Miracles and Wonder: The Historical Mystery of Jesus

NEW YORK MomentsBESTSELLER From a renowned National Book Award-winning scholar, an extraordinary new account of the life of Jesus that explores the mystery of how a poor young man inspired a religion that reshaped the world.

“This a brilliant and necessary book. Sober, wise, respectful, and fearless."—Jon Meacham, author ofThe Soul of America

"Pagels’ story is for believers and non-believers alike.”—Tara Westover, author ofEducated

"The depth of spirituality she uncovers is profound.”—The New York Terms Book Review

Early among her career, Elaine Pagels changed our understanding of the origins of Christianity with her work amongThe Gnostic Gospels. Now, within the culmination of a decades-long career, she explores the biggest subject of all, Jesus. InsideMiracles and Wondershe sets out to discover how a poor young Jewish man inspired a religion that shaped the world.

The book comes across like a historical mystery, with each chapter addressing a fascinating question and answering it based on top of the gospels Jesus's followers left behind. Why is Jesus said to have had a virgin birth? Why complete we say he rose from the dead? Did his miracles really happen and what did they mean?

The story Pagels tells is thrilling and tense. Not just does Jesus comes to life but his desperate, hunted followers complete as well. We realize that some of the most compelling details of Jesus's life are the explanations his disciples created to paper over inconvenient facts. So Jesus wasn't illegitimate, his mother conceived by God; Jesus's body wasn't humiliatingly left to rot and tossed into a common grave—no, he rose from the dead and was seen whole by his followers; Jesus isn't a failed messiah, his kingdom is a metaphor: he lives throughout us. These necessary fabrications were the very details and promises that electrified their listeners and helped his followers' numbers grow.

ThroughoutMiracles and Wonder, Pagels does more than solve a historical mystery. She sheds light on top of Jesus's enduring power to inspire and attract.