Religious aspects of sexuality, gender and relationships Books

Book SynopsisLouise Omer was a Pentecostal preacher and faithful wife. But when her marriage crumbled, so did her beliefs. Haunted by questions about what it means to be female in religion that worships a male God, she left behind a church and home to ask women around the world: how can we exist in a patriarchal religion? And can a woman be holy? With less than £300 in her pocket and the conviction that she was following a divine path, Louise began a pilgrimage that has taken her to Mexican basilicas, Swedish cathedrals, Bulgarian mountains, and Moroccan mosques. Holy Woman combines travel writing, feminist theology, and confessional memoir to interrogate modern religion and give a raw and personal exploration of spiritual life under patriarchy.Trade Review‘Omer leads by example, showing us how to re-imagine heroism, grace, and redemption — above all, in our own lives. A vital story, so powerfully written.’ -- Sarah Krasnostein, author of The Trauma Cleaner and The Believer‘Holy Woman is a delight. Raw, honest, and probing, at times furious, Omer’s journey toward the feminine divine is one that both entertains and inspires.’ -- Monica Dux, author of Lapsed‘Her writing is riveting and genuinely insightful … Her descriptions of herself as a teenager who fell into religion as both a way to feel normal and to feel exceptional, and, most stunningly, the intricacies of her marriage, are astoundingly good passages.’ -- Lucy Sweeney Byrne * The Irish Times *‘What could have been an Eat Pray Love–style travelogue is satisfyingly furious (and beautifully written), as Omer realises the error in her premise: monotheistic religions are inherently patriarchal and will never be feminist in practice. The interesting, intelligent women Omer meets interpret scripture to carve out spaces for themselves — but always in the face of great opposition and threat.’ * The Guardian *‘Holy Woman is an accomplished work of narrative nonfiction that does what the best memoirs should, in using personal experience and reflection as a springboard for an in-depth interrogation of society and culture. It’s an intelligent and fiercely felt piece of writing that urges readers to think deeply, and to find their own ways to be holy, whatever that might look like.’ -- Giselle Au-Nhien Nguyen * The Sydney Morning Herald *‘Beautifully written, honest, and wise, Holy Woman is a search for meaning — and a very personal feminist reckoning with spirituality and self.’ -- Cheryl Akle * The Weekend Australian *‘[Holy Woman is] written with forthright intelligence and gut-wrenching honesty.’ -- Bob Moore * Good Reading Magazine *‘Holy Woman is an intriguing combination of memoir, travel writing, history, and feminist theology. An interesting and thought-provoking book.’ -- Jeff Popple * Canberra Weekly *‘An intercontinental search for the Goddess and for the roots of male-centric faith systems, as well as hard-won insights into the life Omer had previously accepted, but no longer will … Holy Woman is similar in genre to Eat Pray Love and readers of Elizabeth Gilbert will enjoy Omer’s personal story, in particular its funny personal vignettes … Holy Woman will challenge assumptions about religion and faith and the culture we accept. Perhaps for some, as it did for me, it will solidify their doubts.’ -- Rebecca Whitehead * Books+Publishing *‘[Holy Woman] cleverly weaves between past and present … Omer has some exquisite turns of phrase, and a skillful handling of syntax, both of which elevate her prose … At its heart, Omer’s memoir is a “feminist confrontation of patriarchal religion”. It is also, in part, a handbook for people who might feel dissatisfied with traditional religious structures … [but even] for readers who are not religious, Holy Woman remains a fruitful read.’ -- Ellie Fisher * ArtsHub *‘Omer is a sensitive investigator, at every turn unflinchingly honest, aware of her privilege and particular world view. Combining travel writing, biography, and cultural critique, Holy Woman is a fascinating call to arms for everyone to question the role of patriarchal religions in male supremacy.’ -- Kara Nicholson * Readings *‘Omer is a keen observer and her writing is meticulously descriptive … [where she] particularly excels is in analysing how symbols, rituals, and language are used to condition belief and fortify power structures. As she reiterates throughout the book, when the language and images used to denote divine perfection are exclusively male, men see their identities represented and affirmed in a way no one else can. Omer concludes not with a single, definitive solution, but with an invitation to reclaim rituals and rethink conventions, and above all to keep asking difficult questions.’ -- Megan Koch * InDaily *‘Few authors will strip themselves bare (literally and metaphorically) in the primal and honest way Omer does in this work. Holy Woman is an intense read, and yet one which (like Omer’s God) never asks more of the reader than she is able to handle … The humility with which Omer approaches her search never tips into either self-pity or an inverted ego-trip. And above all, Omer is simply a beautiful, beautiful, writer. She crafts sentences, paragraphs, and observations that sometimes take the breath away … This is a spiritual book which goes beyond the strictly religious to tap into an essence in all of us. It is an outstanding work of memoir, self-discovery, and feminist inquiry.’ -- Tracey Korsten * Glam Adelaide *‘Louise Omer’s Holy Woman is an earnest memoir based around informal pilgrimages to meet women faith leaders in search of a spirituality free of men’s domination … Pairing an insider’s perspective on religion with a seeker’s curiosity, Holy Woman is both a personal story and a feminist theology taster.’ * Foreword Reviews *‘Emotionally raw … [Holy Woman] is a novelistic, blow-by-blow account of peeling off the layers of self-loathing, as well as a search for a more feminine side of religion.’ -- Nick Mattiske * Insights *

