To the Best of Our Knowledge: Early Christians

Early Christians
To the Best of Our Knowledge (Public Radio International)
Host: Jim Fleming



Shortly after World War Two, peasants digging in the Egyptian desert found a sealed jar filled with pages of ancient manuscript - the Nag Hammadi library, or Gnostic Gospels. Their contents would change the history of one of the world's most established religions – and challenge believers around the world to rethink some of the most basic tenets of their faith. In this hour of To the Best of Our Knowledge, a look at the controversial Gnostic Gospels and the story of a buried Christianity.

SEGMENT 1:



Kyle Bowser is the producer of "The Bible Experience" - a 19-CD audio recording of the New Testament featuring a celebrity all-black cast including Samuel L. Jackson, Angela Bassett and Blair Underwood. Bowser tells Anne Strainchamps how they recruited their superstar cast and who they hope their audience will be. And we hear excerpts. Also, Garry Wills is a Pulitzer Prize-winning historian and a practicing Catholic. His new book is "What Paul Meant." He tells Jim Fleming that the apostle Paul didn't say most of the things people blame him for. Wills describes quite a different Paul than the one we're used to.

SEGMENT 2:



Tucker Malarkey has written a novel called "Resurrection" about the discovery of the Gnostic Gospels in Egypt in 1945. Malarkey tells Anne Strainchamps why she finds these ancient texts so captivating, and speculates about why they have never been included in the official cannon of Christian belief. Also, Bart Ehrman chairs the religious studies department at the University of North Carolina. He talks with Steve Paulson about the complex set of beliefs that existed in the early days of Christianity and says it was several hundred years before a single version of the truth was negotiated. Ehrman's books include "Lost Christianities" and "Misquoting Jesus."

SEGMENT 3:



Singer/songwriter Tori Amos tells Steve Paulson that her new album, "The Beekeeper," is all about reclaiming representatives of the sacred feminine tradition who weren't afraid of their own sexuality. Amos uses Mary Magdalene as one example. Amos is the author of a recent memoir called "Piece by Piece." The piece is illustrated with music from "The Beekeeper."

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