Lectures by Dr. Lance Owens
Wasatch Gnostic
Society
2002 - 2007
Spring 2007 Lecture Series
The Gnostic
Gospels Four Introductory Lectures
Sixty years ago an extraordinary library of ancient Christian
writings was discovered buried in the sands of Egypt near the village of
Nag Hammadi. Concurrent with their first publication in English
translation three decades ago, Dr. Elaine Pagels authored an
introductory book about the discovery, The Gnostic Gospels. This
classic work has introduced a generation of readers to the vision of a
Christian tradition once condemned as heresy.
Since Dr. Pagels pioneering publication there have been many new
scholarly insights into the Gnostic Gospels. In recent years the
importance of these ancient documents has also reached wider popular
recognition. Dan Brown’s best-selling novel, The Da Vinci Code,
certainly helped catalyzed interest. But aside from that fictionalized
treatment, books about the meaning and message of the Gnostic Gospels by
respected professors of religious studies have lately been best-sellers.
Last year's National Geographic Society television special about the
newly discovered Gospel of Judas brought the story of the Gnostic
Gospels to an even wider audience.
So what are the Gnostic Gospels? In this series of four
lectures we will take an unbiased look at these ancient documents and
attempt to explain what they are, who wrote them, why they were lost or
destroyed, and what message they bring to our modern age.
All lectures in this series are presented by Dr. Lance Owens.
Lectures are free and open to the public, and will be held at the Salt Lake Public Library, Anderson-Foothill Branch, located at 1135
South 2100 East, Salt Lake City. (Click
here for directions to the library.)
Lecture Schedule
Monday, April 2 at 7 pm
Rediscovering a Lost Christianity: The
Gnostic Gospels
Monday, April 9 at 7 pm
The Gospel of Thomas: The Oldest
Surviving Gospel? Click to Listen
to the Lecture (MP3
format - 83 minutes)
Monday, April 16 at 7 pm
Gnosis of the Beloved Disciple: John’s
Secret Revelation
Monday, April 23 at 7 pm
The Gospel of Mary Magdalene: Feminine
Mystery in Christianity Click to Listen to the Lecture (MP3 format
- 80 minutes)
Suggested Readings and Resources
Lecture 1: Rediscovering a Lost Christianity: The Gnostic Gospels
The Gnostic Discoveries: The Impact of the Nag Hammadi
Library by Marvin Meyer
Another masterful introductory work by Marvin Meyer, one of the
leading scholars of Gnosticism and editor of the new 2007 edition of
the Nag Hammadi Library (now published under the title The Nag
Hammadi Scriptures). Meyer seems particularly interested in
making the message and significance of the Gnostic texts
intelligible to a general readership. In this wonderful little book
he introduces the Nag Hammadi discovery, the themes and visions of
the Gnostic texts, and the way in which the discovery of these
documents is transforming our understanding Christianity's origins.
Even if you have read the other introductions to the Nag Hammadi
library collection, this book merits attention -- and if you are
entirely new to the subject, this is a great place to start.
For a taste of the book, read
the introductory chapter, provided here. Buy
the Book
Lecture 2: The Gospel of
Thomas: The Oldest Surviving Gospel?
The Fifth Gospel: The Gospel of Thomas Comes of Ageby Stephen J. Patterson and James M.
Robinson
Very readable edition of the important Gospel of Thomas. The translation isaccompanied by two excellent
introductory essays placing Thomas within the historical
Gospel context. The book is written by recognized scholars but
addressed to a general audience. A highly recommended
introduction to this important Gnostic Gospel. Buy the Book
Lecture 3: Gnosis of the Beloved
Disciple: John’s Secret Revelation
The Secret Book of John, translation & annotation by
Stevan Davies, Skylight Paths Publishing, 2005
Our first recommendation is Stevan Davies' superb new translation
of The Secret Book of John. Davies has produced a
readable translation that is profoundly true to the source material:
it is both accurate and beautiful. The author provides a
useful and detailed verse by verse commentary on facing pages.
For any reader, this is currently the place to start. (Dr. Davies
has given us permission to include his
translation in this collection, however the commentary is only
available in the print edition.) Stevan Davies is Professor
Religious Studies, College Misericordia. Buy
the Book Read an excerpt from the Introduction.
