Biography

Karen King illustrates how many types of Christianity have been silenced or marginalized over the centuries. Her acclaimed works restore these voices and dispel enduring myths and distortions, particularly the role of Mary Magdalene. A renowned scholar trained in comparative religion and historical studies, she pursues teaching and research specialties in the history of Christianity, including women's studies, heresy (Gnosticism), and the Nag Hammadi literature.

Resources by this expert

• The Gospel of Mary of Magdala: Jesus and the First Woman Apostle (Polebridge Press, November, 2003)
• What is Gnosticism? (Harvard University Press, 2003)
• Images of the Feminine in Gnosticism ed. (Trinity, 2000)
• Women and Goddess Traditions in Antiquity and Today ed. (Fortress Press, 1997)
• Revelation of the Unknowable God (Polebridge Press, 1996)

• The New York Times, June 24, 2007, Kiss and Make Up
• Star Tribune, April 14, 2007, "Forgiving Judas: The Ultimate Test"
• NBC News, April 7, 2007, "Gospel of Judas Manuscript Found and Authenticated"
• Richmond Times Dispatch, April 8, 2007, "In light of old text, a new focus on Judas"
• Weekend Australian, April 7, 2007, "Judas's side of the story"
• Religion News Service (also ran in The Leader-Post) "Pagels, King Write Judas Book"
• ABC News Primetime Live, April 6, 2007, "Gospel of Judas; New Biblical Finding"
• The Charlie Rose Show, April 6, 2007, "Discussion About the Meaning of Easter"
• Salon.com, April 2, 2007, "Gospel According to Judas"
• The Washington Post, April 1, 2007, "Embracing Judas; A recently translated gospel argues that betraying Jesus was the right thing to do"
• The Sunday Telegraph, April 1, 2007, "It's a Devil of a Job Being Satan"
• The Times Higher Education Supplement, March 30, 2007, "The most faithful disciple?"
• Religion News Service, March 28, 2007, "10 Minutes With . . . Karen King"
• Time, March 26, 2007, "Downtime: Reading Judas"
• Publishers Weekly, March 26, 2007, "Reimagining the Past; Alternative histories ride a wave of post-code popularity"
• ABC Magazine, March 25, 2007,Judas: Not such a bad guy after all
• NPR: Fresh Air, March 14, 2007, "Religion scholars Elaine Pagels and Karen King discuss the gospel of Judas, which offers different version of Judas' relationship to Jesus"
• Good Morning America, May 23, 2005 "Da Vinci Code Search for Clues"
• 20/20, May 20, 2005, "Resurrection"
• Dateline, April 17, 2005 "Secrets Behind The Da Vinci Code" (This story was also carried on MSNBC and Newsweek.)
• Calgary Sun, January 29,2005 "Da Vinci Raising Interest in Early Religion"
• Religion News Service, September 17, 2004 "Christian Leaders Urge Caution on 'Passion' DVD Release"
• Dallas Morning News, September 12, 2004 "Feminism and faith aren't oil and water"
• Morning Advocate, July 17, 2004 "Mary Magdalene interest intense"
• Deborah Norville Tonight (MSNBC), April 29, 2004 "The 'Da Vinci Code'" controversy"
• The Messenger-Press, March 10, 2004 "Cracking the Code"
• Chicago Daily Herald, March 6, 2004 "Did Mary Magdalene get a raw deal?"
• Chicago Tribune, March 3, 2004 'The Passion' shows a feminine side
• Deseret Morning News, February 28, 2004 "Decoding 'Da Vinci' "
• New York Times, February 28, 2004 "Peter, Paul, Mary...And God"
• Orlando Sentinel, February 18, 2004 "Mary Magdalene—In a Fresh Light"
• The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, February 15, 2004 " 'Da Vinci' Code spurs questions, objections"
• Columbus Dispatch, February 6, 2004 "Mary Magdalene gets her due"
• The Daily News of Los Angeles, February 1, 2004 "Deciphering the Code"
• Fort Worth Star Telegram, January 24, 2004 "8 surprising fictions in 'The Da Vinci Code'"

Organizational links for this expert

• Harvard University
• Westar Institute

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