Christian Goddess Spirituality
Christian Goddess Spirituality

Author: Mary Ann Beavis

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2015-10-08

Total Pages: 205

ISBN-13: 1317385551

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This monograph focuses on "Christian Goddess Spirituality" (CGS), the phenomenon of (mostly) women who combine Christianity and Goddess Spirituality, including Wicca/Witchcraft. Mary Ann Beavis’s study provides ethnographic data and analysis on the lived religious experience of CGS practitioners, drawing on interviews of over 100 women who self-identify as combining Christianity and Goddess spirituality. Although CGS also has implications for Goddess Spirituality and related traditions (e.g., Neopaganism, Wicca), here, CGS is considered primarily as a phenomenon within Christianity. However, the study also shows that the fusion of Christian and Goddess spiritualties has had an impact on non-Christian feminist spirituality, since Goddess-worshippers have often constructed Christianity as the diametrical opposite and enemy of the Goddess, to the point that some refuse to admit the possibility that CGS is a valid spiritual path, or that it is even possible. In addition, biblical, Jewish and Christian images of the divine such as Sophia, Shekhinah, the Virgin Mary, and even Mary Magdalene, have found their way into the "Pagan" Goddess pantheon. The main themes of the study include: overlaps and differences between Christian feminist theology and CGS; the routes to CGS for individual practitioners, and their beliefs, practices and experiences; proto-denominational classifications ("spiritual paths") within CGS; CGS thealogy (Christian discourse about the female divine); and the future of CGS in social scientific and ecclesiological context. Christian Goddess Spirituality will be of interest to scholars of religion, especially those with interests in women and religion, feminist spiritualities, feminist theology/thealogy, alternative spiritualities, New Religious Movements, and emergent Christianities.

Christian Goddess Spirituality
Christian Goddess Spirituality

Author: Mary Ann Beavis

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2015-10-08

Total Pages: 214

ISBN-13: 1317385543

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This monograph focuses on "Christian Goddess Spirituality" (CGS), the phenomenon of (mostly) women who combine Christianity and Goddess Spirituality, including Wicca/Witchcraft. Mary Ann Beavis’s study provides ethnographic data and analysis on the lived religious experience of CGS practitioners, drawing on interviews of over 100 women who self-identify as combining Christianity and Goddess spirituality. Although CGS also has implications for Goddess Spirituality and related traditions (e.g., Neopaganism, Wicca), here, CGS is considered primarily as a phenomenon within Christianity. However, the study also shows that the fusion of Christian and Goddess spiritualties has had an impact on non-Christian feminist spirituality, since Goddess-worshippers have often constructed Christianity as the diametrical opposite and enemy of the Goddess, to the point that some refuse to admit the possibility that CGS is a valid spiritual path, or that it is even possible. In addition, biblical, Jewish and Christian images of the divine such as Sophia, Shekhinah, the Virgin Mary, and even Mary Magdalene, have found their way into the "Pagan" Goddess pantheon. The main themes of the study include: overlaps and differences between Christian feminist theology and CGS; the routes to CGS for individual practitioners, and their beliefs, practices and experiences; proto-denominational classifications ("spiritual paths") within CGS; CGS thealogy (Christian discourse about the female divine); and the future of CGS in social scientific and ecclesiological context. Christian Goddess Spirituality will be of interest to scholars of religion, especially those with interests in women and religion, feminist spiritualities, feminist theology/thealogy, alternative spiritualities, New Religious Movements, and emergent Christianities.

