine-pagels-8423_bible_fundamentalism-does-mean-reading-quite-c_3064806.jpg",
                            "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/223/elaine-pagels-8423_bible_fundamentalism-does-mean-reading-quite-c_3064806.jpg",
                            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/223/elaine-pagels-8423_bible_fundamentalism-does-mean-reading-quite-c_3064806.jpg",
                            "width": 1080,
                            "height": 1080,
                            "caption": "“Fundamentalism does mean reading quite conservatively and literally, saying 'the Bible is the word of God…” — Elaine Pagels",
                            "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                            "creator": {
                                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                            }
                        }
                    }
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 38,
                    "item": {
                        "@type": "Quotation",
                        "text": "At the end of the day I'll go to a yoga class. I used to say that my work was my yoga, because it stretches everything, expands and challenges everything you know and understand and are.",
                        "creator": {
                            "@type": "Person",
                            "name": "Elaine Pagels"
                        },
                        "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elaine-pagels/at-the-end-of-the-day-i-ll-go-to-a-yoga-class-i-used-to-say-that-my/",
                        "image": {
                            "@type": "ImageObject",
                            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4c5/elaine-pagels-8423_because_at-the-end-of-the-day-i-ll-go-to-a-yoga_3229026.jpg",
                            "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4c5/elaine-pagels-8423_because_at-the-end-of-the-day-i-ll-go-to-a-yoga_3229026.jpg",
                            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4c5/elaine-pagels-8423_because_at-the-end-of-the-day-i-ll-go-to-a-yoga_3229026.jpg",
                            "width": 1080,
                            "height": 1080,
                            "caption": "“At the end of the day I'll go to a yoga class. I used to say that my work was my yoga, because it stretches…” — Elaine Pagels",
                            "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                            "creator": {
                                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                            }
                        }
                    }
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 39,
                    "item": {
                        "@type": "Quotation",
                        "text": "What survived as orthodox Christianity did so by suppressing and forcibly eliminating a lot of other material.",
                        "creator": {
                            "@type": "Person",
                            "name": "Elaine Pagels"
                        },
                        "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elaine-pagels/what-survived-as-orthodox-christianity-did-so-by-suppressing-and/",
                        "image": {
                            "@type": "ImageObject",
                            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/77d/elaine-pagels-8423_christianity_what-survived-as-orthodox-christianity-d_3197610.jpg",
                            "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/77d/elaine-pagels-8423_christianity_what-survived-as-orthodox-christianity-d_3197610.jpg",
                            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/77d/elaine-pagels-8423_christianity_what-survived-as-orthodox-christianity-d_3197610.jpg",
                            "width": 1080,
                            "height": 1080,
                            "caption": "“What survived as orthodox Christianity did so by suppressing and forcibly eliminating a lot of other material.” — Elaine Pagels",
                            "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                            "creator": {
                                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                            }
                        }
                    }
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 40,
                    "item": {
                        "@type": "Quotation",
                        "text": "We don't actually know if the person who wrote the Gospel of John had a written copy of Thomas because we don't know exactly when it was written.",
                        "creator": {
                            "@type": "Person",
                            "name": "Elaine Pagels"
                        },
                        "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elaine-pagels/we-don-t-actually-know-if-the-person-who-wrote-the-gospel-of-john-had/",
                        "image": {
                            "@type": "ImageObject",
                            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/19f/elaine-pagels-8423_actually_we-don-t-actually-know-if-the-person-who_1265620.jpg",
                            "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/19f/elaine-pagels-8423_actually_we-don-t-actually-know-if-the-person-who_1265620.jpg",
                            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/19f/elaine-pagels-8423_actually_we-don-t-actually-know-if-the-person-who_1265620.jpg",
                            "width": 1080,
                            "height": 1080,
                            "caption": "“We don't actually know if the person who wrote the Gospel of John had a written copy of Thomas because we…” — Elaine Pagels",
                            "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                            "creator": {
                                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                            }
                        }
                    }
                }
            ]
        },
        {
            "@type": "Person",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elaine-pagels/#person",
            "name": "Elaine Pagels",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elaine-pagels/",
            "image": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/uploads/sms4s/authors/processed/b009/author-elaine-pagels-32192.jpg"
        },
        {
            "@type": "ProfilePage",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elaine-pagels/#webpage",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elaine-pagels/",
            "name": "Elaine Pagels",
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "mainEntity": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elaine-pagels/#person"
            },
            "primaryImageOfPage": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/436/elaine-pagels-8423_ancient_these-ancient-stories-in-religion-speak_2014579.jpg"
            },
            "description": "Elaine Pagels quotes on religious freedom, betrayal, and the purpose of faith.",
            "breadcrumb": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elaine-pagels/#breadcrumb"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elaine-pagels/#breadcrumb",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "Authors",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/authors/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "Elaine Pagels",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elaine-pagels/"
                }
            ]
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```