the sacred feminine

So I finally capitualted and started The Da Vinci Code. I wanted to have some talking points with a girl at work who I ocassionally get into discussions about God and religion (hopefully stressing they are two very different things). Anyway, I'm starting to get the feeling that he (Dan Brown) strings together a lot of OH NO! moments and makes them a book. I think that makes for a good story (it's why I watch 24!), if it's done in a way that is not manipulative or cheesy.

He's a decent writer; however, the reason people outside of his fan base know who he is largely due to the fantastic claims he makes in his book about Jesus. Pretty much what it boils down to is the gospels are really a story of the love of Jesus and Mary Magdalene (his wife, according to Brown) and that the sacred feminine aspects of God have been suppressed by the Roman Catholic church because they are horrible people who sit in smoke filled rooms plotting the destruction of the world.

The thing is, if Jesus were found to have been married, I wouldn't be horribly shaken. 1. The Bible doesn't say He wasn't married. 2. I'm not Catholic so it's not like I'd have to deal with the "everything I know is a lie" (said in your best sylvester stallone voice) complex. I mean I certainly believe the Bible is inspired, but in all things non-Biblical "The Church is a whore and it is my mother." (the words of Augustine, lest you think I am being profane!)

Plus, while the Mary Magadalene question is kind of a moot point, I do believe in the sacred feminine, just not in the way Brown describes it. The Bible says the Holy Spirit is how God effects His salvation in our lives. The Spirit is our very life and serves as God in us, making us who we are supposed to be. Part of that "who we are supposed to be" is the Bride of Christ. If anything is to embody the sacred feminine, it is the Spirit of Christ in us, not Mary Magdalene.

Lest you think I am being heretical, listen to what I am saying. God is over and above gender. He made both male and female in His image. I believe that God romances us and we are romanced only by his grace. Christ woos His church groomed by His ruach (in the Hebrew, spirit (ruach) is gramatically feminine) and the vital element is our own choice to dance in God's Great Romance.

More later... plus I need to respond to Danielle's post....

Daniel