The Christian Goddess
The Christian Goddess

Author: Bonnie Gaarden

Publisher: Government Institutes

Published: 2011-04-29

Total Pages: 220

ISBN-13: 1611470099

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The Christian Goddess: Archetype and Theology in the Fantasies of George MacDonald, examines this British Victorian writer's employment of female figures to represent Deity. Such symbolism is extremely unusual for a Christian author of this period and anticipates the efforts of many modern theologians to develop an image of God as Mother. Bonnie Gaarden reads the goddess-figures in MacDonald's fantasies as both archetypes of the collective unconscious and as emblems articulating MacDonald's unique Christian theology, which is Trinitarian, Neo-Platonic, mystical and universalist. The goddesses become the central figures around which the author develops her interpretations of MacDonald's adult fantasy-novels, his children's books and some of his fairy tales. These readings discover MacDonald's ideas about God and the nature of good and evil, models of spiritual and psychological development that foreshadow the theories of Carl Jung and Eric Neumann, and acerbic commentary on the values and customs of Victorian society and religion. According to The Christian Goddess, MacDonald's Romantic belief in God's self-revelation in Nature led him to create Nature-mothers (such as the Green Lady in 'The Golden Key' and Lilith's Eve) which evoke both the Great Mother archetype described by Eric Neumann, and the modern neopagan Great Mother as developed in the works of James Frazer, Robert Graves, and Marija Gimutas. MacDonald dramatized his view of evil and its cure in the title character of Lilith, a Terrible Mother archetype historically embodied in the Hindu goddess Kali. MacDonald's notion of the world as Keat's 'vale of Soulmaking,' also elaborated by religious philosopher John Hick, is conveyed by Magic Cauldron archetypes in The Wise Woman, 'The Gray Wolf,' and Lilith. Muse-figures in Phantastes and At the Back of the North Wind express MacDonald's conviction that a 'right imagination' is the voice of God, while Divine Children in The Wise Woman and 'The Golden Key' communicate his belief that 'true childhood' is the Divine nature. The great-grandmother in the Princess books, a personification of the multi-dimensional activity of Divine Wisdom, springs from the Judeo-Christian Sophia and the classical Athena, while Kore figures in The Princess and the Goblin, Lilith, and Phantastes re-present the transforming descents of Persephone and Christ. This book shows MacDonald's fantasies as a chronological bridge, anchored in the traditions of the Hebrew Bible and the New Testament, incorporating the teachings of Christian mysticism and theistic Romanticism, and linking to the contemporary concerns in Western society that have given birth to the New Age. The Christian goddess portrayed in these fantasies may strike the reader as a Deity whose time has come.

Pistis Sophia
Pistis Sophia

Author: Amelineau

Publisher: Wentworth Press

Published: 2019-02-28

Total Pages: 440

ISBN-13: 9780526355969

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This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work was reproduced from the original artifact, and remains as true to the original work as possible. Therefore, you will see the original copyright references, library stamps (as most of these works have been housed in our most important libraries around the world), and other notations in the work. This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. As a reproduction of a historical artifact, this work may contain missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

Jesus and the Lost Goddess
Jesus and the Lost Goddess

Author: Timothy Freke

Publisher: Harmony

Published: 2011-08-10

Total Pages: 338

ISBN-13: 0307565866

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Why Were the Teachings of the Original Christians Brutally Suppressed by the Roman Church? • Because they portray Jesus and Mary Magdalene as mythic figures based on the Pagan Godman and Goddess • Because they show that the gospel story is a spiritual allegory encapsulating a profound philosophy that leads to mythical enlightenment • Because they have the power to turn the world inside out and transform life into an exploration of consciousness Drawing on modern scholarship, the authors of the international bestseller The Jesus Mysteries decode the secret teachings of the original Christians for the first time in almost two millennia and theorize about who the original Christians really were and what they actually taught. In addition, the book explores the many myths of Jesus and the Goddess and unlocks the lost secret teachings of Christian mysticism, which promise happiness and immortality to those who attain the state of Gnosis, or enlightenment. This daring and controversial book recovers the ancient wisdom of the original Christians and demonstrates its relevance to us today.

