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Barrie A. Wilson is Professor Emeritus and Senior Scholar, Humanities and Religious Studies,
York University York University (french: Université York), also known as YorkU or simply YU, is a public university, public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is Canada's fourth-largest university, and it has approximately 55,700 students, 7,0 ...
,
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, where he has taught since 1974. An historian of religion, he specializes in movements in early Christianity. Throughout the 1990s he was Chair, Religious Studies, Atkinson College, York University. From 1969 to 1974 he taught Ancient Philosophy and Logic at Saint Louis University in
St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...
.


Background

Wilson was born in
Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple ...
on November 19, 1940 and attended
Bishop's University Bishop's University (french: Université Bishop's) is a small English-language liberal arts university in Lennoxville, a borough of Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada. The founder of the institution was the Anglican Bishop of Quebec, George Mountain, w ...
,
Lennoxville, Quebec Lennoxville is an ''arrondissement'', or borough, of the city of Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada. Lennoxville is located at the confluence of the St. Francis and Massawippi Rivers approximately five kilometres south of downtown Sherbrooke. Lennoxvi ...
, majoring in Philosophy and Psychology, graduating with a B.A. magna cum laude. He completed an M.A. in Philosophy at
Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...
, New York City, and took courses at Union Theological Seminary and the Episcopal Church's General Theological Seminary, both in New York City. He earned a degree in Biblical Studies (S.T.B.) from the Anglican Church's Trinity College,
University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public university, public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park (Toronto), Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 ...
, studying with Dr. Frank Beare, a noted biblical scholar; Dr. Eugene Fairweather, an Anglican historian of early Christianity as well as Dr. Norman Pittenger, a well-regarded Episcopalian process theologian. Wilson completed his Ph.D. in Philosophy of Religion and Near Eastern Studies at the
University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public university, public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park (Toronto), Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 ...
in 1975. His dissertation was on biblical hermeneutics, the logic of textual interpretation, and evidence for making sense of texts. As a historian Wilson is interested in evidence-based reasoning about biblical texts. As he writes on his website, "My passion has been the new historical puzzles and 'disconnects' created by recent explorations into the foundations of early Christianity."


Books

* ''Searching for the Messiah'', (NY: Pegasus/Simon&Schuster, 2020). An historical investigation of the concept of the messiah from biblical sources, through the ''Psalms of Solomon'', Jesus and Paul into modern times, . * ''Paul vs James: The Battle that Shaped Christianity and Changed the World'' (NY: Createspace, 2018). A novel which dramatizes the conflict between the Jesus Movement of James and the Christ Movement of Paul. . * (with
Simcha Jacobovici Simcha Jacobovici (; born April 4, 1953) is an Israeli-Canadian journalist and documentary film maker. Biography Simcha Jacobovici's parents were Holocaust survivors from Iași, Romania. He was born April 4, 1953, in Petah Tikva, Israel. In 19 ...
) '' The Lost Gospel'' (NY: Pegasus; Toronto: HarperCollins, 2014). A decoding of ''Joseph and Aseneth'' using the Syriac method of typology. The book contains a new translation of ''Joseph and Aseneth'' based on the oldest existing Syriac manuscript found in the British Library as well as translations of two covering letters that point the way to an interpretation of the text. . * ''
How Jesus Became Christian ''How Jesus Became Christian'' (New York: St. Martin’s Press; Toronto, Random House; London, Orion Publishing) is a 2008 book by the Canadian historian and philosopher of religion, Barrie Wilson, which suggests a "cover-up hypothesis" to expla ...
'' (NY: St. Martin’s Press; Toronto:
Random House Random House is an American book publisher and the largest general-interest paperback publisher in the world. The company has several independently managed subsidiaries around the world. It is part of Penguin Random House, which is owned by Germ ...
, 2008). An historical investigation into the process whereby a Jewish human teacher becomes the dying-rising savior god-human. . * ''Hermeneutical Studies'' (NY: Mellon, 1991). Essays on Sophocles, Plato, Bar-Daisan and Dilthey. . * ''About Interpretation: An Anthology of Readings in Hermeneutics from Plato to Dilthey'' (NY/Munich: Peter Lang, 1989). Original sources for Allegorical, Reformation, Romanticist and Historicist Hermeneutics. . * ''To the Point'' (Boston: Christopher Publishing, 1989). Communication tips for making effective presentations. * ''Anatomy of Argument'' (Lanham, MD: University Press, 1980, 2nd edition 1986). A logic textbook. . * ''Interpretation, Meta-Interpretation and Oedipus Tyrannus'' (Berkeley: The Center for Hermeneutical Studies, 1980). Proceedings of the 39th Colloquy, May 26, 1980, at the Graduate Theological Union and University of California, Berkeley. . Articles: available through researchgate.net (Barrie Wilson). * "What's a Messiah? * "The Lost Gospel: The Manuscript Tradition" summarizes what is known of this writing along with an interpretive scan.


Film studies

Wilson is a contributing member of the Toronto Psychoanalysis and Film Study Group which explores the psychological interpretation of films. Copies of his papers on films can be found at researchgate.net. * '' Rules of the Game'' - film - analysis * ''
Annie Hall ''Annie Hall'' is a 1977 American satirical romantic comedy-drama film directed by Woody Allen from a screenplay written by him and Marshall Brickman, and produced by Allen's manager, Charles H. Joffe. The film stars Allen as Alvy Singer, w ...
'' – movie – analysis * ''
Changing Lanes ''Changing Lanes'' is a 2002 American drama thriller film directed by Roger Michell and starring Ben Affleck and Samuel L. Jackson. The film follows a successful, young Wall Street lawyer (Affleck) who accidentally crashes his car into a vehicle ...
'' – film – analysis * '' The Debt'' * ''
Big Fish ''Big Fish'' is a 2003 American fantasy comedy-drama film directed by Tim Burton, and based on the 1998 novel of the same name by Daniel Wallace. The film stars Ewan McGregor, Albert Finney, Billy Crudup, Jessica Lange, Helena Bonham Car ...
'' - movie – analysis
PDF
* ''
The Decline of the American Empire ''The Decline of the American Empire'' (french: Le Déclin de l'empire Américain) is a 1986 Canadian sex comedy- drama film directed by Denys Arcand and starring Rémy Girard, Pierre Curzi and Dorothée Berryman. The film follows a group of ...
'' - movie - analysis * ''Nelly et M. Arnaud'' – film – analysis * ''
Brothers A brother is a man or boy who shares one or more parents with another; a male sibling. The female counterpart is a sister. Although the term typically refers to a familial relationship, it is sometimes used endearingly to refer to non-familia ...
'' – film – analysis * ''
Dreamchild ''Dreamchild'' is a 1985 British drama film written by Dennis Potter, directed by Gavin Millar, and produced by Rick McCallum and Kenith Trodd. The film, starring Coral Browne, Ian Holm, Peter Gallagher, Nicola Cowper and Amelia Shankley, is ...
'' – movie – analysis – Alice in Wonderland * '' Run Lola Run'' – movie – analysis * ''The Rif Lover'' – movie – analysis


Documentaries: on-camera expert

*
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series The Naked Archeologist. ''Secrets of Christianity'' episode #4 (2009). * National Geographic UK series Ancient X-files, episode on '' Mary Magdalene and  Gnostic Christianity'' (2012). * Discovery Science, ''The Last Days of Jesus'' (2014).


References


External links


Official website
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Wilson, Barrie 1940 births Living people 20th-century Canadian historians Critics of Christianity Canadian male non-fiction writers Jewish Canadian writers York University alumni Canadian expatriates in the United States 21st-century Canadian historians