A Woman's Way

Overview

Given the significance of spiritual leadership in modern Christianity, surprisingly little attention has been paid to the tradition upon which today’s spiritual leadership is built. Patricia Ranft sheds new light on the way society understands a woman's spiritual life and her role in the Christian world, as well as Christian understanding of the role of women in society and as spiritual beings. She examines spiritual leadership from early Christianity to the early Medieval West to the late Middle Ages and finally...

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Overview

Given the significance of spiritual leadership in modern Christianity, surprisingly little attention has been paid to the tradition upon which today’s spiritual leadership is built. Patricia Ranft sheds new light on the way society understands a woman's spiritual life and her role in the Christian world, as well as Christian understanding of the role of women in society and as spiritual beings. She examines spiritual leadership from early Christianity to the early Medieval West to the late Middle Ages and finally the modern era. This book delineates the history of spiritual leadership for women and by women within the larger context of the history of Christian spirituality and its understanding of human perfectibility.

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Editorial Reviews

Library Journal
Ranft (history, Central Michigan Univ.; Women and the Religious Life) employs a broad definition of "spiritual direction" to reveal the often unnoticed power and influence women have wielded throughout church history. Beginning in the New Testament, "women were central in the quest for happiness and in the dissemination of Jesus' direction of how to attain it." For instance, "the five great women of John's gospel--Mary (mother of Jesus), Mary of Bethany, Mary Magdalene, the Samaritan woman, and Martha" provide important direction. This trend continued in the Patristic and medieval times and was invigorated in the early modern period. It continues in both Roman Catholic and Protestant Christianity, a history Ranft analyzes with insight. Recommended for academic, seminary, and public libraries.--Carolyn M. Craft, Longwood Coll., Farmville, VA Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information.\
Booknews
Ranft (history, Central Michigan U.) presents a history of spiritual direction by women within Christianity. Defining spiritual direction as the act of directing others towards the spiritual, in ways that range from the unreflective style of the first millennium to the modern period where spiritual direction is presented in a multitude of forms, the author traces the development of women's role in spiritual guidance and how it affects society. She also explores how society understood women as spiritual beings and the position women have held in Christian societies. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)
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Product Details

  • ISBN-13: 9780312294441
  • Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan
  • Publication date: 11/1/2001
  • Edition description: REV
  • Pages: 272
  • Product dimensions: 5.50 (w) x 8.50 (h) x 0.56 (d)

Meet the Author

Patricia Ranft is Professor of History at Central Michigan University. Her books includeWomen and the Religious Life in Premodern Europe and Women and Spiritual Equality in Christian Tradition.

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Table of Contents

Introduction
• Early Christianity
• Women Spiritual Directors of Church Fathers
• Early Monasticism and the Early Medieval West
• The Great Medieval Directors
• Late Middle Ages: Direction Comes of Age
• Confessors, Spiritual Directors, and Women
• Spiritual Directors within the New Orders
• Spiritual Direction among the Protestants
• The Modern Era

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