The Secret Revelation of John, by Karen King, Harvard University Press, 2006
The second recommended book is Karen King's The Secret
Revelation of John. This is an extensive and scholarly --
but still very readable -- study of the text and the cultural milieu
that both influenced, and in turn was influenced by, the Apocryphon Iohannis. Included are translations of the "short"
and "long" version of the text (based on the Waldsein and Wisse
edition), an in-depth analysis, an extensive multi-faceted
commentary, and copious academic notes and citations. Karen King is
Winn Professor of Ecclesiastical History, Harvard University.
Buy
the Book Read an excerpt from the Introduction.
Lecture 4: The Gospel of Mary
Magdalene: Feminine Mystery in Christianity
The Gospel of Mary of Magdala: Jesus and the First Woman
Apostle by Karen King
The Gospel of Mary Magdalene is one the most surprising and
delightful of the rediscovered Gnostic texts. This excellent new
print edition of the Gospel of Mary of Magdala by the widely
respected scholar Karen King is the best authorative edition
available. It incorporates translations of the Coptic Gospel
of Mary found in 1896 in Cairo, along with the two small Greek
fragments of the text found at Oxyrhynchus. Included is
a superb introduction along with extensive commentary on the text
and its implications for modern understandings of early
Christianity. Highly Recommended.
Winter 2005
Lecture Series
C.G. JUNG: PORTRAIT OF A TWENTIETH CENTURY WIZARD
From Merlin to Gandalf, the figure of the wizard has a primal place
in the Western imagination. In our legacy of legends, the wizard stands
as intermediary between seen and unseen worlds. He councils and guides
men in the perilous journey through the ancient forest of destiny where
light and dark forces intermingle.
Occasionally the appellation of “wizard” falls upon a historical
figure, an exceptional being who mysteriously touches our collective
imaginal definition of a wizard. The Swiss physician and psychologist
Carl Gustav Jung was just such a man.
Throughout his long life, Jung labored to share a vision that
stretched out beyond the common ken. True to the wizard archetype, he
was pitched in his own personal quest between realities seen and unseen,
conscious and unconscious, known and forgotten. And in spirit, he
remains a consummate guide to the modern soul on the ancient path that
“passes through the Great Hedge and leads beyond the familiar world of
the Shire.”
In this series of four lectures, Dr. Lance Owens will examine the
life and work of C. G. Jung, and reflect upon the nature of his
wizardry. In our discussions, we will search to understand the human
experience that motivates our enduring interest in Wizards. (This is a
special tenth anniversary edition of Dr. Owens’ popular “Jung course”,
formerly offered at the University of Utah.)
These lecture will also be available on-line -- just click on the
links below.
Lecture Schedule:
I. Archetype of the Wizard Tuesday, February 1st at 7:00 pm
On Tuesday evenings in April Dr. Owens will offer a series of four
lectures and discussions examining C.G. Jung’s concept of the
"Psychological Types". Although each of us stand in this world
with our own highly unique viewpoint, Jung suggested that there are four
common perspectives from which people approach life. Understanding our
own intrinsic perspective is of great utility in better understanding
both our relationships with others and the specific tasks facing us as
we seek psychological development and integration.
The famous Meyer-Briggs personality assessment was constructed upon the
basic psychological work of Jung, but in common practice suffers many
limitations and misunderstandings. In this series of lectures, we will
look at Jung’s original model, and through that investigation seek
insights into both the values and the limitations of a “typological”
system.
Please come join us each Tuesday evening in April at 7:00pm.
The lectures will be hosted at the Anderson Commons, 734 E. 200 South,
in downtown Salt Lake City. Anderson Commons is a center for
meetings, retreats, and lectures, housed in the beautifully restored
three-story Anderson Mansion (on the south side of 2nd South, second
building from the corner of 7th East). There is a $5.00 requested
donation per lecture.
Lecture Schedule
Tuesdays in April at 7:00 pm
Tuesday, April 5 – Psychological Types and the Journey of
the Soul. In this first discussion, we will examine Jung’s
map and compass for the journey of life, and the mystery of
Introversion and Extroversion.
Tuesday, April 12 – The Mystery of Fire and Water.
