Misogyny in the Gospel of Thomas?

Simon Peter said to them, “Mary should leave us, for females are not worthy of life.” Jesus said, “Look, I shall guide her to make her male, so that she too may become a living spirit resembling you males. For every female who makes herself male will enter heaven’s kingdom.” (GThom 114).

If you read this with a literal interpretation, you will misinterpret it. This does not mean what it appears to say, as any Gnostic will know. This is a metaphor. A man is a symbol of the educated, a woman is a symbol of the uneducated. It has nothing to do with changing genders. It has to do with the fact that in this historical context, men were given an education and women were not.

Simon Peter, the spokesman for the patriarchy, says that Mary isn’t worthy of spiritual life. Jesus responds by saying, in effect, “I will make her educated. This will make her equal to you men. For every woman who makes herself educated will enter the kingdom of heaven.”

Of course, the education Jesus is talking about is the education of gnosis, the mystical knowledge of God. This education would also include the spiritual illumination of the Holy Spirit. In these times, very few could read and write. Most Christians got their scripture through public reading on Sunday in church.

We know that this passage cannot be taken literally because the Bible is filled with passages where women are filled with the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:17; 21:9). And as Paul said, “there is no longer male and female, for all of you are one in Christ Jesus” (Gal 3:28). If we are all one, then we are all equal, and therefore equally worthy of life.

Unfortunately, most people come to the Bible and think that it is historically accurate and literally true. The truth is that the Bible is the record of peoples encounter with God and is conveyed in the language of myth, metaphor, and parable. Interpret the Bible allegorically unless outside evidence points to a literal meaning.

References

Marvin Meyers, The Nag Hammadi Scriptures: The Revised and Updated Translation of Sacred Gnostic Texts, New York: Harper One, 2007.