Charles W. Hedrick

Charles W. Hedrick (born 1934) is an American scholar of early Christianity, Christian origins, and Gnosticism. He is Distinguished Emeritus Professor of Religious Studies at Missouri State University, where he taught from 1980 until his retirement in 2004. He was a member of the international UNESCO team that reconstructed and translated the Nag Hammadi Codices in Cairo.

His research focuses on study of the parables of Jesus, the Gospel of Thomas, and Coptic Gnostic texts.

Biography Hedrick was born in Bogalusa, Louisiana

Hedrick completed his Ph.D. in Religion (New Testament) at Claremont Graduate School in 1977. His dissertation, The Apocalypse of Adam: A Literary and Source Analysis, was supervised by James M. Robinson, Burton Mack, Ekkard Muhlenberg, and George MacRae of Harvard Divinity School.

He lectured at Claremont Graduate School from 1977 to 1978 before joining Wagner College in Staten Island, New York, as an assistant professor of religious studies.

Research and scholarly works Hedrick’s research centers on Christian origins, the Gospels, and Gnosticism. His first major work, Parables as Poetic Fictions (1994), challenged traditional interpretations of Jesus’ parables by treating them as literary fictions rather than historical allegories or metaphors.

His later book, Many Things in Parables (2004), advanced a consistent theory for a literary approach to parables, intended for both scholars and non-specialists.

Hedrick has also contributed to the study of the Nag Hammadi codices, Gnosticism, and early Christian texts, with works such as Unlocking the Secrets of the Gospel According to Thomas and The Wisdom of Jesus.

He has edited several volumes, such as Gospel Origins and Christian Beginnings and Gnosticism and the Early Christian World, both in honor of his mentor James M. Robinson.

Selected bibliography

Selected books

Selected edited books

Selected journal articles