My guest this week is Dr. Marvin Meyer, one of the top international researchers, authors, and speakers on the gnostic gospels. This is my late annual Christmas Show.
Dr. Meyer (Ph.D., Claremont Graduate University; M.Div., Calvin Theological Seminary) is Griset Professor of Bible and Christian Studies and Co-Chair of the Department of Religious Studies, Chapman University. He is also Director of the Chapman University Albert Schweitzer Institute. Recently he has served as Chair of the Chapman University Faculty and President of the Faculty Senate. He is Director of the Coptic Magical Texts Project of the Institute for Antiquity and Christianity, Claremont Graduate University, Fellow of the Jesus Seminar, and a past President of the Society of Biblical Literature (Pacific Coast).
Dr. Meyer is the author of numerous books and articles on Greco-Roman and Christian religions in antiquity and late antiquity, and on Albert Schweitzer's ethic of reverence for life. Among his most recent books are The Gnostic Gospels of Jesus (HarperCollins, 2005), The Gospels of Mary (HarperCollins, 2004), Secret Gospels: Essays on Thomas and the Secret Gospel of Mark (Trinity Press International, 2003), The Ancient Mysteries: A Sourcebook of Sacred Texts (Pennsylvania, 1999), The Unknown Sayings of Jesus (HarperCollins, 1998), The Magical Book of Mary and the Angels (P. Heid. Inv. Kopt. 685): Text, Translation, and Commentary (Heidelberg, 1996), and The Gospel of Thomas: The Hidden Sayings of Jesus (HarperCollins, 1992). He has also edited or co-edited The Gnostic Bible (Shambhala, 2003), Reverence for Life: Albert Schweitzer for the 21st Century (Syracuse, 2002), Magic and Ritual in the Ancient World (Brill, 2002), Jesus Then and Now: Images of Jesus in History and Christology (Trinity Press International, 2001), From Quest to Q (Peeters, 2000), and Ancient Christian Magic: Coptic Texts of Ritual Power (Princeton, 1999).
His books and articles have been translated into Spanish, Portuguese, French, and Japanese, and the Gospel of Thomas, of which his is the standard edition, has been listed as one of the 100 best spiritual books of the 20th century. He has been interviewed on television programs that have aired on ABC, BBC, CNN, A&E, the History Channel, and Odyssey, and on radio programs that include BBC Radio, National Public Radio, and the Voice of America. He lives with his wife, children, and dog in Orange, California.
Dr. Meyer teaches courses on religion and values, the New Testament and early Christianity, Greco-Roman and Egyptian religion and culture, the life and thought of Albert Schweitzer, and peace studies. He also provides instruction in ancient Greek language and, upon occasion, Coptic Egyptian. He regularly organizes bargain-basement educational trips, for those who eschew luxury and pursue adventure, to such countries as Egypt, Greece, Turkey, Israel, Palestine, and Jordan. Ask a survivor of one of these trips about hiking up and sleeping on the rock of Mount Sinai, or swimming in the caldera of Santorini, or snorkeling among tropical fish in the Red Sea.
---
BIO BELOW FROM: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marvin_Meyer
Marvin W. Meyer (April 16, 1948 – August 16, 2012) was a scholar of religion and a tenured professor at Chapman University, in Orange, California.
He was the Griset Professor of Bible and Christian Studies at Chapman University and Director of the Albert Schweitzer Institute. He was also Director of the Coptic Magical Texts Project of the Institute for Antiquity and Christianity. Dr. Meyer authored numerous books and articles on Greco-Roman and Christian religions in antiquity and late antiquity, and on Albert Schweitzer's ethic of reverence for life. He had been interviewed on television programs that aired on ABC, BBC, CNN, PBS, A&E, the Discovery Channel, the History Channel, and the National Geographic Channel.
Professor Meyer was best known for his translations of the texts of documents associated with the ancient mystery religions, early Christian magic, and Gnostic texts, of which the most notable have been the Gospel of Thomas and the Gospel of Judas, the former of which is included among the Nag Hammadi library. Meyer edited a collection of English translations of the Nag Hammadi texts for the HarperOne imprint, the most recently revised edition of which has been released as the Nag Hammadi Scriptures in 2007, including help from James M. Robinson who has edited an earlier publication of the library.[1] He was regarded as an authority on Gnosticism[2] and had worked on many books on the subject.[3]
Meyer died of melanoma on August 16, 2012.[4]
---
BIO BELOW FROM: http://www.chapman.edu/wilkinson/religious-studies/marvin-meyer.aspx
Dr. Marvin Meyer (Ph.D., Claremont Graduate University) was the Griset Professor of Bible and Christian Studies at Chapman University and Director of the Albert Schweitzer Institute. In addition to his work for Chapman, he was the Director of the Coptic Magical Texts Project of the Institute for Antiquity and Christianity. Dr. Meyer authored numerous books and articles on Greco-Roman and Christian religions in antiquity and late antiquity, and on Albert Schweitzer's ethic of reverence for life. He was interviewed frequently on television programs that have aired on ABC, BBC, CNN, PBS, A&E, the Discovery Channel, the History Channel, and the National Geographic Channel.
