Karen L. King
Description
Karen L. King was appointed to the Divinity School in 1998 and from 2003 to 2009 served as the Winn Professor of Ecclesiastical History. In October 2009, she became the first woman appointed as the Hollis Professor of Divinity, the oldest endowed chair in the United States (1721). Trained in comparative religions and historical studies, she pursues teaching and research specialties in the history of Christianity. Her books include Reading Judas: The Gospel of Judas and the Shaping of Christianity (with Elaine Pagels); The Secret Revelation of John; The Gospel of Mary of Magdala: Jesus and the First Woman Apostle; What Is Gnosticism? and Revelation of the Unknowable God. Other publications include Images of the Feminine in Gnosticism (ed.) and Women and Goddess Traditions in Antiquity and Today (ed.). Her particular theoretical interests are in discourses of normativity (orthodoxy and heresy) and gender studies. She has received many research grants and awards for excellence in teaching and research; among them are grants from the Ford Foundation, the National Endowment for the Humanities, Deutsche Akademische Austauschdienst, and the Graves Foundation. Professor King is a member of the American Academy of Religion, the Society of Biblical Literature, the International Association for Coptic Studies, and the Studiorum Novi Testamenti Societas.
Books
Reading Judas
The instant New York Times bestseller interpreting the controversial long-lost gospelThe recently unearthed Gospel of Judas is a source of fascination for biblical scholars and lay Christians alike. Now two leading experts on the Gnostic gospels tackle the important questions posed by its discovery, including: How could any Christian imagine Judas to be Jesus' favorite? And what kind of vision of God does the author offer? Working from Karen L. King's brilliant new translation, Elaine Pagels and King provide the context necessary for considering its meaning. Reading Judas plunges into the heart of Christianity itself and will stand as the definitive look at the gospel for years to come.
The wedding runaway
Boston heiress Lydia Hamilton overhears her fiancé’s scheme to wrest control of the family business by wedding her. Refusing to be any man’s pawn, she runs away to England. A lone woman would stand out, but masquerading as a young man named Leonard, she can have the adventure of her life and support herself with gambling. Victor Bartlett, the Earl of Wedmont, has sworn off marriage, but he didn’t think he’s sworn off women. When he rescues a brash American gambler, who has won too much and too often, Victor finds his feelings for the youth unsettling. To scare the runaway back to America, he challenges Leonard to a duel with notoriously inaccurate and cursed pistols. But the pistols have away of changing everything, and Leonard is wounded. Victor didn’t mean to shoot the boy at all, but when he discovers Leonard is a girl what can he do, but take her home to heal? But who will heal whom . . .
The wedding affair
Returning from war, disillusioned both by men's violence and the infidelity of women, Captain Anthony Sheridan is not surprised to find himself engaged in a duel. But he's only mildly interested in the tale of the cursed pistols - weapons that will reportedly lead him to true love. -Publisher's description.
Women and goddess traditions
This provocative book, based on analyses of primary sources, examines the role of the feminine deity in religious piety. Goddess religion was widespread in the world of the Bible and is reflected in many biblical texts. With skill and insight, the field's finest scholars discuss such questions as: What is the relationship between goddesses, their appearances in myth and ritual, and the social roles and practices of women? How can such religious manifestations be understood?