Date of Defense
3-1976
Department
Comparative Religion
Abstract
"All authentic religious experience implies a desperate effort to disclose the foundation of things, the ultimate reallty," asserted Mircea Eliade. As theology is essentially the attempt to render that religious experience into a systematic and coherent whole, religious symbols are an important aspect of that effort by being the precise means by which the concepts are finally relayed. For that reason, in spite of the infinite facets and qualifications of a theological quest, it is the religious symbol as the concrete and concise image in the believer's consciousness that ultimately defines "the foundation of things" within the particular religious tradition. This paper intends to examine a particular theological symbol, androgyny, within a specific cultural context, second and third century Alexandria.
Recommended Citation
Lyman, Becky, "Androgyny as a Religious Symbol in Christian Gnosticism and Alexandrian Christianity" (1976). Honors Theses. 1877.
https://scholarworks.wmich.edu/honors_theses/1877
Access Setting
Honors Thesis-Campus Only