Miracles and Wonder

The Historical Mystery of Jesus

By: Elaine Pagels

Narrated by: Eunice Wong

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • 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 is a brilliant and necessary book. Sober, wise, respectful, and fearless." —Jon Meacham, author of The Soul of America

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

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

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

The book reads like a historical mystery, with each chapter addressing a fascinating question and answering it based on the gospels Jesus's followers left behind. Why is Jesus said to have had a virgin birth? Why do 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 do 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 in us. These necessary fabrications were the very details and promises that electrified their listeners and helped his followers' numbers grow.

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

À great listen

I have admired Elaine Pagels’ writing for a number of years. This is the first time I have listened an audio version of her book and I was delighted with the way the narrator read it. The writing itself is illuminating and the narrator made it seem as if I were being spoken to instead of having this book read aloud to me.

Meh

The search for the essence of Christianity to me ended up being a bit of a let down. It starts strong, but closes with a lot of time spent on things like whether resurrected Jesus was a zombie or a ghost.

The “Who was Jesus” discussion was superb

I appreciated the scholarship and storytelling. The last half of the book was especially relevant and germane to the subject of who was Jesus and how he is perceived by the world.

Interesting history

Really liked the history. If one is looking for spiritual insight in light of the historical study, that may not be found here beyond common platitudes

Not really "astonishing"

I found the author's repeated expression of astonishment a bit silly. Most undergraduates and many high school students from the last 30 years would share none of her "astonishment" at finding there are differences in the Gospel accounts. However, her overall analysis is quite good -- she provides good historical context for the Gospels and weaves in interesting observations from other historical sources, including the Apocryphal Gospels. I also found her openness to a Spiritual meaning in scripture, one that is not dependent upon exact historical accuracy, to be refreshing. Most believers today are mature enough to accept the historical inaccuracies or discrepancies in accounts of Jesus, without it risking their underlying faith in the Christian enterprise. The narrator had a somewhat annoying habit of raising her intonation at the end of many thoughts. At times, the narrator sounded a bit like a know-it-all college professor lecturing a freshman class. It wasn't overly painful, but I was surprised to learn it wasn't the author reading the text, but someone hired for their presumed talent.