Goddess and God
Goddess and God

Author: Valerie Ann Abrahamsen

Publisher: Marco Polo Monographs

Published: 2006

Total Pages: 284

ISBN-13:

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Vestiges of prehistoric Nature goddess, worshipped by Neolithic and other peoples for millennia, survived into Graeco-Roman period and influenced development of Christianity. While a male-dominated religious ethos supplanted goddess religion in the West starting in the Bronze Age, goddess beliefs and practices persisted underground. Evidence is drawn from the existence of goddess symbols in catacombs, other early church art, and basilica art from the early Byzantine era; extant folklore and folk traditions; magic and other quasi-religious practices evident in early Christian traditions; and rituals preserved by the church.

Rebirth of the Goddess
Rebirth of the Goddess

Author: Carol P. Christ

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 1998-10-15

Total Pages: 240

ISBN-13: 1136763848

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First published in 1999. One of the most unexpected developments of the late twentieth century is the rebirth of the religion of the Goddess in western cultures. Though we were taught that the Gods and Goddesses died with the triumph of Christianity, the re-emergence of the Goddess is not as surprising as it might seem. This book explores the meaning of the Goddess, and the questions we ask as well as the ways we answer them.

Living In The Lap of Goddess
Living In The Lap of Goddess

Author: Cynthia Eller

Publisher: Beacon Press

Published: 1995-12-20

Total Pages: 292

ISBN-13: 9780807065075

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A fascinating introduction to one of the fastest-growing religious movements in the United States today. Through interviews, participant-observation, and analysis of movement literature, Cynthia Eller explores what women who worship the goddess believe; how they express those beliefs in private, in public, and in the political realm; and the place of feminist spirituality in the history of American religion.

Christian Wicca
Christian Wicca

Author: Nancy Chandler Pittman

Publisher: Nancy Chandler

Published: 2003-07

Total Pages: 216

ISBN-13: 1410753476

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Christian Wicca: Oxymoron or the Best of Both World? Finally, a how-to guide for practicing Wicca, celebrating the return of the original Christian Trinity: the Father, the Mother, and the Holy Son Jesus. This book is written expressly for Wiccans who wish to walk the spiritual path of earth-based religions, but do not wish to surrender their Judeo-Christian background. Nancy now offers a simple solution to the rapidly emerging ChristoPagan community. Wicca, the Old Religion, or the religion of the wise, is the fastest growing form of spirituality in the United States. Many modern and eclectic Christians have no problem recognizing Jesus as Lord, but instead have a problem accepting the dogma of the organized church. Seekers are also feeling the absense of the Female aspect of the Divine and wish to re-establish the Goddess in their spirituality. In the wake of the discoveries of the Nag Hammadi Library, for the first time since 100-300 A.C.E. - the yin of the Christian faith is seeking to restore it's yang! Despite the overwhelming evidence that there is a Divine Mother --- no one has applied this information to Wicca and the Holy Days of the Wheel of the Year. "Christian Wicca: the Trinitarian Tradition" does this very task, outlining the Sabbats, the Esbats to include the Holy Trinity . . . also introducing observances expressly for Jesus, called Kyriats! Blessed Be!!

Embracing Jesus and the Goddess
Embracing Jesus and the Goddess

Author: Carl McColman

Publisher: Fair Winds Press (MA)

Published: 2001

Total Pages: 194

ISBN-13: 9781931412780

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Embracing Jesus and the Goddess is an impassioned, iconoclastic, and inspiring call for synthesizing two traditions that have often been viewed as antithetical. McColman, who is both a practicing Wicca and practicing Episcopalian, offers seekers a radical new way of being; a spirituality that equally celebrates body and soul, Jesus and the Goddess, Christian spirituality and Wicca practice. Rooted in both experience and experience, McColman demonstrates how the Pagan path and the Christian path can converge. He explores the gifts that Jesus brings the Goddess, as well as those gifts that the Goddess brings Jesus. He asserts that a religious practice, which celebrates both the female and male energies, the heavens and the earth, is necessary for spiritual health. This is a provocative, yet common sense call for Christians and Pagans alike to embrace a truly radical spirituality ready to transform individuals and society.