The rational functions of Feeling and Thinking, and the power of
judgment.
Tuesday, April 19 – The Mystery of Earth and Air.
The irrational functions of Sensation and Intuition, and the secret of
art of perception.
Tuesday, April 26– The Four-Fold Path of Integration.
The mystery of Wholeness was central to Jung’s psychological work. In
this final lecture, we will explore the path of psychological
integration.
Winter 2005 Lecture Series
C.G. JUNG: PORTRAIT OF A TWENTIETH CENTURY WIZARD
From Merlin to Gandalf, the figure of the wizard has a primal place
in the Western imagination. In our legacy of legends, the wizard stands
as intermediary between seen and unseen worlds. He councils and guides
men in the perilous journey through the ancient forest of destiny where
light and dark forces intermingle.
Occasionally the appellation of “wizard” falls upon a historical
figure, an exceptional being who mysteriously touches our collective
imaginal definition of a wizard. The Swiss physician and psychologist
Carl Gustav Jung was just such a man.
Throughout his long life, Jung labored to share a vision that
stretched out beyond the common ken. True to the wizard archetype, he
was pitched in his own personal quest between realities seen and unseen,
conscious and unconscious, known and forgotten. And in spirit, he
remains a consummate guide to the modern soul on the ancient path that
“passes through the Great Hedge and leads beyond the familiar world of
the Shire.”
In this series of four lectures, Dr. Lance Owens will examine the
life and work of C. G. Jung, and reflect upon the nature of his
wizardry. In our discussions, we will search to understand the human
experience that motivates our enduring interest in Wizards. (This is a
special tenth anniversary edition of Dr. Owens’ popular “Jung course”,
formerly offered at the University of Utah.)
Please come join us each Tuesday evening in February at 7:00pm. The
lectures will be hosted at the Anderson Commons, 734 E. 200 South, in
downtown Salt Lake City. Andersen Commons is a center for meetings,
retreats, and lectures, housed in a three-story brick mansion on the
south side of 200 south (second from the corner). Note that this is a
change of location from our prior lectures, held at the Jubilee center.
There is a $5.00 suggested donation per lecture. Due to limited space,
we ask those wishing to attend preregister by emailing
These lecture will also be available on-line -- just click on the
links below.
Lecture Schedule:
I. Archetype of the Wizard Tuesday, February 1st at 7:00 pm
IV. Jung and the Wizard in Modern Culture Tuesday, February 22nd at 7:00 pm
Winter 2004 Lecture Series
Mary Magdalene:
The Feminine Mystery in Western History
Publication of Dan Brown’s The Da Vinci Code has sparked a resurgence
of interest in Mary Magdalene and of speculation about the existence of
a “secret lost tradition” associated with her name. In this series
of lectures, we will explore the facts, the legends, and the
psychological meanings to be found hidden within the lost legacy of Mary
Magdalene, the Apostola Apostolorum of Christianity.
Mary Magdalene: The First Apostle
Wednesday, January 21, 2004 at 7:30 PM
(This lecture is now available in RealAudio format
on-line -- Click Here)
Introduction to the history and myth
surrounding the woman known as Mary of Magdala. We begin
with an overview of the “spiritual landscape” of the
first century, and then turn to the story the Magdalen. What role did
she play in early Christianity? Which parts of her
story are historically verifiable, which are mythic? And
which of the two, history or the myth, is most true?
Woman, Sex, and Heresy in the
Formation of Christianity
– Wednesday,
February 4, 2000 at 7:30 PM
(This lecture is now
available in RealAudio format on-line -- Click Here)
The formation of orthodoxy during the
first four centuries of Christianity – and the views this orthodoxy
held about human sexuality and feminine nature – cast a long shadow
across two millennia of Western Culture. Tonight we examine how Mary Magdalene, the beloved disciple,
became a harlot….
Quest for the Grail: Feminine Mystery in the Middle-Ages
– Wednesday, February 18, 2004 at 7:30 PM
(This lecture is now
available in RealAudio format on-line -- Click Here)
In the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, a
sacred myth of the Feminine was reborn and recast in bardic legend. What was the role of the Magdalen in this seminal tradition? Was she at the center of a secret heretical tradition, as
suggested in recent novel, The Da Vinci Code? What role do the Knights Templar, Alchemy, Kabbalah, and
“secret guardians” play in the story?
