The Goddess in the Gospels: Reclaiming the Sacred Feminine (Paperback)

by Margaret Starbird (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Review
“This book by Margaret Starbird will raise new questions, challenge preconceived ideas, and spark controversy. In the twenty-first century, Christianity needs to reclaim the divine feminine at its heart and celebrate the partnership that Jesus lived, especially with Mary of Magdala.”
(Dr. Bridget Mary Meehan, author of Praying with Women of the Bible )

"Mary Starbird's books help pave the way to access a new liturgy in which woman's natural life processes are sanctified and the archetype of physical union restored."
(Griselda Steiner, The Dark Bride )

"Margaret Starbird has done it again! Her new book will raise new questions, challenge preconceived ideas, and spark controversy, as did her first book." (Dr. Bridget Mary Meehan, author of Praying with Women of the Bible
)

"Margaret Starbird's work is of particular interest to me because it fuses the diverse fields of symbolism, mythology, art, heraldry, psychology, and gospel history. Her research opens doors for each of us to further explore the rich iconography of our own spiritual history."
(Dan Brown, author of The Da Vinci Code )

"Margaret Starbird has turned her courageous spiritual journey into a corageous book that will comfort some and challenge many."
(Virginia Ann Froehle, author of Loving Yourself More: 101 Meditations for Women  )

Product Description

In an era that has reclaimed many aspects of the feminine, Margaret Starbird’s The Woman with the Alabaster Jar stands out as a courageous exploration of the scorned feminine in the Western religious tradition. But espousing the marriage between Jesus and Mary Magdalene created a personal crisis for this Catholic scholar. In The Goddess in the Gospels the author tells how she was guided in her ever-deepening study of the New Testament and the gematria--number coding of the Greek alphabet--by an incredible series of synchronicities that mirror the inner and outer worlds and which reveal the Sacred Marriage of male and female--the hieros gamous--leading to her own personal redemption.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 181 pages
• Publisher: Bear & Company (October 1, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 187918155X
• ISBN-13: 978-1879181557
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.4 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (24 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #392,154 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

86 of 94 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars GODDE IS...., January 1, 2004

By	Dianne Foster "Di" (USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 100 REVIEWER)

In THE GODDESS IN THE GOSPELS, Margaret Starbird shares the story behind the story of `The Woman with the Alabaster Jar'. In many ways, the personal spiritual journey Starbird experienced and shares with the reader in GODDESS is a more compelling tale than the one she eventually wrote about the Magdalene. GODDESS has much in common with `The Dance of the Dissident Daughter' by Sue Monk Kidd. (Kidd acknowledges Starbird's influence in her book). GODDESS also nicely complements HOLY BLOOD HOLY GRAIL.

Like many women born into religious orthodoxy, Starbird struggled for years to live by the rules of conduct the church prescribed for women. Because she is a person of great depth, intelligence, grace, and spiritual awareness, her attempt to live within the narrow, confined and misogynist tradition of her church led her to the edge of madness. After a very scary brush with insanity, she accepted the Grail-the path of enlightenment.

Starbird concludes that women have long been treated shamefully by orthodox Christianity - especially the Roman Catholic Church. She suggests the RCC abandoned the true message of Jesus when it distorted the memory of the Magdalene as it institutionalized in the 4th century. In recent years, the RCC has made a small effort to ameliorate its decidedly misogynist practices, but these efforts are inadequate and come too late for millions of women. Starbird suggests that if the RCC does not make drastic changes soon it is doomed. It simply will not do for the church to treat women as anything less than co-equal with men. Just as the Magdalene was co-equal with Jesus, all women are co-equal with all men. Furthermore, the church needs to change its attitude toward birth control, divorce, married priests, and women priests, etc. In short, its time for the church to undergo a Reformation.

64 of 69 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars No longer shall you be called "forsaken" ..., November 29, 1999

By	Annette Hulefeld "Windsong" (Oak Park, Il.) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Margaret Starbird's book is sacred water for all of us who have wandered in the dry wasteland that promotes separation/alienation/dismissal of the Woman in the Church, in Institutions. Her book is divinely inspired and deeply researched in order to break through layers of hidden truths. Finally, we have a true mystical woman sharing the journey of the Song of Songs, searching, agonizing, wandering to find her Beloved - and all of us can rejoice in the journey! Her book is filled with synchronicities,inspirations, etc., all of which are in keeping with the underlying principle of Universal connectedness and mysticism. I believe her message is a MUST read - as a Church, as a culture, we must be willing to reclaim the Bride of Christ, to shift the paradigm of Holy Mother Church and Son to Husband and Wife, Do we have ears to hear? Let your heart be broken open by this book - it could change your life!

56 of 61 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Courageous Spiritual Search, August 11, 2003

By A Customer

The Goddess in the Gospels is not a history-- it is the story of a spiritual quest and should be read as such. Starbird's journey reflects that of many men and women who have sought a deeper spiritual connection and arrived at the belief that a new paradigm-- that of male-female partnership-- is needed in the temporal and spiritual realms.

Interestingly, Starbird's thesis is reflected in Native American wisdom teachings and in the Jewish Kabbalah, as well as in
secular studies such as "The Chalice and the Blade". This memoir extends the concept of a shared male-female paradigm to a Christian context, and is important in this respect.

Note that this book is a memoir, and should be read as such. Those interested in evidence that supports Starbird's thesis are best directed to her Woman with the Alabaster Jar, and the extensive bibliography provided therein. In addition, Starbird has clearly been in the vanguard of spiritual exploration-- her efforts began during the 1970s and have extended over a period of close to 30 years. Thus, her views should be of interest to those who have embarked more recently on a spiritual quest.