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The Gospel According to Woman: Christianity's Creation of the Sex War in the West by Karen Armstrong
mbondlamberty's review against another edition
4.0
I am a fan of Karen Armstrong's work and this was no exception.
It portrays the steps that were taken by the Church to leave women in an unenviable position.
It portrays the steps that were taken by the Church to leave women in an unenviable position.
hoperu's review against another edition
3.0
Some interesting insights. However, I think Armstrong relies too heavily on Freudian analysis in making her case. I'm not sorry I read it, but it only gets three stars.
beejai's review against another edition
1.0
Karen Armstrong at her most bitter and vitriolic. Normally, she has an abundance of great history tainted by a commentary that has a bit too much negative bite. In the Gospel According to Woman, there is little solid history but a hyperabundance of ultra radical feminist ranting.
Armstrong's premise is that the Church has been a hotbed of mysogonists and that every aspect of bigotry against women today has its roots in church history. To defend her point she cherry picks an abundance of source material, often without any, or adequate context, throughout time. While her research is thorough, her case is incredibly weak. Does anyone seriously think when we use words coming out of the witch hunts like "allure" and "charming" that we are "channeling" a deep seated hatred for the female species? Her own very clear bias gets in her way and it can easily be said that the Gospel According to Woman says much more about Armstrong's own "neurosis" (to use her favorite word) than it does about church history.
Yes, the Church past has a lot of mistakes to apologize for. No, the Church present has not arrived on this issue. But any open minded comparison between the treatment of women in the Christian/post-Christian west compared to Africa, the Muslim Middle East, the Hindi/Buddhist South Asia, and the Tao/Confucian/Zen Southeast makes it abundantly clear that the thread of history for women in the West has been by far the best road they have traveled. The Church, rather than being an enemy, is the greatest ally women have in a push for true equality. I'm sorry, Karen Armstrong, usually I love your work, but this book cover to cover is just one huge pile of bovine feces.
Armstrong's premise is that the Church has been a hotbed of mysogonists and that every aspect of bigotry against women today has its roots in church history. To defend her point she cherry picks an abundance of source material, often without any, or adequate context, throughout time. While her research is thorough, her case is incredibly weak. Does anyone seriously think when we use words coming out of the witch hunts like "allure" and "charming" that we are "channeling" a deep seated hatred for the female species? Her own very clear bias gets in her way and it can easily be said that the Gospel According to Woman says much more about Armstrong's own "neurosis" (to use her favorite word) than it does about church history.
Yes, the Church past has a lot of mistakes to apologize for. No, the Church present has not arrived on this issue. But any open minded comparison between the treatment of women in the Christian/post-Christian west compared to Africa, the Muslim Middle East, the Hindi/Buddhist South Asia, and the Tao/Confucian/Zen Southeast makes it abundantly clear that the thread of history for women in the West has been by far the best road they have traveled. The Church, rather than being an enemy, is the greatest ally women have in a push for true equality. I'm sorry, Karen Armstrong, usually I love your work, but this book cover to cover is just one huge pile of bovine feces.
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