Birger A. Pearson (born 1934 in
California, United States) is an American scholar and professor studying
early Christianity and
Gnosticism. He currently holds the positions of
Professor Emeritus of Religious Studies at the
University of California, Santa Barbara and Professor and Interim Director of the Religious Studies Program at the
University of California, Berkeley.
Earlier life
He has a
B.A. in
Classical languages from
Upsala College in
East Orange
East Orange is a City (New Jersey), city in Essex County, New Jersey, Essex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, the city's population was 69,612. The city was List of municipalities in ...
,
New Jersey; a
Bachelor of Divinity
In Western universities, a Bachelor of Divinity or Baccalaureate in Divinity (BD or BDiv; la, Baccalaureus Divinitatis) is a postgraduate academic degree awarded for a course taken in the study of divinity or related disciplines, such as theology ...
in Biblical Studies and Theology from
Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary in
Berkeley
Berkeley most often refers to:
*Berkeley, California, a city in the United States
**University of California, Berkeley, a public university in Berkeley, California
* George Berkeley (1685–1753), Anglo-Irish philosopher
Berkeley may also refer ...
, CA; an
M.A. in Greek from the University of California, Berkeley; and a
Ph.D. in New Testament and Christian Origins from
Harvard University in
Cambridge,
Massachusetts. Pearson was elected a Member of the
Catholic Biblical Association in 1978.
Work
Pearson was one of the original translators of the
Nag Hammadi library, and was also involved with the 2007 translation by
Marvin Meyer. In his writings, he explores the origins of Gnosticism and Christianity. Unlike many scholars, who see Gnosticism as a Christian heresy, Pearson believes that it emerged from
Jewish mystics
Academic study of Jewish mysticism, especially since Gershom Scholem's ''Major Trends in Jewish Mysticism'' (1941), distinguishes between different forms of mysticism across different eras of Jewish history. Of these, Kabbalah, which emerged in 1 ...
disaffected with the Jerusalem religious authorities, who were influenced by
Platonism and
mystery religion.
Publications
*''Ancient Gnosticism: Traditions and Literature'' (2007), Fortress Press,
*''The Emergence of Christian Religion: Essays on Early Christianity'' (1997), Trinity Press International,
*''The Future of Early Christianity: Essays in Honor of Helmut Koester'' (1991), Fortress Press,
*''Gnosticism and Christianity in Roman and Coptic Egypt (Studies in Antiquity and Christianity)'' (2004), T & T Clark Publishers,
*''Gnosticism, Judaism, and Egyptian Christianity (Studies in Antiquity and Christianity)'' (1990), Augsburg Fortress Publishers,
His book, ''Ancient Gnosticism: Traditions and Literature'', examines the primary texts for Gnostic beliefs, including Christian Gnosticism,
Hermetic Gnosticism,
Mandaeanism
Mandaeism (Classical Mandaic: ࡌࡀࡍࡃࡀࡉࡉࡀ ; Arabic: المندائيّة ), sometimes also known as Nasoraeanism or Sabianism, is a Gnostic, monotheistic and ethnic religion. Its adherents, the Mandaeans, revere Adam, Abel, Se ...
, and
Manicheanism.
Honors
In 2002 Pearson received an
honorary doctorate from the Faculty of Theology at
Uppsala University,
Sweden
Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...
.
In 2013, ''Practicing gnosis: ritual, magic, theurgy and liturgy in Nag Hammadi, Manichaean and other ancient literature'' was published in honor of Pearson.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pearson, Birger A.
1934 births
Living people
American religion academics
Upsala College alumni
Harvard Divinity School alumni
History of mystic traditions
University of California, Berkeley faculty
University of California, Santa Barbara faculty
Historians of Gnosticism