Jesus Was a Feminist: What the Gospels Reveal about His Revolutionary Perspective (Paperback)

~ Leonard Swidler (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Jesus Was a Feminist is the most up-to-date and comprehensive case for the feminist interpretation of Jesus published in recent years. The fruit of decades of research and commitment, this book will be of vital interest to Catholic and Protestant feminists and egalitarians, and to the thousands of readers who value the work of Elisabeth Schussler Fiorenza, Elizabeth Johnson, and Karen Torjesen.

Product Details

• Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: Sheed & Ward (November 25, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1580512186
• ISBN-13: 978-1580512183
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #831,896 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars JESUS LOVED WOMEN SO MUCH, April 25, 2008

By	Adele Hebert (Canada) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I believe Leonard Swidler's book, Jesus Was A Feminist, is the Most Empowering book ever written for women! Swidler clearly shows not only how much Jesus loved women, but also how very valuable their witness has been to Christianity. Jesus came for "the poor, the broken hearted, the captives, the blind, the marginal and the oppressed." On every page Jesus defended women, honored them, healed them, threw away the taboos and fought for their equality with men. Swidler analyzes how Jesus treated each woman with dignity, especially giving them a voice. Without women's telling and retelling their stories, we would not have much in our gospels. We would still not know that He rose from the dead if they had remained silent.

After reading God's Word to Women, God was showing me that much is misinterpreted / slanted. I was getting discouraged at the general lack of study and concern for the Word from the pulpit. It seemed like every Mother's Day I had to sit through yet another sermon about how women have to submit, and Easter was always about Peter. We were either invisible, inferior or unclean. I eventually slowed down in going to church, and had almost stopped reading my bible. I had many questions which no man could answer but I knew God was bigger than patriarchal churches.

God has always loved women and then Jesus showed it. He chose to reveal the most profound information only to women; He chose only women to be the first witnesses to His Resurrection. You will be surprised to find out how extremely valuable Mary Magdalene was, and that parts of the gospels were written, yes, by women! Swidler explains the problem passages, and shows that Jesus did not reject divorce and remarriage. I just weep when I think of Jesus' love for women and how it has been soooo overlooked and minimized. Jesus was a feminist; He did more for women than we have been taught. This is one book which cannot sit on the book shelf; a precious pearl, it must be passed around. I totally love this book. I believe it is the Best Book in the world! Adele Hebert

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A convincing case for Jesus' feminism, November 26, 2007

By	Reader Views "www.readerviews.com" (Austin, Texas) - See all my reviews

Reviewed by Linda Benninghoff for Reader Views (11/07)

In "Jesus Was a Feminist," Leonard Swidler makes the case that Jesus respected, cared for and even advocated for the rights of women, not in the sense of Betty Freidan, but in the highly personal relationships he formed and the subtle societal changes he was able to bring about through them.

Swidler discusses the times in which Jesus lived, and states that in Palestine women did not have many rights and their status was not high. Although men could divorce, women could not divorce their husbands. The woman taken in adultery was about to be stoned to death. Prostitutes were pariahs. Widows were viewed as worthless because their husbands, who conferred worth on them, were dead.

Jesus was kind to widows. He felt men should not be able to divorce and gave equal rights in marriage to women. He befriended Mary Magdalene, sister to Lazarus. One of the non-canonical gospels even suggests he kissed her on the mouth.

In fact, Swidler goes on to suggest that two of the gospels had as their major source proto-gospels written by women. Mary, Jesus' mother, was probably the source for Luke, with its numerous references to women. The source for John, the book suggests, was written by Mary Magdalene, who was the beloved disciple.

The book "Jesus Was a Feminist" makes a convincing case for Jesus' feminism. According to Swidler, the church as we know it couldn't have come into being without women leaders at its beginning. A well-researched, illuminating book, it asks, is our feminism today as deep as his?

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Revolutionary Perspective of Jesus., April 22, 2009

By	Earlene Mara (Pawtucket, RI USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Author Leonard Swidler is Professor of Catholic Thought & Interreligious Dialogue, Religion Department, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA, editor of the Journal Ecumenical Studies, president of the Dialogue Institute, and president of the Association for the Rights of Catholics in the Church.

This reader was first exposed to Swidler's thesis that "Jesus was a feminist" in an article of that name he wrote for Catholic World magazine in 1971. Over the years he has researched and expanded upon this concept, and the results of his work form this fascinating and very compelling book.

"Jesus Was a Feminist" is divided into three main sections. In the first section, Swidler gives an overview of Jesus, whom he calls by the Jewish name Yeshua, and women in his life, language and teaching. This is followed a close reading and critical analysis of the four canonical gospels.. The third part is an overview of the early Christians' views of women and the subsequent misogyny that developed after the New Testament period.

Besides declaring that Jesus is a feminist, Swidler concludes that Jesus did not reject divorce, that major input and possibly authorship of the third and fourth gospels is by women, and that Christianity, as we know it today, would not exist if it wrere not for the work and influence of women.

I highly recommend this book and suggest that it should be shared with all who are interested in knowing the mind and heart of Jesus.