Longhorn Reviews » religion http://blogs.lib.utexas.edu/reviews Just another Blogs2.lib.utexas.edu Blogs weblog Mon, 23 Nov 2009 18:39:53 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.4 en hourly 1 The Book of Margery Kempe: The Autobiography of the Madwoman of God http://blogs.lib.utexas.edu/reviews/2008/11/10/the-book-of-margery-kempe-the-autobiography-of-the-madwoman-of-god/ http://blogs.lib.utexas.edu/reviews/2008/11/10/the-book-of-margery-kempe-the-autobiography-of-the-madwoman-of-god/#comments Mon, 10 Nov 2008 19:05:25 +0000 Meghan http://blogs.lib.utexas.edu/reviews/index.php/2008/11/10/the-book-of-margery-kempe-the-autobiography-of-the-madwoman-of-god/ Who would have thought that the first known biography in English would be written by a woman, brewery owner, Christian mystic, and mother of 14 named Margery Kempe. Margery was illiterate so she dictated her biography to a scribe between 1436 and 1438. Her biography begins with her conversion experience which was heralded by a vision of Christ in her bedroom one night. The story then follows Margery through pilgrimages across Europe and the Holy Land. She also tells about her heresy trial in England and her burgeoning mystical life. After the trial the judge gave her a piece of paper saying that she was not a heretic. Margery used this piece of paper many many times when people complained to their local religious leaders about her loud crying, laughing and preaching. His opinion, like most of her contemporaries seemed to be that she was she was religiously insane. He was also surprised that she followed Catholic dogma exactly. She never deviated from the church’s teaching even when she was ranting and raving.

The book is amazingly lively. You get insight into the personality
of a woman who thought Jesus told her to wear white, live apart
from her husband and give voice to her religious opinions loudly and continually. Her neighbors, her child and her husband complained regularly about her religious activities. The book gives dramatic accounts of every day experiences, in Margery’s
home town, in many English regions, and as far away as Brandenburg, Rome and Jerusalem. Just reading about how she traveled in Europe and how she got to Jerusalem is illuminating.

]]> http://blogs.lib.utexas.edu/reviews/2008/11/10/the-book-of-margery-kempe-the-autobiography-of-the-madwoman-of-god/feed/ 0 The Feminine Face of God: The Unfolding of the Sacred in Women http://blogs.lib.utexas.edu/reviews/2008/07/16/the-feminine-face-of-god-the-unfolding-of-the-sacred-in-women/ http://blogs.lib.utexas.edu/reviews/2008/07/16/the-feminine-face-of-god-the-unfolding-of-the-sacred-in-women/#comments Wed, 16 Jul 2008 15:38:24 +0000 tdomf_4d405 http://blogs.lib.utexas.edu/reviews/index.php/2008/07/16/the-feminine-face-of-god-the-unfolding-of-the-sacred-in-women/ This book is a diverse examination of the uniquely feminine aspects of faith in God. The authors interviewed a variety of women, including a Seneca elder, an ex-nun, a rabbi, a social worker and a Jungian analyst. Each woman shares her story about how the traditional patriarchal models of religion lack relevance for her life. Instead they speak of how they’ve redefined their spiritual beliefs and practices to embrace their experiences as women. The book follows the unfolding of life from childhood to adult experiences of creativity, love, family, sexuality and community. I had a lot of “a ha” moments when I read this book. The experiences described and feelings expressed by the interviewees articulated many of my own thoughts and feelings about faith in ways I had not been able to articulate them myself. I recommend this book for any woman who has ever found more spiritual truth in her own personal experiences than in the traditional beliefs and practices of patriarchal religion.

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