Archetype of the Feminine: The Magdalene in Modern
Perspective
– Wednesday, March
3, 2004 at 7:30 PM
Our own time is experiencing a remarkable
resurgence of interest in Mary of Magdala, linked with hopes of
rediscovering a lost traditions associated with her name. Is there a two millennia old secret still hidden and yet
somehow accessible to our age? If so, who are its guardians? How do we find the code that unlocks its secrets? And what does interest in such questions tell us about the
psychology and the spiritual yearnings of modern culture?
Winter 2003 Lecture Series
J.R.R. Tolkien and The Creative Imagination
And see ye not yon bonny road
That winds about yon fernie brae?
That is the road to fir Elfland,
Where thou and I this night maun gae...
With
the world-wide cinematic success of The Lord of the Rings, the
majesty of Tolkien’s mythic vision has again enchanted modern
imagination – perhaps more profoundly than at any time since its
publication over forty years ago. Tolkien invites us, in The Lord of
the Rings, to follow on an epic quest into an alternative reality: a
land seemingly more real than the world we call “real”.
In this
Winter lectures series, we will discuss the life of Tolkien and the gift
of creative imagination which made him our own age’s superlative guide
to the land of Faerie. Are there elven-folk amidst us, exiled from a
glorious home? Where starts the ancient path that leads beyond “Middle
Earth”, toward the Western shores?
Thursday, Feb. 6th: J.R.R. Tolkien and the Creative Imagination. We begin with an overview of Tolkien’s life and work,
introducing his vision of the alternative creation as expressed in his
famous lecture, “On Fairy-tales”.
Thursday, Feb. 20th: Myths of The Silmarillion. The Lord of the Rings was rooted in a vision that began taking
form as early as 1916, while Tolkien fought in the fetid, death-filled
trenches of the Great War. It started with a myth of the Silmarillion….
Thursday, March 6th: The Lord of the Rings. Should we seek for any deeper meaning in an entertaining
fairytale of hobbits and men, dwarfs and elves – and of the one Ring
that would bind them?
Thursday, March 20th: Armageddon – The Final Battle. The perennial myth of epic
conflict between good and evil pervades Tolkien’s literary creation. As we face images of our own modern Armageddon, might Tolkien’s
wisdom be our magic weapon?
Fall 2002 Lecture Series
The Mythic Vision of Joseph Campbell
In
October Dr. Lance Owens will start a new season of lectures at the
Wasatch Gnostic Society, beginning with a series of four discussions
centering on The Mythic Vision of Joseph Campbell. The series
will start this Thursday, October 17 and continue the first
and third Thursday in November (Nov. 7 and Nov 21),
and the first Thursday of December (Dec 5).
Bill Moyers’
interviews with Joseph
Campbell – broadcast on PBS television a decade ago – introduced a wide
audience to the relevance of myth as a doorway to our own inner living
mystery. The boldness and breadth of Campbell’s vision marks him as one
of the great figures of the twentieth century. His erudition, charm and spirit made him a wonderful teacher.
For this
series three books are recommended as companion reading: TheHero with a Thousand Faces, Creative Mythology (Vol. 4 in the Masks of God series), andMyths to
Live By. The first
of these is a classic – even if you have read it before, I suggest you
read it again.
Thursday, October 17th – The Hero’s Journey: An Introduction to Joseph Campbell. Tonight we will explore the remarkable life and times of Campbell
and his approach to mythology. Click here to listen to the lecture.
Thursday, November 7th – Hero with a Thousand
Faces. Campbell defined
a pattern recurrent in the all the great hero myths of mankind. It is a myth of journey, trial and return.
Thursday, November 21st – The Myth of Love. The
four volume series titled The Masks of God was Campbell
“masterwork”. In the
last of these volumes, Creative Mythology, Campbell beautiful
weaves his vision of the myth that nurtured our modern age: the myth of
Love. Follow the path of the troubadours, towards this holy grail…
Thursday, December 5th – Myths to Live By. Do
we individually “have a myth to live by?” How does one find the road to the land of myth, and return with
the sacred boon of meaning?