...and the role of Women There is current pop cultural obsession with Gnosticism. A glimpse at the documentary section of Netflix will prove this to be true. Gnosticism is often presented as a mystical and poetic alternative to the patriarchal hierarchy of the Christian Church. It is also often presented as a safer and more holistic religious home for women, free of many of the misogynistic barriers of the larger institution of the church. But how much of this is true? What is Gnosticism anyway and what does it really have to say about women? This paper will explore these questions by giving an overview of what Gnosticism really is, beyond a new shelf in the Christian self-help section at Barnes and Noble. I will explore this through two Gnostic theologians, Valentinus and Ptolemy. From there, the second section will deal with women and Gnostic thought, giving focus to the role of Mary Magdalene in the Pistis Sophia, The Gospel of Mary, and The Gospel of Phillip. In order to being this exploration of Gnosticism, it is more accurate to begin by discussing Gnosticisms, acknowledging primarily that Gnosticism was more than just one movement but a series of movements that shared a common belief in salvation through knowledge.[1] These movements, or this style of “speculative religious metaphysics”[2], pre-exist Christianity and came to have largest impact on Christianity in the 2nd and 3rd centuries. According to Jaroslav Pelikan[3], even the title Gnostic is a creation of modern...
Words: 3143 - Pages: 13
