Date: Wednesday, February 29, 2012, 7:00pm

Chapter: ARCE Northwest

Presenter: Nicola Denzy Lewis, Ph.D.

Location: University of Washington, Seattle Campus, Communications Building, Room: 226

Admission is free and open to the public.

Description: In 1945, the world of early Christian studies was changed forever by the discovery deep in the Egyptian desert of a cache of twelve ancient books containing writings that had literally been “lost” for 1,600 years. Those writings – including the only complete copy of the Gospel of Thomas purporting to record the “secret words” of Jesus – profoundly altered our understanding of early Christianity. But have their nature and purpose been widely misunderstood? This lecture offers a radical new interpretation of how and why these ancient Egyptian books were buried and uncovers a tale of Christian mummies, magical books, and a tomb robbing that changed the world.