Women Religion And The Gift

This book introduces the special dynamics of women and their close relationships with the gift in both past and contemporary religious settings. Written from a cross-cultural perspective, it challenges depictions of women’s roles in religion where they have been relegated to compliance with specifically designated gendered attributes. The different chapters contest the resultant stereotypes that deny women agency. Each chapter describes women as engaged in an aspect of religion, from that of ritual specialists, to benefactors and patrons, or even innovators. The volume examines topics such as sainthood and sacrifice so as to refine these ideas in constructive ways that do not devalue women. It also examines the meaning of the term “gift” today, embracing the term in both figurative and literal ways. Such a collection of diverse women’s writings and activities provides a significant contribution to their quest for recognition, and also suggests ways this can be understood and realized today.

Recent inquiries into the concept of the gift have been largely male-dominated and thus have ignored important aspects of the gift from a woman's point of view. In the light of philosophical work by Mauss, Lévi-Strauss, Derrida, and Bataille, Women and the Gift reflects how women respond to the notion of the gift and relationships of giving. This collection evaluates and critiques previous work on the gift and also responds to how women view care, fidelity, generosity, trust, and independence in light of the gift.

We live in a world which has many confused ideas about gender and seeks to play down any difference between the sexes; yet it is by their very difference that men and women enrich each other's lives. This beautiful booklet considers the gifts that God has entrusted to woman in particular, and the gifts which she can give for God's glory, for the good of those whose lives she touches, and for her own happiness.

Beginning with those brave women from history who began forging the path for women's education and following through with the contemporary voices that are shaping the world today, this work reveals the gift women are to society.

A study designed to help women understand the true, holy and profoundly influential nature of their position.

In a culture that exalts the caveman-like qualities of masculinity, most women have stopped expecting anything more. Young men are taught to view women as slaves to their self-centered desires. More than ever, men need to know that they can rise above this sad mediocrity. They desperately need someone to recognize their potential for blending courage and kindness, strength and spiritual sensitivity. With its riveting vision of Christ-centered manhood, God's Gift to Women shows young men how to become the heroic, selfless knight that every woman dreams about. Buried Inside Every Young Man Is the Potential to Change the World Deep within the rugged soul of every young man, there is a warrior in search of his sword and a poet in search of his pen. But heroic, prince-like masculinity is something most women only dream of in today’s perverse and self-serving world. With contagious passion and boldness, Eric Ludy challenges you to forsake modern male mediocrity for Christ-built, warrior-poet manhood—manhood that will capture the heart of a woman and change the course of history.

Contributing to the growing interest in early modern women and religion, this essay collection advances scholarship by introducing readers to recently recovered or little-studied texts and by offering new paradigms for the analysis of women's religious literary activities. Contributors underscore the fact that women had complex, multi-dimensional relationships to the religio-political order, acting as activists for specific causes but also departing from confessional norms in creative ways and engaging in intra-as well as extra-confessional conflict. The volume thus includes essays that reflect on the complex dynamics of religious culture itself and that illuminate the importance of women's engagement with Catholicism throughout the period. The collection also highlights the vitality of neglected intertextual genres such as prayers, meditations, and translations, and it focuses attention on diverse forms of textual production such as literary writing, patronage, epistolary exchanges, public reading, and epitaphs. Collectively, English Women, Religion, and Textual Production, 1500-1625 offers a comprehensive treatment of the historical, literary, and methodological issues preoccupying scholars of women and religious writing.

How can you forgive those who have hurt you? How can you know that God has forgiven you? In this new addition to the Women of the Word Bible study series, readers learn how to accept God's forgiveness for their sins and to extend forgiveness to others. Through personal stories any woman can relate to--about family, career, and church--The Gift of Forgiveness deals honestly and compassionately with this tough yet necessary choice: the choice to forgive. Eight sessions of Bible study cover topics such as "Experiencing God's Forgiveness," "Why Forgiveness Is Hard," "Loving Your Enemies," and "The Power of the Cross." Readers will examine the challenges of accepting and offering forgiveness, dig into the teachings of Scripture, and reflect on their own relationships. Each session wraps up with action steps for applying to their everyday lives what readers learn from God's Word. Plus, a brand-new Leader's Guide is included to facilitate meaningful group study.