Elizabeth Dreyer

When I started this lecture, I was wary of any agenda the author might have. Agendas are a dime a dozen in religion and politics, and this is especially the case when it deals with the oft controversial issue of women in religion.

I was pleased, however, that from the start Prof. Dreyer set appropriate intellectual boundaries. Things like: have a healthy suspicion of what people say and do, but don't be too suspicious; and respect history, but canonize it as all holy.

I didn't detect any trace show more of a hidden agenda. Towards the end, in the final two lectures, she does have a bit of a "ferverino" that calls for the laity, especially women, to become more involved in theology. That's hardly a controversial statement today except among the most hardened traditionalists who have openly and willfully separated from the see of Peter. show less

Conventional wisdom has it that pneumatology withered away in the West until its recent revival over the past few decades. Dreyer's most interesting finding is that this is true in the formal writings of systematic theologians, but that the Spirit was present in the preaching and devotional writings of medieval Christians in the West.

I focused on the chapter on Hildegard for a school presentation I was doing, but the introduction and conclusion were interesting and I'd like to come back and show more read the chapters on the other medieval writers she highlights. show less

Contents: Women doctors of the Church: fresh theological voices -- Hildegard of Bingen (1098-1179): theology of the Holy Spirit -- Catherine of Siena (1347-1380): theology of incarnation -- Teresa of Avila (1515-1582): theology of the human person -- Thérèse of Lisieux (1873-1897): theology of the Cross -- Women's theological voices: retrieval and renewal.

"A Retreat With" series