Barger, founder of the Damaris Project and author of the highly regarded Eve's Revenge
, tackles the tricky subject of feminine Christian spirituality. In order to make room for femininity in a seemingly patriarchal religion, she reclaims the early church's understanding of "Jesus as the Sophia of God." By affirming women's ways of knowing and describing the places where women can locate wisdom (and thus connect with Jesus), Barger simultaneously explores an ancient Christian wisdom tradition and argues that Christianity can speak to women today. Throughout, she renders complex claims about epistemology in felicitous prose, claiming that authentic Christianity encourages people to listen to their bodies and to honor the Earth as something that "displays God's wisdom." Barger also affirms Scripture as a storehouse of wisdom. She asks readers to consider biblical stories from women's points of view, but suggests that doing so doesn't reveal a radically different story: from any perspective, the Bible's "essence... remains God's redemption of humanity." Sometimes, Barger becomes a little predictable—what's new about pointing to Dorothy Day and Mary Magdalene as great Christian models of strong women? But other observations—e.g., to take Sue Monk Kidd's questions seriously, but answer them in terms that will resonate with traditional Christian readers—are novel indeed. (Apr.)
