Even though feminine values have always been at the core of Christianity, its long history has often ignored or marginalized women’s key role in it. Margaret Starbird’s unique view from the feminine perspective serves the need many are feeling to search their traditional faith for fresh meaning and inspiration in these difficult times. Could Mary Magdalene have been Jesus’ wife? Starbird explores this possibility and the “sister-brides” who accompanied male disciples to forge a new understanding of gender-based faith and of sacred marriage with the Divine. She also gives us the rich heritage of stories about women’s generous service and encouragement for the inner journey, ranging all the way from little-known early saints to Mother Theresa. She points out that fundamental Christian values such as compassion, reconciliation, and the healing of crippled bodies and broken hearts are all strongly feminine in nature. Her view, though, is cooperative rather than contentious: She aims, not to discredit the masculine, but to right the missing gender balance she finds inherent in the faith. Distribution is limited to North America.

“An honest, compelling, surprising, and vastly reassuring book about the spiritual life of women . . . This landmark book is spiritual precisely because it is authentic.”—Joan Borysenko, Ph.D., author of Minding the Body, Mending the Mind With a foreword by Jean Shinoda Bolen, M.D. For many contemporary women, the old patriarchal models of religion are no longer relevant, forming a need to look beyond the male-oriented past to a wider, more fulfilling spiritual horizon. In this fascinating and thought-provoking book, Sherry Anderson and Patricia Hopkins show how many women have redefined traditional beliefs and rediscovered their own unique spiritual heritage—The Feminine Face of God. Anderson and Hopkins guide you through the sacred garden of: • Childhood—seedbed of life's sacred passage • Leaving home—finding your own inner authority • Relationships—new perspectives on intimacy • Spiritual practice—the importance of guidance and discipline • Sexuality—a wild card constantly cracking open the heart • And much more As women enter their sacred garden and learn the art of inner listening, they acquire the tools for living, loving, and praying authentically. In The Feminine Face of God there are seeds for growth: for creating and sustaining intimacy and love in a new way; for a new understanding of sexuality; for a new vision of family, a family of choice in a community of love.

"This book is a "tour de force." It is simply magnificent" witty, scholarly, profoundly persuasive, blunt, prophetic, and convicting this slow-to-believe disciple all over the place." " Brennan Manning, Author of "The Ragamuffin Gospel" "I'm not sure what to make of it all, but Paul Smith gives the best arguments I have ever come across for calling God Mother. For anyone struggling with how far we should go in using inclusive language, this is "must" reading. " Tony Campolo, Eastern College "With tender power and wit, Paul Smith challenges the church to biblical fidelity and justice in its worship language. How encouraging it is to hear an evangelical male voice affirm the necessity of feminine images of God! This outstanding book so clearly and convincingly demonstrates the biblical imperative for inclusive God-language that the Christian community can no longer ignore it." " Jann Aldredge-Clanton, Ph.D., Chaplain, Baylor University Medical Center, Author of "God and Gender" and "God: A Word for Girls and Boys"

Mary Radford Ruether's book makes a significant contribution to our understanding of Mary's role in the vital doctrine of the contemporary church. In this unique study, she brings together much hard-to-find material. Her careful biblical scholarship enables us to reclaim a long-ignored part of our religious tradition. Useful for women's and other adult study groups, this book includes help for study leaders.

The first full-length feminist dialogue with Holocaust theory, theology and social history. Considers women's reactions to the holy in the camps at Auschwitz.

Endorsements: "A calm, well-balanced, carefully prepared book. . . . Excellent for adult Bible discussion groups, for occasional sermons, for suggesting ways of inclusive language. This book teaches and directs without antagonizing." --The Bible Today "A persuasive book, useful for personal reflection and group discussion, and ideal for gift-giving." --Daughters of Sarah "This is no dry erudite volume. It rubs salve in personal wounds inflicted by centuries of biblical misreading." --Sojourners "The book reflects careful research; it is written in a style that will appeal to those interested in the implications of biblical research but without the time or inclination to follow the involved discussions of biblical scholarship." --National Catholic Reporter

A Woman Through and Through In a culture that can belittle womanhood on the one hand—making it irrelevant—and glorify it on the other—making it everything—it’s hard to know what it really means to be a woman. But when we understand womanhood through the lens of Scripture, we see that we need a bigger category for what God has called “woman.” This book breathes fresh air into our womanhood, reminding us what life in Christ—as a woman—looks like. When we see that we are women in all we do, we can be at peace with how God has created us, recognizing womanhood as an essential part of Christ’s mission and work.

"I was amazed to find that I had no idea how to unfold my spiritual life in a feminine way. I was surprised, and, in fact, a little terrified, when I found myself in the middle of a feminist spiritual reawakening." ––Sue Monk Kidd For years, Sue Monk Kidd was a conventionally religious woman. Then, in the late 1980s, Kidd experienced an unexpected awakening, and began a journey toward a feminine spirituality. With the exceptional storytelling skills that have helped make her name, author of When the Heart Waits tells her very personal story of the fear, anger, healing, and freedom she experienced on the path toward the wholeness that many women have lost in the church. From a jarring encounter with sexism in a suburban drugstore, to monastery retreats and to rituals in the caves of Crete, she reveals a new level of feminine spiritual consciousness for all women– one that retains a meaningful connection with the "deep song of Christianity," embraces the sacredness of ordinary women's experience, and has the power to transform in the most positive ways every fundamental relationship in a woman's life– her marriage, her career, and her religion. This Plus edition paperback includes a recent interview with the author conducted by the book's editor Michael Maudlin.