Introduction: A Lady God?
Chapter 1.
Where did God the Mother Go?
The Jewish Spirit
The Angel Sophia
A Hebrew Goddess
The Recovery of God's Wife
Chapter 2.
Why was the Spirit Neutered?
Introducing Jesus' True Mother
Carried up Mount Tabor
In the Name of the Mother Spirit
Born from the Womb of Water
Milking the Breasts of God
The Mother's Erasure
God's Gender Crisis
Chapter 3.
Did Jesus Think Sex is a Sin?
A Double Message
Sex Limits
Sex According to Jesus
A Women's Advocate
Chapter 4.
Did Paul Hate Women?
The Burgeoning of Chastity
To Veil or Not to Veil
Vanishing Women
Chapter 5.
Is Marriage a Sin?
Rereading Genesis
The Devil Made Me Do tI
In Defiance of the Creator
It's the End of the World
Chapter 6.
Is Marriage Salvation?
Sacred Sex
The Law is a Joke
Soul Collectors
Chapter 7.
Once a Woman, Always a Woman?
The Church is a Household
Brides of Christ
The Devil's Gateway
Chapter 8.
How do we Solve a Problem Like Maria?
Mary Caught in the Crossfire
The Male Mary
The Sexual Mary
The Apostolic Mary
Chapter 9.
Because the Bible Tells Us So?
Further Reading
Notes
Shows how the 'female' was systematically erased from the Christian tradition and explores surprising early Christian attitudes to sex, sin and women.
Shows how the 'female' was systematically erased from the Christian tradition and explores surprising early Christian attitudes to sex, sin and women.
April D. DeConick is the Isla Carroll and Percy E. Turner
Professor of Biblical Studies and Chair of the Department of
Religious Studies at Rice University, USA. She is the author of
numerous books on
early Christian history, including The Thirteenth Apostle: What the
Gospel of Judas Really Says.
In this compelling book April D. DeConick applies her
characteristic interest in marginalized early Christian groups to a
topic that has drawn considerable scholarly attention in the past
several decades: the study of women, sex, and gender in early
Christianity. Holy Misogyny is an accessible and imaginative
historical reconstruction of the textual and extratextual conflicts
behind early Christian displacement of both ‘the female aspect’ of
deity and women’s bodies, identity, and authority.
*Near Eastern Archaeology*
In this lucid and logically arranged book, April D. DeConick,
professor of Religious Studies at Rice University, makes a
presentation of the ways in which women appear or don’t appear in
the ancient religious record ... DeConick canvasses a broad range
of sources and presents complexities that will interest advanced
readers and provoke reflection among them ... The relevance of this
book to questions of religion and gender is unquestionable.
*Religion and Gender*
‘[This book] is a superbly researched 200-page compendium by [the
author] presenting the origins of such Christian doctrinal issues
as to why God is male, the association of women with sin, the
denial of priesthood to females, and more. Informed and
informative, thoughtful and thought-provoking [this book] is a
strongly recommended read for anyone concerned with the origin of
gender equality issues within the contemporary Christian
community.'—The Midwest Book Review
‘The book is academically rigorous, but at every point DeConick
interprets her data in the light of her intended conclusion...This
volume is suitable for libraries at the intersection of women's
studies, the history of Christianity, and theology.'—Choice:
Current Reviews for Academic Libraries
‘Despite the fact that the subject is well-known, almost cliché in
certain circles, DeConick brings some new information and insights
to the table in her analysis...The most important anthropological
message in her eye-opening work is that every tradition, including
its scriptures (which claim the greatest authenticity and
authoritativeness) is diverse and historically constructed...'
*Anthropology Review Database *
April DeConick has collected materials from a wide range of early
Christian evidence. The result is a brave book, in a
straight-forward style accessible to a non-specialist audience, on
an uncomfortable subject.
*Jorunn J. Buckley, Associate Professor of Religion, Bowdoin
College, USA*
An intriguing, important, and appropriately dangerous book.
DeConick brings her study of the difficult canonical and apocryphal
texts into conversation with contemporary concerns in a satisfying
and accessible way. Her style is both technical and easy-going.
This is a book for the general public as well as the academic
classroom. I learned a great deal from it and am left with many
questions to chew on happily and to discuss. The reader is aided in
the search for 'Lady God,' and in the struggle to create societies
that abhor and reject violence to the female body.
*Jane Schaberg, Professor of Biblical Studies and Gender/Women's
Studies, University of Detroit Mercy, USA*
April DeConick, a world class scholar, has written a must-read book
for those interested in gender issues in relationship to God. By
integrating her vast knowledge of extra-canonical and canonical
texts, she expansively analyzes the effect of misogyny on
conceptions of the female body and the profound difference such
marginalization has made, even today for women's ecclesiastical
leadership and ordination.
*Ann Graham Brock, Associate Professor of New Testament and
Christian Origins, Iliff School of Theology, USA*
The near-programmatic downgrading and degrading of women is one of
the most shameful aspects of traditional Christianity. In this
powerful book, DeConick rejects conventional theological and
hermeneutical attempts to soften the absence of the divine and
human female by challenging head-on the vilification of women and
the othering of their bodies in early Christianity. This bold
discussion makes for uncomfortable but essential reading - and
rightly so.
*Francesca Stavrakopoulou, Senior Lecturer in Hebrew Bible,
University of Exeter, UK*
DeConick's research traces the root of the problem beyond he usual
interpretations of scripture, theology, and the social structures
of the times to something deeper and much more perverse...
*ForeWord*
Though DeConick is a scholar and this book the fruit of her
scholarship, her writing is remarkable accessible for lay
audiences, and even quite humorous. Holy Misogyny is an invaluable
resource for those looking to find the historical roots of the
ongoing struggle for women's equality in the Christian tradition.
--Jamie L. Manson
DeConick... has done a wonderful service for all readers interested
in the history of women in the early church and provides a helpful,
if at times painful, analysis of why the fight for equality in the
church is so challenging.
*Lisa Rand, Light to Read blog*
Overall, DeConick has a lot of interesting things to say about
gender and sexuality in the early church... I do think her account
is appropriately dangerous, and can hopefully jar Christians into
action to reverse the long tradition of misogynistic interpretation
of Scripture and misogynistic action in the Church.
*Englewood Review of Books - Vol. 4 # 17.75*
Highly recommended for readers willing to look at recent
archaeological evidence to question traditional religious beliefs
and conclusions.
*Library Journal*
This book may be singled out as a model of a popular though, at the
same time,sound scholarly work. Its author, well known for her
leading contributions to the study of early Christianity, outlines
the story of women in the early church … In nine chapters the story
is told with an impressive command of the original sources ... A
book like this deserves a wide circulation.
*Vigiliae Christianae*
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