Strange Heaven: The Virgin Mary as Woman, Mother, Disciple and Advocate [Hardcover]

Jon M. Sweeney (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Pious devotions to Mary the mother of Jesus, once derided as superstitious by non-Catholic Christians, are reconsidered by award-winning Protestant author Sweeney (Born Again and Again). Drawing upon excellent scholarship, Christian history and spiritual traditions, Sweeney recounts how a humble Palestinian teenage girl came to be revered by many Christians as the "mother of God." While there is a dearth of historical facts about Mary, it matters not to the Christian imagination, for "It is her myth that draws us: her power to fascinate us intellectually is only surpassed by her ability to inspire devotion." Sweeney is clear that Mary's significance transcends even her role as the mother of Jesus. Mary's virginity influenced the development of Christian sexual ethics, she is praised in the Islamic Qur'an and some would say that her role in redeeming humanity is equal to her son's. Sweeney is very evenhanded when addressing some of the more controversial Catholic beliefs about Mary—his prose comes across as earnest and respectful, while remaining informed and unafraid of critique. This book may not convince Protestants that Mary deserves the privileged place that the Catholic Church gives to her, but it is a fascinating and well-researched exploration of a powerful female archetypal figure. (Sept.)
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From Booklist

Protestant religious writer Sweeney (Born Again and Again, 2005) respectfully analyzes the woman and the myth in this well-rounded tribute to the Virgin Mary. Examining Mary's profound effect upon religion, art, literature, and social and sexual mores during the past 20 centuries, he ponders Mary's role in the Bible, her central position in Catholicism, and the influence she has wrought on society and other religious cultures. Chock-full of legends, lore, factual information, and fascinating tidbits, this treasure trove of all things Mary also addresses the fact that "her power to fascinate us intellectually is only surpassed by her ability to inspire devotion." With the subject of myth and symbolism in the church a la The Da Vinci Code still a hot topic, this digestible contribution to Marian scholarship should appeal to a broad readership. Margaret Flanagan
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Product Details

• Hardcover: 233 pages
• Publisher: Paraclete Press (MA) (September 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 155725432X
• ISBN-13: 978-1557254320
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.2 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,318,398 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Jon M. Sweeney has lived in Vermont since 1997. He has three kids, one in college, one in high school, and a new baby girl. He writes and reflects on spiritual matters in books, articles, blogs, and other media, and he works in book publishing.

Jon was the cofounder and editor-in-chief of SkyLight Paths Publishing for several years. Since 2004 he has been the associate publisher at Paraclete Press.

His spiritual and religious life continues to evolve, and much of Jon's writing is about this. His first 20 years were spent as an involved evangelical (a story he told in the memoir Born Again and Again); he then spent 22 years as an active Episcopalian (see The Lure of Saints and Cloister Talks, among other books); and in the fall of 2009 he was received into the Catholic Church. Today, he is a practicing Catholic (of a more monastic variety), but his most regular spiritual practice is Jewish, as he prays regularly with his wife, a rabbi, and they keep a Jewish home.

Sweeney often says that he loves the church, the synagogue, and other aspects of organized religion, and wants to see these organisms survive (he loves religion; he's not just spiritual), but he also is not interested in doing things to simply prop up falling institutions. In all of his writing, Jon is drawn to the ancient and medieval (see Strange Heaven, Beauty Awakening Belief, The Road to Assisi, and the forthcoming The Pope Who Quit).

Sweeney has a special passion for Saints Francis and Clare of Assisi. He has written several books on Francis and Clare including Light in the Dark Ages: The Friendship of Francis and Clare of Assisi, a History Book Club and BOMC selection, The St. Francis Prayer Book, and The St. Clare Prayer Book. He has also written books on embodied prayer, the Virgin Mary, and other subjects. His most recent are Almost Catholic: An Appreciation of the History, Practice, and Mystery of Ancient Faith, published by Jossey-Bass, and Verily, Verily: The King James Bible--400 Years of Influence and Beauty.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Informative and Broadening, June 12, 2007

By 

J Martin Jellinek (Memphis, TN United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Strange Heaven: The Virgin Mary as Woman, Mother, Disciple and Advocate (Hardcover)

As an Episcopalian I, like many Protestants, have always been rather skeptic of Catholic Marian worship. Strange Heaven directly addresses this skepticism with a study of Mary worship, written in clear layperson's terms. In it, Sweeney addresses the reasons for the adoration of Mary and brings to light many of the non-canonical documents upon which this worship is based. Although the book will not cause me to change my general feelings about Mary, it definitely does broaden my understanding and make me more able to accept worship of the Theotokis when I am confronted by it.

2 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Strange Heaven is a Strange Book, December 22, 2009

By 

Dr. James Gardner (California) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Strange Heaven: The Virgin Mary as Woman, Mother, Disciple and Advocate (Hardcover)

Given the title of the book, I approached it as an historical study of the mother of Jesus. Such a book is sorely needed as there is very little in the gospels about Mary. But what kind of an historical book can this be when there is no discussion about the use of the term "Virgin" (compared to the proper translation of "young woman") and virtually nothing about 1st Century Jewish marriage traditions (e.g., the two stage marriage process). Nor is there anything about the differences presented by the different gospels (e.g., Matthew has them living in Bethlehem while Luke has them journeying from Nazareth to Bethlehem), nor any discussion of the lack of archeological evidence for the existence of Nazareth. Nor is there much mention of the Desponyi.

Leaving aside these major omissions, the book has several sins of commission.

. On page 14 McSweeney claims that referring to Jesus as "son of Mary, implying that there was no real father." Wrong! In 1st Century Israel, the use of the term "son of Mary" meant that Jesus was a bastard and the phrase had nothing to do with the assumption there was no "real" father and hence a divine father.

. On page 59 he says that Paul "...is speaking of the teachings of Christ..." The fact is that Paul almost never talked about the teachings of Jesus. Paul had his own theory of religion which had very little to do with the historical Jesus, but rather revolved around the belief in Jesus, with little reference to Jesus' life or his teachings. What was essential to Paul was his death and resurrection, not his teachings.

. In talking about the apocryphal texts (p. 64) McSweeney claims that some of their stories "are downright frightening." I think most scholars would refer to them as downright silly, rather than frightening.

In any event, as an historical book McSweeney's text has much to be desired. But that's not the whole story, which is why this is a "strange book." McSweeney does cover a lot of historical material about Mary, most of it from the middle ages, and he covers it well. This is an excellent place to find material which is not easily available elsewhere.

So if you approach this book as a collection of resources on the life of Mary in literature and art, you will be rewarded with a great little book. On the other hand, if you are looking for information about Mary and what her life was actually like, you need to look elsewhere.