Selina O'Grady
Domestic Godliness
Band of Angels: The Forgotten World of Early Christian Women
By Kate Cooper
Atlantic Books 342pp £25
‘You are the gateway of the devil’, a rather hysterical Church Father told women in the third century. They were the cesspool into which men could fall, the daughters of Eve, the seductresses whose advice could never be trusted. Yet contrary to received opinion, this was not the majority view among the most influential Christian thinkers of the first four centuries. Compared to most women living in the Mediterranean at the time, for whom contact with men from outside the family circle was frowned upon, women in early Christian communities enjoyed not just astonishing equality with men, but power and independence too.
Women exerted a profound influence on the formation of early Christianity. So why today have most of us never heard of such female disciples as Junia, ‘outstanding among the apostles’, according to Paul, who gave her his blessing to go and preach independently? Or Emmelia and her daughter Macrina, who
Sign Up to our newsletter
Receive free articles, highlights from the archive, news, details of prizes, and much more.@Lit_Review
Follow Literary Review on Twitter
Twitter Feed
Are iPhones ruining children's lives? A prominent American psychologist thinks so.
@tiffanyjenkins is not so sure:
Tiffany Jenkins - The Smartphone Pandemic
Tiffany Jenkins: The Smartphone Pandemic - The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood Is Causing an...
literaryreview.co.uk
India's 'festival of democracy', or general election, begins next month. Like every good festival, it looks likely to have its fair share of murders and arrests.
@OwenBennettJon probes the state of democracy in India:
Owen Bennett-Jones - New Delhi Confidential
Owen Bennett-Jones: New Delhi Confidential - The Incarcerations: BK-16 and the Search for Democracy in India by Alpa Shah
literaryreview.co.uk
Where is the world's newest narcostate and why is it thriving?
@AdamBrookesWord investigates Asia's meth mecca.
Adam Brookes - Meth Comes to Myanmar
Adam Brookes: Meth Comes to Myanmar - Narcotopia: In Search of the Asian Drug Cartel That Outwitted the CIA by Patrick Winn
literaryreview.co.uk