Wednesday, April 20, 2011

Holy Misogyny cover

I just received the cover art for my new book, Holy Misogyny: Why the Sex and Gender Conflicts in the Early Church Still Matter. I am very excited about the book and its name change. I am lucky to have a great editor who goes to bat for me. Name changes can be hard to do at this late stage, but this new name came to me in a moment of epiphany and it really encapsulates what the book is about. The book is supposed to be published in September.

Here is the publisher's description of the book:

In Holy Misogyny, bible scholar April DeConick wants real answers to the questions that are rarely whispered from the pulpits of the contemporary Christian churches. Why is God male? Why are women associated with sin? Why can’t women be priests? Drawing on her extensive knowledge of the early Christian literature, she seeks to understand the conflicts over sex and gender in the early church – what they were and what was at stake. She explains how these ancient conflicts have shaped contemporary Christianity and its promotion of male exclusivity and superiority in terms of God, church leadership, and the bed.


DeConick’s detective work uncovers old aspects of Christianity before later doctrines and dogmas were imposed upon the churches, and the earlier teachings about the female were distorted. Holy Misogyny shows how the female was systematically erased from the Christian tradition, and why. She concludes that the distortion and erasure of the female is the result of ancient misogyny made divine writ, a holy misogyny that remains with us today.

7 comments:

Shawna Atteberry said...

The book sounds fantastic. Can't wait to read it in September.

Lucy R. Fisher said...

Me too - I mean, neither!

lightseeker said...

I too can't wait to read your book, April.

I was just discussing with a girlfriend this morning why is it that men can project their faults and weaknesses onto women (painting women as the evil seductresses and whores, in the Bible going back to Eve, and still today!), or think of women as imperfect reflections of God - and they get away with it in our society? I think it boils down to men's fear of women as the powerful, intuitive goddesses that we embody.

It takes two to tango. Women are no longer property and have rights, as well as brains. Women can be powerful teachers and leaders, too. Time to overturn the old double-standard and bring the masculine and feminine aspects of the divine back into harmony.

I'm sure your book will help provide answers and bring enlightening insights to this ancient matter.

Really looking forward to the book. Thanks!

monkey king said...

I am looking forward to this book. I am very curious why Holy Sophia is left out of most Christian practice when She is obviously a major figure in both the Hebrew scriptures and NT.

Judy said...

I'm looking forward to it, too.

Makropoulos said...

Congratulations. Looking forward to reading it.

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