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Book SynopsisDiscover the secret relationship between erotic, the sexual, and the sacred Sex is not negative or positive. Sex is not just neutral, nor is it merely sacred because it creates babies. None of these old sexual stories work for us anymore. We need a new sexual narrative. This book gives the new sexual narrative, what the authors call Sex Erotic. Erotic Mystics from the hidden tradition of Solomon's temple taught a secret doctrine: sex is the source of all wisdom. It's an expression of the erotic impulse of existence itself alive in us–the yearning for contact, pleasure, and aliveness. The sexual, however, is not the sum total of the erotic. Rather, the sexual teaches us how to live an erotic life in all dimensions of our existence. That is Sex Erotic. A Return to Eros: The Radical Experience of Being Fully Alive, from Drs. Marc Gafni and Kristina Kincaid, reveals the radical tenets of the relationships between the sexual, the erotic, and the holy. They share what Eros actually means and also the 12 core qualities of the erotic, which are modeled by the sexual. These include being on the inside, fullness of presence, yearning, allurement, fantasy, surrender, creativity, pleasure, and more. A Return to Eros shows why these qualities of the erotic modeled by the sexual are actually the same core qualities of the sacred. The relationship between the sexual and the erotic becomes clear, teaching you how to live an erotically suffused existence charged with purpose, potency, and power. To be an empowered lover—not just in sex but also in all facets of your life—you must listen to the whisperings of the sexual. Transform your understanding and experience of love, sex, and Eros inside these pages.Trade Review"Marc and Kristina are going where few dare to go. They are showing us what it means to live a fully erotic life." —John Gray, bestselling author of Men Are from Mars, Women Are from Venus "A Return to Eros is the map for the new human. Read it and be forever enlivened and transformed! I believe this is the most compelling invitation ever written to live the Erotic Life. It changed my life." —Kristen Ulmer, former professional extreme skier and author of The Art of Fear "Surrender to this book. Erudite, provocative, and filled with lively insights, there is much to be learned from it about the sexual confusion of our times." —Adam Bellow, author of In Praise of Nepotism: A History of Family Enterprise from King David to George W. Bush "A Return to Eros is a book written with no hang-ups, no compromises, and no holds barred. It rocks!" —Jonny Podell, iconic American rock 'n' roll music agent at the Podell Talent Agency "I've known Kristina for many decades . . . great to see she is sharing her life work with the world . . . Join the outrageous love train!" —Shep Gordon, legendary rock 'n' roll manager and New York Times bestselling author of They Call Me Supermensch "A Return to Eros is a powerful and thought-provoking book—which has the potential to transform your life." —Sally Kempton, author of Awakening Shakti "A Return to Eros should be placed on the shelf next to the great works on emotional and sexual emancipation, including Marcuse's Eros and Civilization and O Brown's Life Against Death. Gafni and Kincaid remind us that eros and ethics are inseparable, that we must free the erotic from the ghetto of the merely sexual, and in so doing awaken our passion for truth and justice. There may be no more urgent lesson for our culture, which now stands on the brink of another descent into barbarism, that it is through and from love that true power flows." —Zak Stein, EdD (Harvard), academic director of the Center for Integral Wisdom, faculty at Meridian University, scientific advisor for Neurohacker Collective, and cofounder of Lectica, Inc. Table of ContentsForeword by Barbara Marx Hubbard Foreword by Warren Farrell Preface: The Future of Love, Sex, and Eros Part One: The Cosmo-Erotic Universe Chapter One: A New Sexual Narrative Chapter Two: Evoking Eros Chapter Three: Sex in the Temple Chapter Four: The Dancing Master, an Erotic Story Chapter Five: The Secret of the Cherubs: Reality Is Eros Chapter Six: Eros: From Fear to Liberation Chapter Seven: Cosmo-Erotic Reality Unveiled Chapter Eight: Decoding the Solomon Matrix Chapter Nine: The Sexy Song of Solomon Chapter Ten: The Exile of the Erotic and the Boundary-Breaking Sexual Chapter Eleven: From Sexual Ethics to Sexual Ethos: On Eros, Subversive or Transgressive Chapter Twelve: The Sexual Models the Erotic: Healing the Split Part Two: The Five Essential Faces of Eros Chapter Thirteen: The First Face: Interiority: Living on the Inside Chapter Fourteen: The Second Face: Fullness of Presence Chapter Fifteen: The Third Face: Yearning and Desire Chapter Sixteen: The Fourth Face: Wholeness and Interconnectivity: On The Intimate Universe: Reality as Allurement Chapter Seventeen: The Fifth Face: Uniqueness and Identity Chapter Eighteen: More on the Fifth Face: Story, Voice, and Soul Prints Chapter Nineteen: The Harlot by the Sea, a Fifth-Face Story Part Three: More Faces of Eros Chapter Twenty: The Sixth Face: Imagination Chapter Twenty-One: The Seventh Face: Perception Chapter Twenty-Two: The Eighth Face: Giving and Receiving Chapter Twenty-Three: The Ninth Face: Surrender Chapter Twenty-Four: The Tenth Face: Play and Lishmah Chapter Twenty-Five: The Eleventh Face: Creativity Chapter Twenty-Six: The Twelfth Face: Pleasure and Delight Chapter Twenty-Seven: Union: The Erotics of Identity: A Deeper Cut Appendix A: On the Pain of Eros Appendix B: The Murder of Eros Appendix C: Testimonial by Dr. Kristina Kincaid Notes Permission Credits Acknowledgments About the Authors

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Book SynopsisThe Catholic Church still takes an ambivalent stance toward homosexuality, declaring that homosexuals should be respected and not discriminated against while morally condemning their intimate relationships. This volume presents exegetical, theological, and ethical arguments as well as evidence from the human sciences to advocate for the recognition of homosexuality as a natural variant of the human capacities to love and to form relationships.

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