Beyond God the Father: Toward a Philosophy of Women's Liberation

by Mary Daly

Book Overview

"Certainly one of the most promising theological statements of our time." --The Christian Century"Not for the timid, this brilliant book calls for nothing short of the overthrow of patriarchy... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0807015032
• Release Date: June 1993
• Publisher: Beacon Press
• Length: 264 Pages
• Weight: 0.68 lbs.
• Dimensions: 7.9" x 0.7" x 5.4"

Customer Reviews

excellent

Mary Daly makes no apologies. Instead of employing 'mental contortionism' in an effort to interpret blatantly sexist texts in an equitable manner, Daly bravely tosses them aside and forges a new theological understanding. This is one of the best indictments of traditional Catholic beleif that I have ever read, from the scathing rebutals of the pauline texts to the rejection of the idea of any messiah cum human. The tone is forceful witty and incredible clever, and definitely keeps you reading. The urge to move beyond outdated ideas is one of the corner-stones of progress and thus I salute Mary Daly for her much needed work in religious philosophy.

Mary Daly is Out of This World!

It's amazing to me just how many readers don't get Mary Daly! That someone compared her to Hustler Magazine is too funny! Oh, I bet Professor Daly would love that! For those of you who didn't know, Daly has several doctorates (in philosophy and theology) from Fribourg University in Switzerland; she has published many phenomenal, intellectually stimulating, truly groundbreaking books; she's an amazing linguist with a dictionary of terms all her own; and she was a tenured professor at Boston College for many years. That the average reader from Philly hasn't a clue what she's saying is hardly surprising. Daly is a philosopher, a theologian, a scholar, writing for an intellectual feminist audience. Her ideas are not more of the usual male-defined babble, (which is why some readers may get "kicked out of school" for citing her as a reference) but rather radical, eye-opening, amazing challenges to the status quo. Of course, she's not for everyone (truly their loss). However, I've found her philosophy and her books to be quite enlightening, and I am most grateful for and encouraged by all that I have learned from her. Yes, Mary Daly is out of this world! (And with the Bush Administration at the helm, that's probably about the best place to be!)

This Book Almost Got Me Kicked Out Of College!

Some rebellious soul at my extremely fundamentalist college's library managed to procure a copy of this book when it first came out (1979 or 1980, I believe), and when I picked it up, I couldn't put it down. After I'd finished it, I began a little civil disobedience - putting up signs in the commissary to the effect that God was a sexist, the Rapture was a myth, etc. When the administration got wind of it, they called me into the Dean's office and I proudly told them I had come to realize Christianity was a sexist myth used mainly to keep women in their place. I (naively) showed him the book that had brought about this realization, Mary Daly's "Beyond God the Father," and the poor guy almost had a heart attack right there in the office. The end result was, I was "allowed" to stay (though I was forbidden to post any more subversive signs) and the library was warned not to purchase any more books by that author. Fortunately, they ignored that directive, and I ignored mine, and as a result, had a much more exciting time in college than I'd ever dreamed. What a great book!

Stunningly, shockingly brilliant!

Mary Daly has so many devestating insights into the white male mind that I must truly say that this is one of the most fabulous books I have ever come across. A book that challenges assumptions and traditions, a book of *real* philosophy, moving and challenging and courageous. What a wonderful writer and theorist!!!

Superb, like all her books

White males are clearly threatened when Mary Daly speaks of their cowardly embracing of phallocratic, eurocentric sexist paradigms. Her explorations of Women who fight the white male agenda of hatred, with their silly worship of a male "god", is brilliant. A book I want my adopted daughter to read when she's old enough.