Jessie Kichigin Monday, Atkinson 12:00October 8, 2012Article 30:Andrew Lawler, “First Churches of the Jesus Cult” Archaeology, September/October 2007.Some of the earliest Christian churches have been uncovered only recently, including the churches in Dura Europas of the Roman Empire, Via Dolorosa of Jerusalem, and Megiddo, whose significance to Christianity is widely argued.Article 31:Karen L. King, “Women in Ancient Christianity: The New Discoveries” Frontline Report: Jesus to Christ: The First Christians, April 6, 1998. After Jesus’s death, women, not only men, had a significant part in the earlier movements of Christianity.1. Paul’s letters provided historians evidence which suggested the importance of women’s roles in Christianity.-Women traveled with husbands as missionaries (King, 121)-The roles of women in house churches (King, 122)-Junia: an apostle (spread Jesus’s word) who was imprisoned for her work (King, 121)2. Mary Magdalene was one of the most influential women in supporting Jesus and spreading his word. - First to announce the resurrection; didn’t flee when she saw Jesus’s image (King, 122)- “Apostle to the apostles” (King, 122)- One of five women chosen to spread Jesus’s story initially; taught male disciples (King, 122)3. The understanding of women’s theology has been able to progress by analyzing the shared views about teaching and practice in the texts of the Gospel of Mary, the Montanist’s women’s oracles, Thunder Perfect Mind, and others. - “A women’s identity and spirituality could be deceloped apart from her roles as wife and mother (or slave), whether she actually withdres from those roles of not. Gender is itself contested as a “natural” category in the face of the power of God’s Spirit at work inthe community and the world. This meant that potentially women (and men) could exercise leadership on the basis of spiritual achievement apart from gender status and without conformity to established social gender roles. “ (King, 124)-“Overcoming social injustice and human suffering are seen to be integral to spiritual life.”(King, 124)-Women reinterpreted texts themselves, such as the Hypostasis of the Archons (King,
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