The Magdalene Legacy: Exploring the Wounded Icon of Sexuality

(Hardback)

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Rushing's seminal work addresses the ways in which modern women struggle with holistic spirituality, sexuality, and anger. She employs the Mary Magdalene model as an archetype in which sexuality and spirituality are united. Using extra-canonical texts, Rushing explores the dynamics of the relationship between the Magdalene and Jesus, one that created tension within the collective and was excluded from the canon itself. The Magdalene, known as the apostle to the apostles, has remained tainted through repressive scholarly action and deliberate distortion. Her historical treatment is paralleled for women today who wish to remain within the church but who experience a subtle, ongoing sexual bias. The author's blending of the sociological theory of Thorstein Veblen and the psychological constructs of Carl G. Jung is unique in its theological application.

Reviews

"Sandra Rushing's The Magdalene Legacy is a cry of the heart that must be heard. Those in the Christian churches should pay particular attention. What they will gather from this book by an ordained Presbyterian minister is a content that all who take their religion seriously should heed, whether their institutions ordain women or not. For what is examined closely, with a judicious use of Jung and Jungians and theologians of a matching probity, is the low state of women in organized religion and what we have lost as a result, with the treatment of Mary Magdalene as a signal example. One need not agree with all of the theological interpretations to find, as I did, a moving narrative in this book of personal history and religious understanding, and splendid statements of faith, ingeniously articulated to withstand institutional scrutiny."-Dr. Barry Ulanov

Author Bio

SANDRA M. RUSHING is an Ordained Minister in the Presbyterian Church, U.S.A. She is the author of a book of poetry, Essence of Autumn, and an award-winning sociological study entitled The Economics of Gender Stratification (1988).