Women and knowledge in early Christianity /
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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).
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1 online resource (x, 379 pages) :
Includes bibliographical references and index. :
9789004344938 :
0920-623X ; :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Christian women in the Greek papyri of Egypt to 400 CE /
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The documentary papyri are an unparalleled source for the study of women in antiquity. Among them are numbers of female-authored texts which allow women's voices to be heard. In the period to 400 CE twenty-six of these texts provide information on Christian women's religious lives. This book analyses these papyri. They give insight into Christian women's knowledge and use of biblical texts, their practice of prayer, their theological understanding of God, their lives and relationships. This book also examines texts written to Christian women or referring to Christian women among which are a valuable group referring to ascetic women. The perspectives of the papyri nuance what is known about women from other sources.
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"Ancient Cultures Research Centre, Macquarie University, NSW, Australia."
"This book arose from a doctoral thesis entitled The Perspectives of the Greek papyri of Egypt on the beliefs, practices and experiences of Jewish and Christian women from 100 CE to 400 CE" -- Pref. :
xii, 311 pages ; 24 cm. :
Includes bibliographical references (pages 282-307) and indexes. :
2503552412
9782503552415
Femme, Gnose et Manichéisme : De l'espace mythique au territoire du réel /
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The present volume offers twelve studies dealing with feminine figures in Gnosticism and Manichaeism. In Part One ("Images et symboles"), the Author unveils the hidden meaning of some feminine figures having played a role on the mythical scene of those trends. Some of these figures, borrowed from other traditions, have been deeply reworked by Gnostics or Manichees assuming thereby a new significance. An intermezzo ("Passages") investigates the presence of women names in titles preserved in the Nag Hammadi Library and the relationship between a female protagonist and a specific literary genre. Part Two ("Histoire et réalité") reconstructs the portraits of some women, especially Manichaean, to whom the historical inquiry gives life again, thanks to a fresh reading of first hand sources, as well of heresiological or archeological testimonies. Some of these studies have been previously published and have now been significantly updated and expanded. Some others are lectures on Feminine in Gnosticism and Manichaeism given by the Author in Sorbonne, Paris, since 1994. *** Les douze études que rassemble ce volume abordent sous différentes facettes le personnage de la femme dans la gnose et dans le manichéisme. Dans la première partie (« Images et symboles »), l'Auteur dévoile la signification cachée de quelques figures féminines qui ont joué un rôle sur la scène du mythe. Si les auteurs gnostiques et manichéens ont emprunté certaines d'entre elles à d'autres traditions, ils ont toutefois remodelé ces figures en profondeur en les chargeant d'une nouvelle signification. La deuxième partie (« Passages ») s'interroge sur la présence de noms féminins dans les titres conservés de la bibliothèque de Nag Hammadi et sur la relation éventuelle entre une protagoniste féminine et le choix d'un genre littéraire. La troisième partie (« Histoire et réalité ») reconstruit les portraits de quelques femmes, surtout manichéennes, dont les traits effacés se précisent grâce à une lecture originale de la documentation directe et des sources hérésiologiques, grâce aussi à l'apport de l'archéologie. Une partie de ces études, publiée auparavant, paraît ici sous une forme largement amplifiée. D'autres reprennent les thèmes de conférences sur la femme dans le manichéisme, données par l'Auteur à la Sorbonne entre 1997 et 2002.
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1 online resource. :
Includes bibliographical references and index. :
9789047404019
9789004114524
Martha from the margins : the authority of Martha in early Christian tradition /
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In the popular imagination Martha has become synonymous with the harried housewife, fretting over excessive preparations. The Martha known to early Christians is far removed from this stereotype. Martha was better known for her role in the story of the raising of Lazarus and as apostle and witness of the resurrection. This book gathers and assesses the early traditions about Martha in text, liturgy and iconography. It shows that the significance of Martha has been seriously underestimated and recovers an important and widespread tradition of Martha as apostle and authority figure for early Christians. The analysis of Martha traditions with attention to issues of gender and authority render this book an important contribution to studies on women in early Christianity.
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1 online resource (xix, 369 pages) : illustrations. :
Includes bibliographical references (p. 307-340) and indexes. :
9789004186873 :
0920-623X ; :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Mothering, public leadership, and women's life writing : explorations in spirituality studies and practical theology /
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In Mothering, Public Leadership, and Women's Life Writing , Claire E. Wolfteich presents a series of case studies in Christian spirituality, bringing mothers' autobiographical writing into focus for theological reflection. From the medieval mystic Margery Kempe to the twentieth-century activist Dorothy Day, from African American preacher Jarena Lee to labor organizer Dolores Huerta, the book mines women's first-person writing, surfacing critical issues for theological analysis. Listening deeply to these diverse maternal voices, the book advances creative theological reflection on work, vocation, time poverty, Sabbath, and spiritual guidance. Mothering, Public Leadership, and Women's Life Writing demonstrates the significance of the study of mothering for theology and spirituality studies and the import of life writing as an underutilized source for practical theology.
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1 online resource. :
Includes bibliographical references and index. :
9789004350670 :
2352-9288 ; :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
"Zerstört die Werke der Weiblichkeit" : Maria Magdalena, Salome und andere Jüngerinnen Jesu in christlich-gnostischen Schriften /
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This book considers the place of the women disciples of Jesus in Christian Gnostic documents. It examines their significance and representation in Nag Hammadi documents (GosThom, GosPhil, SophJesChr, DialSav, 1ApocJas) and other early gnostic sources (GosMary, Pistis Sophia), in Patristic anti-Gnostic documents, and in Manichaean Psalms. In these documents, mostly composed during the second and third centuries C.E., Mary Magdalene, Salome, Martha and Mary, Arsinoe, Mary, the mother of Jesus, and other anonymous women appear as female disciples. A central issue of the book is the relation between the central role of these women disciples and the apparently contradictory statements about femininity and masculinity which appear in the same texts. The negative view of femininity proves to offer a background to the high assessment of the role of particular women. These female disciples transcend their femininity and become "male".
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1 online resource. :
Includes bibliographical references and index. :
9789004439887
9789004114494