Chasing Sophia: Reclaiming the Lost Wisdom of Jesus

Women are looking for new ways to know themselves and to connect with God, two forms of knowledge that are intrinsically linked. Many have left traditional religion in frustration that it didn't reflect their real lives, turning instead to alternative spiritualities that purport to honor women's experience. In this post-feminist interpretation of Christianity, Lilian Calles Barger challenges both Christian tradition and feminist trends in spirituality to provide a fresh and inspiring look at divine wisdom, opening women's awareness to the voice of God in the world.

Women are looking for new ways to know themselves and to connect with God, two forms of knowledge that are intrinsically linked. Many have left traditional religion in frustration that it didn't reflect their real lives, turning instead to alternative spiritualities that purport to honor women's experience. In this post-feminist interpretation of Christianity, Lilian Calles Barger challenges both Christian tradition and feminist trends in spirituality to provide a fresh and inspiring look at divine wisdom, opening women's awareness to the voice of God in the world.

Publishers Weekly

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.) Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.

Lilian Calles Barger (www.lilianbarger.com) is the founder of the Damaris Project (www.damarisproject.org) —an organization providing resources for women to start meaningful conversations in their communities. She is a native of Buenos Aires, Argentina, and currently works as a writer and frequent speaker on the intersection of the teachings of Jesus and contemporary cultural issues. She is the author of Eve's Revenge: Women and a Spirituality of the Body.