Last meeting I wrapped up arguing that the real value of these gnostic writings was in seeing the diversity of people in the ancient world who were grappling with how to understand the Jesus' ministry, life, and death. This was clearly a pivotal moment for these ancient people and we ought to credit them with a serious interest and not simply call them "loonie-tunes."
I found this citation on the Wikipedia page for the Gospel of Mary:
Theologian Karen King considers the work to provide "... an intriguing glimpse into a kind of Christianity lost for almost fifteen hundred years.", opining that it "...presents a radical interpretation of Jesus' teachings as a path to inner spiritual knowledge; ...it presents the most straightforward and convincing argument in any early Christian writing for the legitimacy of women's leadership; it offers a sharp critique of illegitimate power and a utopian vision of spiritual perfection; it challenges our rather romantic views about the harmony and unanimity of the first Christians; and it asks us to rethink the basis for church authority.” King concludes that “both the content and the text’s structure lead the reader inward toward the identity, power and freedom of the true self, the soul set free from the Powers of Matter and the fear of death."
Thursday, April 23, 2009
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