Resurrecting Eve: Women of Faith Challenge the Fundamentalist Agenda

Pughe, a psychotherapist and interfaith minister, and Sohl, a Presbyterian elder, argue for reflection on "the repression of women and the feminine as the motivating force behind [Christian] fundamentalist and dominionist dogma." Pughe and Sohl were both raised within a Christian fundamentalist worldview, attended Calvin College together, and later threw off the bonds of what they consider fundamentalist Christian oppression. Up front is an astute analysis of the Christian right's political attitude about "a woman's place," and an equally well-done reinterpretation of Eve, as the title would suggest. But Christian readers may balk once Pughe and Sohl reveal that the remainder of their project ties feminist Christianity to the seven chakras. Even as they weave an Eastern, New Age flair into a Christian understanding of the body, sexual orientation and love, Pughe and Sohl never stray from a biblical foundation. Yet whether they will persuade their main audience, "women who have had direct experience of Christian fundamentalism," to try out transformative rituals such as the "Cocoon" (which requires listening to music in the fetal position) or the "Blood Ritual" (which involves touching female genitalia while bathing) is doubtful. Perhaps only those who, like the authors, have already jettisoned the Christian fundamentalist worldview will be ready to take the leap of faith that Pughe and Sohl advocate. (May)