Customer Reviews

The Virgin: Mary's Cult and the Reemergence of the Goddess (Arkana)

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There are many good books about Mary, but this one may be the very best. Author Geoffrey Ashe weaves an amazing tapestry with careful analysis of Biblical texts, Christian religious history (especially of the first five centuries A.D.), sociocultural examination of the similarities and difference between Mary and earlier goddesses, a fascinating biography of the historical Mary as a young mother in Roman Israel, and thoughtful speculation.

Ashe knows his subject intimately; he is familiar with the vast array of Marian writings by scholars and saints, and he clearly has a very close personal relationship with his subject. (This relationship is the obvious inspiration for the book, but Ashe keeps the focus on the scholarly evidence.) The writing style is elegant, witty, and accessible.

Ashe's careful logic never forces the reader into unjustified conclusions, and Ashe makes sure to examine potential objections at every step in his thesis.

For people who don't have a relationship with Mary, this book is an interesting item of religious history, explaining the emergence of a Mary cult from popular forces outside the official church. If you do have a relationship with Mary, this book will give you greater intellectual depth and understanding, and offer a wonderful variety of directions for further exploration.

This book astounds me. The author's way of thinking is very different and, I might say, recherché. I count it as the best book I've read this year, it being the middle of September. It's also inspired me to read a few of the books to which it makes reference -- one of the best things about reading this book is that it makes you want to study the subject more and more in depth, as the author has -- such as Sor Maria d'Agreda's La Ciudad Mistica de Dios.

What do I like about this book exactly? It doesn't sacrafice interest for the sake of completeness, yet achieves both. The author wonderfully presents an abstract picture of his thought process about history. The history comes alive through his magnifying lens. Reading this book, you feel you are a detective in a mystical detective story. Yet at the same time you feel you are a rather serious investigator into the origins of Christian worship.

In the end, you arrive with a picture of early Christian history that is alive and moving. And you want to read the book once more, to get all of the names straight, and to read the entire bibliography too...

Every attempt to search for the "historical Mary" is, of course, extremely speculative. It is even more difficult than it is to search for the historical Jesus, because there is so much less written about Mary in the Gospels.

But Geoffrey Ashe has succeeded to give us a picture of Mary that is surprisingly convincing. No one knows if it is true, of course, but I am impressed by the method Ashe use.

Every person who has an interest in Mary is recommended to read this book. It gave me a lot of ideas and I very much enjoyed reading it.

The Catholic Church never has nor does she now regard the Blessed Virgin Mary to be a godess, or a divine person, in any way. She is the masterpiece creature, the perfect creature, but she is still a creature. Catholics and others who insist on worshipping Mary rather than honoring her to the glory of her Son are sincere, but sincerely mistaken. Holy Mary, pray for them.