Power, Gender and Christian Mysticism

ISBN-13: 9780521479264 / Angielski / Miękka / 1996 / 404 str.

Grace M. Jantzen; Duncan Forrester; Alistair Kee

Opis

In Western Christianity, the mystic was seen as having direct access to God, and therefore great authority. Dr. Jantzen discusses how men of power defined and controlled who should count as a mystic, and thus who would have power: women were pointedly excluded. The modern philosophical assumption that mysticism is essentially about intense subjective experiences is misguided. This book is the first on the subject to take issues of gender seriously, and to use them as a point of entry for a deconstructive approach to Christian mysticism.

Recenzje

'The first major study of Christian mysticism to utilise a deconstructionist approach, Power, Gender and Christian Mysticism illuminates the meaning of gendered rhetoric in the writings of major male 'mystics' from Plato to Dionysus to Eckhart. Most importantly, through a 'deeper' reading of female mystics and visionaries (often ignored - and sometimes silenced) Grace Jantzen has allowed these women to speak eloquently. Her inescapable conclusion is that we can no longer speak of 'Christian Mysticism,' but of 'Christian Mysticisms', and of these not as intense, private experiences, but as manifesting sets of social relations and representations. This is a scholarly, but at the same time most readable and entertaining work, and I recommend it strongly.' Philip C. Almond, University of Queensland

Spis treści

1. Feminists, philosophers and mystics; 2. Mystics, martyrs and honorary males; 3. The mystical meaning of scripture; 4. Mystical theology and the erotic other; 5. 'Cry out and write': mysticism and the struggle for authority; 6. The visions of virgins: spirituality and sexual control; 7. Heretics and witches; 8. The language of ineffability; 9. Conclusion: mysticism and modernity; References; Index.