Feminine images in gnostic texts: The example of the Nag Hammadi literature

How the women are represented in the sacred texts and the gender symbolism used in these texts is one of the important issues discussed by the researchers today. The language of religion especially in the Jewish and Christian scriptures is widely criticized in regard to the anti-woman discourses. When it comes to the gnostic texts, it is seen that there is a wide space for the gender symbolism. At the same time when the gnostic texts are examined, it is understood that many teological issues related to the woman such as the Fall, Creation and Salvation are handled in a very different way from the Judeo-Christian tradition. This study aims to examine the feminine images in the Nag Hammadi Literature which is composed of important gnostic texts. Majority of the texts in the Nag Hammadi Literature contain a lot of feminine images. Again, it is seen that the feminine images in this literature play an active and powerful roles and the female apostles in the gnostic gospels in this literature have an important and principal position in their community. The feminine images in the Nag Hammadi Literature are depicted in a symbolic and allegorical manner as in other gnostic texts. In this context, taking into account the different perspectives, it is tried to analyze the aspects of the Nag Hammadi Literature which are seperated from the Judeo-Christian tradition in term of the ways it handles the feminine images and it is also investigated which messages through gender symbolism is desired to be given.