Born of a Woman - Softcover

Spong, John Shelby

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0060675233 ISBN 13: 9780060675233

Publisher: HarperOne, 2001

Synopsis

Integrating his love and respect for scripture with his keen understanding of current biblical scholarship and the needs of modern peoples, Bishop John Shelby Spong explores the virgin Mary tradition and its contemporary repercussions. Born of a Woman traces the fascinating evolution of the doctrine in the early Christian church and the Christmas narratives that Jesus' mother was a virgin. Illuminating the implications of these writings, Spong persuasively and provocatively shows the Bible's depiction of a virginal, revered yet subservient, Mary to be a "subtle, unconscious source for the continued oppression of women" and a God-given legitimization of the second-class status of women in Western history. The legacy of the Mary myths, suggests Spong, is pervasive and can be seen in our attitudes toward women and female sexuality, sexual harassment in the workplace, the notion of a celibate priesthood, and the exclusion of women from positions of ecclesiastical power. Applauding the fact that "the feminine aspect of God so long oppressed by the masculine patriarchy is roaring back into our awareness, sweeping away our male prejudices and even our male definitions of the ideal woman, " Spong shows that by reclaiming the humanity of Christianity's central female figure, we reshape and liberate our own humanity. "Literalized symbols, " writes Spong, "are doomed symbols, " and the profound meaning behind the symbolism of Christmas - that God can be experienced fully in human history; that by faith we perceive in the life, love, and being of Jesus the life, love, and being of God; that human life alone could not have created the power that Jesus possessed - becomes available to many only whenliteralism is swept aside.

About this title

Review:

"Spong restores a flesh-and-blood humanity to the mother of Jesus."--Ron Hansen, author of Mariette in Ecstasy

"A marvelous combination of scholarly, speculative, and imaginative reflection written in language accessible to the theologically unsophisticated. Highly recommended."--Library Journal

"How a one-sided portrayal of the Mother of God has been used to keep real women under wraps."--Clarissa Pinkola Estés, author of Women Who Run With the Wolves

About the Author:

John Shelby Spong, the Episcopal Bishop of Newark before his retirement in 2000, has been a visiting lecturer at Harvard and at more than 500 other universities all over the world. His books, which have sold well over a million copies, include Biblical Literalism: A Gentile Heresy; The Fourth Gospel: Tales of a Jewish Mystic; Re-Claiming the Bible for a Non-Religious World; Eternal Life: A New Vision; Jesus for the Non-Religious, The Sins of Scripture, Resurrection: Myth or Reality?; Why Christianity Must Change or Die; and his autobiography, Here I Stand. He writes a weekly column on the web that reaches thousands of people all over the world. To join his online audience, go to www.JohnShelbySpong.com. He lives with his wife, Christine, in New Jersey.

About this edition

• Publisher: HarperOne
• Publication date: 2001
• ISBN 10: 0060675233
• ISBN 13: 9780060675233
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 276