A NEW READING OF AN ANCIENT CHRISTIAN TEXT
The Secret Revelation of John.
By Karen King
Harvard University Press, 2006. 416pp. $25.00
by Kathy Perry
The Genesis creation myth has often been criticized as a utopian paradise myth. It has been cast as a haven for fundamentalism, for fearful imaginations that flee from taking responsibility for understanding the complexity of current political realities of evil and violence. It has been held responsible for originating a system of belief that holds God responsible for human violence, and for vilifying women as that part of creation that brought evil into the world. Karen King’s latest book The Secret Revelation of John introduces readers to the world of Gnostic literature, and a very different creation myth.
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