Elaine Pagels

Socked in the stomach. And I just walked out. I never went back.

Why? Because I had some kind of powerful experience with that conversion. It didn't last. I mean, I left that group. That whole evangelical perspective on Christianity didn't work for me. But there was something transformative about it. And it was important. It opened up elements of my experience that nothing else did.

Why? Because I had some kind of powerful experience with that conversion. It didn't last. I mean, I left that group. That whole evangelical perspective on Christianity didn't work for me. But there was something transformative about it. And it was important. It opened up elements of my experience that nothing else did.

Why? Because I had some kind of powerful experience with that conversion. It didn't last. I mean, I left that group. That whole evangelical perspective on Christianity didn't work for me. But there was something transformative about it. And it was important. It opened up elements of my experience that nothing else did.

It's about the imagination. I mean, I was living in a world which, you know, science defines what you can see, and there's nothing else, right? That's at least what I was brought up hearing. Mm-hmm. But this was about opening up the imagination. I always thought about it later as the way I felt about The Wizard of Oz as a child, right? Just suddenly I was out there with Dorothy, you know.

It's about the imagination. I mean, I was living in a world which, you know, science defines what you can see, and there's nothing else, right? That's at least what I was brought up hearing. Mm-hmm. But this was about opening up the imagination. I always thought about it later as the way I felt about The Wizard of Oz as a child, right? Just suddenly I was out there with Dorothy, you know.

It's about the imagination. I mean, I was living in a world which, you know, science defines what you can see, and there's nothing else, right? That's at least what I was brought up hearing. Mm-hmm. But this was about opening up the imagination. I always thought about it later as the way I felt about The Wizard of Oz as a child, right? Just suddenly I was out there with Dorothy, you know.

The wicked witch gets killed and there's Glenda the Good and there's all of this action going on, this adventure, which is internal but very powerful. And that book's become a template for my life when I was maybe eight years old. Mm-hmm. And these stories of Jesus do that as well. And it did it for me in that moment.

The wicked witch gets killed and there's Glenda the Good and there's all of this action going on, this adventure, which is internal but very powerful. And that book's become a template for my life when I was maybe eight years old. Mm-hmm. And these stories of Jesus do that as well. And it did it for me in that moment.

The wicked witch gets killed and there's Glenda the Good and there's all of this action going on, this adventure, which is internal but very powerful. And that book's become a template for my life when I was maybe eight years old. Mm-hmm. And these stories of Jesus do that as well. And it did it for me in that moment.

And even though I left it, I thought, wait a minute, why are religions still part of culture? I mean, it is true that there's no culture that doesn't have some form of claims about invisible beings and how we interact with them. So I thought, could it be Buddhism? Could it be Buddhism? Judaism? Could it be Islam? Or is it Christianity? So I decided I wanted to find out, how does that work?

And even though I left it, I thought, wait a minute, why are religions still part of culture? I mean, it is true that there's no culture that doesn't have some form of claims about invisible beings and how we interact with them. So I thought, could it be Buddhism? Could it be Buddhism? Judaism? Could it be Islam? Or is it Christianity? So I decided I wanted to find out, how does that work?

And even though I left it, I thought, wait a minute, why are religions still part of culture? I mean, it is true that there's no culture that doesn't have some form of claims about invisible beings and how we interact with them. So I thought, could it be Buddhism? Could it be Buddhism? Judaism? Could it be Islam? Or is it Christianity? So I decided I wanted to find out, how does that work?

And why do people continue those traditions even long after they're discredited rationally?

And why do people continue those traditions even long after they're discredited rationally?

And why do people continue those traditions even long after they're discredited rationally?

That's an interesting question, and it makes me realize that I didn't think of him as a real person. I thought of some grand mythological drama going on in the sky. You know, there's God and Satan and Jesus, and you're in part of a drama. That's why I mentioned The Wizard of Oz. I mean, it's part of an imaginary world.

That's an interesting question, and it makes me realize that I didn't think of him as a real person. I thought of some grand mythological drama going on in the sky. You know, there's God and Satan and Jesus, and you're in part of a drama. That's why I mentioned The Wizard of Oz. I mean, it's part of an imaginary world.

That's an interesting question, and it makes me realize that I didn't think of him as a real person. I thought of some grand mythological drama going on in the sky. You know, there's God and Satan and Jesus, and you're in part of a drama. That's why I mentioned The Wizard of Oz. I mean, it's part of an imaginary world.

Yeah. Well, I didn't think about that he wasn't real. I just thought whoever that might have been, this was now some grand drama played out in the universe. And that's how it felt.