Reviews for The Virgin: Mary's Cult and the Re-Emergence of the Goddess

The average rating for The Virgin: Mary's Cult and the Re-Emergence of the Goddess based on 2 reviews is 3.5 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2018-08-22 00:00:00 Stephen Bombay I really, really enjoyed reading this book. It is an investigation into the origins of the cult of the Virgin Mary in Catholicism. It pays special attention to the scriptural justification (or lack thereof), the emergence of the cult in the first centuries of the Church, and what psychological and spiritual motivations are at play in both the emergence of the cult of the Virgin Mary and it�s later adopted and incorporation into the orthodoxy of the Catholic Church. Ultimately, Ashe seems to argue that the cult is both #valid and necessary to the health and survival of Christianity, but that the attempts to incorporate it into and justify it using a fundamentally patriarchal epistemology and structure limits it unnecessarily. So, pretty much, reform Catholicism to validate and recognize alternative sources of tradition and belief and allow for the full presence of women in the Church (both the �Eternal-Womanly�/�feminine numinoisity� we seem to be fundamentally oriented towards and the ordination of priestesses) or Perish. Definitely the coolest thing I learned from this book is that the cult of the Virgin Mary can be traced back to a group of female worshipers in the early churh (disparaging lacked �Collyridians� which is basically an ancient pun for Holy (bread) Rollers) who saw in the Virgin Mary an equal to the Trinity, who kept an empty throne for the Virgin Mary at services (like for Elijah! At Passover!) that was draped in cloth and bread and wine, and was exclusively women led.

Review # 2 was written on 2020-11-09 00:00:00 Ir Riki This book gives a fascinating account of what Ashe thinks is the origin of the Marian cult in the Roman Catholic church. He starts with the goddesses that were adored in pre-biblical times as well as in Biblical times. He then gives an account of the part Mary plays in the New Testament. He shows that there were no significant adoration of Mary in the first three centuries of Christianity. Real adoration slowly started in the fifth century and constantly grows until the situation in the Roman Catholic Church today. What is surprising is that he shows that the New Testament gives no reason for the adoration of Mary. Yet he believes that the adoration of Mary is a reasonable development in the church. So, he rejects the Bible as the only basis of out faith and gives tradition a place. If the Bible is not the sole basis of our faith it opens the door to all kinds of subjective beliefs and practices. Who can then know what is true and what is not? Ashe doesn�t give any reasons for the development of Mariology, although he sometimes gives a glimmering of the real reasons. I suggest that al least three things played a role in the development of Mariolology, The first is the celibacy required of priests. This goes against nature as God intended it. If you don�t have a real wife you need a substitute. And Ashe gives a hint of this in one of his sentences. Ashe also shows, but doesn�t intend this, when he tells about one of the priests who gives a very graphic description of Mary, not only in her spiritual, but also in her physical perfections. The second is shown in the book �The Virgin Mary� by Giovanni Miegge. Miegge shows that when Christianity became the state religion of the empire, various practices and beliefs of unbelievers were absorbed in the church. And so the beliefs about the goddess Cybele and Isis were absorbed in the beliefs of the church. Everything that people believe about Mary today reflect what people believed about these and other goddesses in the past. The third is the role of Mary as a mother. One wonders if Mary doesn�t fullfill some longing for a perfect mother. It is a pity that one cannot do an empirical study of this in ancient times. But perhaps someone will be brave enough to do a study about this today. The reading of Ashe�s book is a fascinating experience but he disappoints by his conclusions which goes against all reason.