Women find their voices and sing through the Bible’s pages . . . and so does the author of this memoir.

Married young and unknowingly to an underworld figure, Lynne Bundesen fled with her children on a journey that would eventually take her from war-torn Asia to deep within her own soul. This intimate memoir chronicles her search for meaning and wholeness as a woman in the second half of the twentieth century. Her round-the-world journey leads to a scriptural awakening, as she finds strength and inspiration in the women of the Bible. Their song becomes her own, and she discovers a biblical Feminine Spirit who works to bless, affirm, and honor women.

“Is it possible to find God even in terrible situations? Bundesen writes a fine memoir relating her struggle to do just that…. While this is one woman’s journey, many women and men will find comfort, pain, humor, and conviction accompanying them on their own journeys. The accessibility of her writing makes this book recommended for everyone.”
—Booklist

“Bundesen records a singular quest to free herself from sexist biblical interpretations. Through the stories of Sarah, Rebekah, Rachel and Mary Magdalene, Bundesen finds that ‘the Bible is a sea of glass in which to view the sacred, female self.’”
—LA Times

Review: The Feminine Spirit at the Heart of the Bible by Lynne Bundesen
American Academy of Religion and Society of Biblical Literature

“Every writer trained in God’s Commonwealth is like a homeowner who keeps bringing forth old and new treasures” and Lynne Bundesen’s new book The Feminine Spirit in the Heart of the Bible does just that (the verse quoted above is Matthew 13:52, my translation). From the great trove of Jewish and Christian feminist scholarship, Bundesen offers light on the entire Canon of the Bible, conveying the insights of academic study in simple manner, highlighting their relevance.

Bundesen’s tour through the Bible maintains three perspectives. First, she asks “What if the biblical God is not male? What if the biblical Creator, in the original language of the Bible, spoke of Herself as a Feminine Spirit?” She does not seek to replace an exclusively masculine God-perspective with an exclusively feminine perspective but shows how “all genders are aspects of the Divine One.” At the same time, she maintains the truth that “The Bible belongs to women. Its stories contain women’s perspectives and issues, and its messages are directed at women.” And throughout, she offers corrections to patriarchal translations.

While it aims for spiritual transformation, The Feminine Spirit is equally valuable as a reference book. I’m a pastor, and this will sit at the front of the desk in my church study because it offers preachable insights for each book of the Bible. These are offered in catchy terms but accompanied by citations at the end of each chapter, enabling access to the depth of the sources.

The book is multi-faceted, as Bundesen deftly weaves her portraits of individual trees (stories, characters, words) with the forest (the whole Bible). A career journalist, she has a fine eye for detail, picking up on specific words and drawing out nuances in a manner worthy of the Talmudic Scribes. Then she traces these words—such as “light,” “seed,” and “mist”—throughout the entirety of the Hebrew Bible and the New Testament.

Bundesen’s detailed study of the first chapter of Genesis introduces the Ruach Elohim—the Feminine Spirit—and other ideas that will resonate through following chapters. As she journeys on through the Bible’s story, strong women—Sarah, Hagar, Miriam and others—decide the course of history in partnership with God who is The Breasted One (El Shaddai) and the Living One (YHWH). Then in its section on Judges and the Monarchy, The Feminine Spirit takes an unflinching look at the texts of horror -- rape, enslavement, and violence toward women---in Israel’s formative years.

Some aspects of this book, such as ‘Woman Wisdom’ (Chokmah) in Proverbs, will be familiar to readers, though Bundesen’s perspectives may be eye-opening for those used to viewing the texts through a patriarchal lens. Yet other gleanings in the Wisdom Literature are more surprising, such as her explanation of how the Book of Job “is actually an account of how the Feminine Spirit silences traditional theology” and the way that Job’s wife—literally demonized by past interpreters—is actually Spirit’s mouthpiece.

Christian readers will resonate with the admiring view of Jesus in The Feminine Spirit. “Again and again, he speaks to women, makes friends with women; Jesus treats women as equals” and in Matthew 23:37 “Jesus identifies himself with Woman Wisdom.”

Introducing the Epistles Bundesen notes: “Today, some women have a violent reaction to Paul’s name...others, however, have found new meanings in his original words.” She then proceeds through egalitarian exegesis of the verses in Paul’s writings (or Pseudo-Paul’s writings) that are oft-used to clobber women. These explanations will be familiar to those versed in contemporary interpretation, but they are presented with clarity that I hope will lead some patriarchally-bent readers to open their hearts to more inclusive views.

The final Chapter of The Feminine Spirit, devoted to John’s Apocalypse, is (pardon the pun) a revelation. Bundesen takes this frightening last book of the New Testament and transforms it. She invites the reader to look at it through the lens of personal transformation rather than political or prophet perspectives, considers the 7 churches as 7 women (the names being feminine) and makes a bold move inviting readers to see even “the great prostitute” who benefits from the oppression of others as the reader’s shadow-self. This final chapter by itself would be worth the price of the book, in my estimation.

While filled with scholarly insights, The Feminine Spirit is more spiritual than academic in tone. Bundesen invites her reader to read the sacred texts as a personal journey of transformation, an intimate dialogue between the reader’s soul and the Feminine Spirit. The irenic tone of this new book may achieve something rarely seen in our age of dire division, it may appeal to readers across political and theological divides. For those who –with some feelings of regret--have kissed religion goodbye, she offers compelling reasons to re-consider the spiritual efficacy of the Bible; and for Conservatives leery of feminist Bible interpretation, she reveals the feminine perspective that is unarguably there throughout the Scriptures.

From the moment I read the title to the last page, I was caught up in a journey through one women's life, that though different from my own, was so familiar. Here was a woman who treated the Word of God, with clarity and mysterious awe, yet simplicity. "So the Woman Went Her Way" is a reference book for me. I keep it for those times when I need a spirit refreshment.

-Melanie Dixon

A Book of the Month Club selection

pub. Pocket

I read many pages in this rare and appealing book every week. The thoughtful prayers are rich in meaning and each sentence is so wisely crafted that I lose myself very quickly. But not just into the book; into myself. Each page takes me deeper and deeper into myself and I sometimes feel intoxicated with the joy of these sacred moments. This book of prayer is like none other. I treasure the sacred moments it has taught me to experience. This book is the most exquisite treatment of prayer I have read.

Steven Gurgevich

pub. Simon & Schuster

I was very impressed with Lynne Bundesen's book. Her very inspired review of women in the Bible made me very proud to be a woman, a seeker of a better understanding of my relationship to God. Her deep insights were very helpful in my own spiritual path. And her book refuted many of the assumed stories and generalities about women in general, especially those attributed to in the Bible. It was a book which was hard to put down ... it totally captured me. I don't do this often, but I loved her book so much that I bought a number of extra copies which I'll be sharing with sisters and friends.

Jan True Jacoby

pub. Jossey-Bass

Newly updated & revised edition - updated in 2016.

Dear Miss Liberty is a collection of letters to The Statue of Liberty from young and old across the United States and the world. Sincere outpourings of affection and honor, the letters represent the importance of Liberty's 1986 restoration and the enduring symbol of home and freedom she stands for in the midst of political repression and war. Thirty years later, the letters and memories are more poignant and important than ever before. These letters are excellent primary sources and provide an innovative way to teach social studies and American History and World History in the classroom. Great for teachers and students alike!

pub. Crossroad Publishing Company

pub. Acropolis Books Inc

pub. Thai Investment & Securities Co