Women and Knowledge in Early Christianity

Women And Knowledge Are Interconnected In Several Ways In Late Ancient And Early Christian Discourses, Not Least Because Wisdom (sophia) And Spiritual Knowledge (gnosis) Were Frequently Personified As Female Entities. Ancient Texts Deal With Idealized Women And Use Feminine Imagery To Describe The Divine But They Also Debate Women’s Access To And Capacity Of Gaining Knowledge. Combining Rhetorical Analysis With Social Historical Approaches, The Contributions In This Book Cover A Wide Array Of Source Materials, Drawing Special Attention To The So-called Gnostic Texts. The Fourteen Essays, Written By Prominent Experts Of Ancient Christianity, Are Dedicated To Professor Antti Marjanen (university Of Helsinki). Front Matter / Ulla Tervahauta , Ivan Miroshnikov , Outi Lehtipuu And Ismo Dunderberg -- Women And Knowledge In Early Christianity: An Introduction / Outi Lehtipuu And Ismo Dunderberg -- Women And Independent Religious Specialists In Second-century Rome / Nicola Denzey Lewis -- “she Destroyed Multitudes”: Marcellina’s Group In Rome / H. gregory Snyder -- Some Remarks On Literate Women From Roman Egypt / Erja Salmenkivi -- Women, Angels, And Dangerous Knowledge: The Myth Of The Watchers In The Apocryphon Of John And Its Monastic Manuscript-context / Christian H. Bull -- Jezebel In Jewish And Christian Tradition / Tuomas Rasimus -- Mary And The Other Female Characters In The Protevangelium Of James / Petri Luomanen -- What Happened To Mary? Women Named Mary In The Meadow Of John Moschus / Ulla Tervahauta -- “for Women Are Not Worthy Of Life”: Protology And Misogyny In Gospel Of Thomas Saying 114 / Ivan Miroshnikov -- “women” And “heresy” In Patristic Discourses And Modern Studies / Silke Petersen -- Astrological Determinism, Free Will, And Desire According To Thecla (st. Methodius, Symposium 8.15–16) / Dylan M. Burns -- Monastic Exegesis And The Female Soul In The Exegesis On The Soul / Hugo Lundhaug -- Life, Knowledge And Language In Classic Gnostic Literature: Reconsidering The Role Of The Female Spiritual Principle And Epinoia / Tilde Bak Halvgaard -- “wisdom, Our Innocent Sister”: Reflections On A Mytheme / Michael A. Williams -- The Virgin That Became Male: Feminine Principles In Platonic And Gnostic Texts / John D. Turner -- Bibliography / Ulla Tervahauta , Ivan Miroshnikov , Outi Lehtipuu And Ismo Dunderberg -- Index Of Ancient And Medieval Sources / Ulla Tervahauta , Ivan Miroshnikov , Outi Lehtipuu And Ismo Dunderberg. Ulla Tervahauta [and Three Others]. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. English