Stevan L. Davies (born 1948) is an author and Emeritus Professor of

Religious Studies Religious studies, also known as religiology or the study of religion, is the study of religion from a historical or scientific perspective. There is no consensus on what qualifies as ''religion'' and definition of religion, its definition is h ...

at Misericordia University in Dallas, Pennsylvania. His most notable work has been in the analysis of

Christian apocrypha The New Testament apocrypha (singular apocryphon) are a number of writings by early Christians that give accounts of Jesus and his teachings, the nature of God, or the teachings of his apostles and of their lives. Some of these writings were cited ...

, especially the

Gospel of Thomas The Gospel of Thomas (also known as the Coptic Gospel of Thomas) is a non-canonical Logia, sayings gospel. It was discovered near Nag Hammadi, Egypt, in 1945 among a group of books known as the Nag Hammadi library. Scholars speculate the works ...

. He is married to Sally Watkins Davies and has two children, Michael L. Davies and Meredith G. Russell. Davies holds a bachelor's degree from

Duke University Duke University is a Private university, private research university in Durham, North Carolina, United States. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present-day city of Trinity, North Carolina, Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1 ...

and a doctorate in

philosophy Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...

from

Temple University Temple University (Temple or TU) is a public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related research university in Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. It was founded in 1884 by the Baptist ministe ...

."He’s passionate about his studies"
''The Times Leader'', Retrieved on 24 February 2016 He was Professor of Religious Studies at

Misericordia University Misericordia University is a private Catholic university in the Dallas, Pennsylvania area, United States. It was founded by the Religious Sisters of Mercy in 1924 as College Misericordia; in 2007 it became a university and changed its name. ...

from 1979 to 2015.

Published works

Books

*''Spirit Possession and the Origins of Christianity'', Bardic Press, 2014 *''The New Testament: An Analytical Approach'', Polebridge Press, 2011 *''The Infancy Gospels of Jesus Annotated & Explained: Apocryphal Tales from the Childhoods of Mary and Jesus'', Skylight-Paths Press, 2009 *''The Secret Book of John Annotated and Explained: The Gnostic Gospel'', Skylight-Paths Press, 2005 *''The Gospel of Thomas Annotated and Explained, Skylight-Paths Press'', 2002 (Hardback edition: Shambala Press, 2004) *''Jesus the Healer: Possession, Trance, and the Origins of Christianity'', Continuum Press, 1995 *''The Gospel of Thomas and Christian Wisdom'', Seabury/Harper and Row, 1983 *''The Revolt of the Widows: The Social World of the Apocryphal Acts'', Southern Illinois University Press, 1980

Book chapters

* “But I Say Unto You: ‘Who Is Elias?’” in: New Directions in Mormon Studies edited by Eric Mason and Quincy Newell, University of Illinois Press, 2013 * “The Gospel of Thomas,” in The Oxford Encyclopedia of the Books of the Bible, Oxford University Press, 2011. * “The Gospel of Thomas,” in Eerdman's Dictionary of the Bible, edited by David Noel Freedman, Eerdmans, 2000 * “Women in the Third Gospel and the New Testament Apocrypha,” in Women Like This: New Perspectives on Jewish Women in the Greco-Roman World, edited by Amy-Jill Levine, Scholars Press, 1991

Articles

* "The Popul Vuh’s Myth of the Origin of Shamans," Community College Humanities Review, Volume 28, Fall 2008 * “Mark’s Use of the Gospel of Thomas," Neotestamentica, Vol. 30 No. 2 1996 * “The Christology and Protology of the Gospel of Thomas,” Journal of Biblical Literature, Vol. III No. 4, 1992 * '“Women, Tertullian and the Acts of Paul,” Semeia, 1986 * “John the Baptist and Essene Kashruth,” New Testament Studies, Vol. 29 No 4, 1983 * “The Lion Headed Yaldabaoth,” Journal of Religious History, Vol 11, No 4, 1981 * “Who is Called Barabbas?” New Testament Studies, Vol 27 No 1,1981 * “The Predicament of Ignatius of Antioch,” Vigiliae Christianae, Vol 30, 1976

Television appearances

* History Channel: contributor on Gnosticism – “The Real Face of Jesus”, 2010 * British Broadcasting Corporation: (Discovery Channel in USA); Miracles of Jesus Series: “Jesus’ Miracles of Healing” 2005 * National Geographic Channel - Science of the Bible Series: “Jesus as Healer” 2005 * British Broadcasting Corporation: (Discovery Channel in USA) - Ancient Evidence Series: “The Real Disciples of Jesus.” 2004 * British Broadcasting Corporation: (Discovery Channel in USA) - Ancient Evidence Series: “The Real Mary Magdalene.” 2004 * Arts and Entertainment Network production, on-camera contributor regarding the New Testament for the Biography Series program: “The Biography of Satan” 1998

References

External links

The Gospel of Thomas Homepage
American religious writers Duke University alumni Temple University alumni 1948 births Living people {{US-theologian-stub