Pagels main area of concentration is the Gnostic Gospels. She has expanded her research over the years to traditional Christian subjects. Her knowledge of the Gnostics allowed her to show us contrast with orthodoxy from the start of the class. Her passion remains for the Gnostics. I was quite young when she explained Revelation in a nonspooky way. My nightmares stopped. On personal terms, she wore the shortest miniskirts i ever saw. It was a trip having someone so young and vibrant as a professor. She would take part in Happenings. When I studied with her, she was not a believer. After her husband's tragic death, she became part of a Christian community. She teaches now at Princeton.
Earlier I summarized the portion of the book with which i was familiar. Revelation is not spooky when viewed within its genre of apocalyptic literature. There are hundreds upon hundreds of similar books in Jewish and Christian thought. John of Patmos wrote Revelation during a period of increased persecution in his particular area. There never was widespread, constant persecution of Christians as movies depict. It was episodic but when it happened, it was brutal. Many Christians stopped seeing baptism as the beginning of their new life in Christ. Instead, only martyrdom would make one acceptable to Christ. It caused tensions within Christian communities. Some zealots turned quickly under Roman torture and revealed names of local Christians who did not view martyrdom as necessary.
In the first few pages, Pagels explains how Revelation is unique. It caused controversy immediately. There is no moral advice. Many Christians described it as heretical from the first. To bolster John of Patmos' claims to legitmacy, followers of Revelation asserted it had special knowledge b/c it was written by the apostle John. John died many year previously. Most Christians concluded that the author of John could never write the clumsy Greek in Revelation. Martin Luther hated Revelation with fervor and wanted to dump it from the canon. It is a book for war.
What was new to me or I once knew and quickly forgot is that Paul and John of Patmos offer different Christianities. She assumes John witnesses the destruction of Jersualem. The desecretation of the Temple prob traumatized him greatly as it did other Jews. John was a Jewish Christian, though, John had to be a second generation Christian. He was surrounded by violent stories - the cruifixion of Jesus, the beheading of Paul, and the crucifixion of Peter. The first generation expected Jesus to return and end Roman rule. They never expect to die yet they were dead. Jesus sayings including many apocalytpic ones, speaking of the ruin of the Temple. He saw partial fulfillment in the events of 70 C.E. Of course, any observer could see that Rome was more in control than ever. The scriptures to Jewish Christians meant the Hebrew Bible. Besides public scripture now canonized, Christian relied on secret scriptures. Paul's letters were written before the gospels. Christian leaders increasly saw John of Patmos' writings as a manual for how to survive until Christ arrived.
Scholars find evidence of charismatic movements inspired by Revelation. The martyrdoms of Justin, Irenaeus, and Polycarp added fuel to Revelation. As the church becomes less diverse, John's writing buttresses the notion that right actions are not enough for Christians. Right belief is more important. Tertullian used Revelation to reach out to the marginal people in Roman society. When Constantine converts there is dispute over the Nicene Creed. Athansius used Revelation to impose the creed on nonbelievers of the deity of Christ. Chrsitans who do not believe are even worse than the Romans were. She goes into great detail descriibng how Revelation is used against dissenters.Constantine repeatedly favor those Christians who call themselves "catholic" and suppress other Christian groups. Athansius' contemporaries listed what books should be in the canon. Revelation was omitted from all the lists.
The use of fear was necessary. John goes beyond Jesus' sayings and has cosmic war take place everywhere. Revelation intensifies Christian anger with sad consequences over the ages. Murder is acceptable if the times are the end.
I could not find the part about John vs. Paul by skimming the book. It must be a shorter section than I recall. It is a popular book that presupposes the reader knows every personality during the wars between orthodoxy and those outcast. She gives equal weight to Gnostic scripture which may be correct.
Most of what she states is objective fact, not opinion. Documents are available. She wrote a scholarly version of the book which is available online.
Is it no accident that the book most used by Jehovah's Witness barely made it into the canon and deals with fear. I was certainly terrified. Growing up a Witness meant that the world view was recent history, within the time of Russell and after. When you read the detailed disputes about the contents of the book from the second generations of Christians and see its uses since then in almost every period of history, recent history is not so spooky. Certainly, anyone who reads this book will know most of the major players in early Christianity.
If anyone knows more about John as very Jewish and opposed to Paul, please post it. It seems to be the Bible book most used for destructive purposes. With Revelation in hand, no one needs to be human. It transforms the angry into "Christian warriors at the end of time."