Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Home
Progressive Christian
Wisdom And Desiring The Divine Feminine in Appalachia

Wisdom And Desiring The Divine Feminine in Appalachia

Last updated on: September 16, 2021 at 9:14 am by C. Don Jones

Wisdom And Desiring The Divine Feminine in Appalachia 2021-09-16T09:14:17-06:00 C. Don Jones

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Spirituality and wisdom are inseparable. The two are so intertwined in Christian thought that you cannot have one without the other. The root of Christian belief is practice. “As the church prays so the church believes.” Theologically educated people learn this fact. But what many of us fail to understand is that faith and practice continue to inform each other. Christian revelation does not end with the Bible, Church Councils, or even The Reformation. For Christians, revelation is an ongoing process. We may reach conclusions from time to time. We do not get final statements. Creedal orthodoxy must be open to this. Progressive Christians already are. And then we forget to look for it based on other biases. Bias keeps us from seeking wisdom when we believe we already possess it.

Wisdom Images

An in-home hospice chaplain once observed that older Appalachian people tended to have images of the Virgin Mary or the Sacred Heart of Jesus in their homes. Denominational distinctions did not matter. Both of my maternal grandparents were “brought home” after their deaths for “visitation.” The funeral home workers set the open caskets under their tapestry of the Sacred Heart.

I had not thought about it much. But the images were not part of any spirituality promoted by the churches in the area. My grandfather was raised Methodist and later became Baptist. My grandmother never claimed the “salvation” promised by these churches. The Sacred Heart was present even though neither of them knew it was a “Catholic thing.”

Appalachian evangelical families that have an image of Mary never think of it as “Catholic” either. For them, watching a televangelist on the screen with the Blessed Virgin nearby is very Christian. What is happening? These people believe both narratives of the Virgin Birth. They hold onto the Ten Commandments for dear life. But these images are not idols. They are images of wisdom.

The Divine Feminine

There is another truth here. Momma leads the family to Church. The pastors are often male. The church members insist on it for the most part. They pray to God the Father. And they almost all have a low Christology. Jesus saves them from the judgement and teaches. My very devout aunt said, “Some people say Jesus is God.” In her mind, the Son of God could no more be God than her brother could be her father. This type of practical Arianism leaves a desire that can only be filled by the Holy Spirit.

The Spirit is immanent. God the Father is transcendent. We could look at it this way. Sunday represents God the Father. Every other day is for the Spirit. Older Appalachian people remember the drudgery of day to day living. Survival was living. One had to know how. Wisdom in this context is more about knowing how than knowing what. Living beyond survival requires knowing how to plan, prepare, and when to act. The mothers make this happen.

The Virgin Mary is the image of this present wisdom of the Spirit. She represents everything about wise motherhood in the lives of Appalachian families. The Sacred Heart represents the divine mercy that makes living possible. Families and communities worked together to make life worthwhile. Often there was no community without one’s family.

The Pitfall of Mere Survival

There is a drawback in this kind of wisdom. Very little deviation is allowed. My grandparents planted “by the signs.” The Bible and the Farmer’s Almanac were authoritative. They and their neighbors lived by set patterns. Any suggestion of doing things differently were greeted with suspicion. After all, what happens if you fail? Life fails to work out. It is a common problem where ever making a living is difficult. The human mind and curiosity are victims of this pattern of life.

The human spirit becomes a victim of this pattern too. I mentioned salvation offered by the churches earlier. What many of these congregations understand about salvation is that it is surviving spiritually. A Thriving spirituality is a luxury when one is merely avoiding damnation. The spirit is stunted by the repeated concern, “Are you saved?” If that is all spirituality means, then why deviated with spiritual questions?

The Divine Feminine And Wisdom

Wisdom as knowing how is where the desire for the divine feminine originates. But it also is rebellion against mere survival. Mother Mary and the Sacred Heart represent spirituality beyond merely finding guidance from the Bible. They connect to a reality beyond the everyday drudgery. And the represent the desire to enjoy what would be luxury.

Why else would poor women plant flowers just to have them? Why would children befriend animals including taking the runt piglet to “pet down?” What was the point of having any joy at all? The wisdom of the divine feminine makes these gifts.

What did the Sacred Heart of Jesus mean when the bodies of my grandparents lay under the image? It testified that their lives had meaning beyond their livelihoods. They were no longer givers or caretakers. They always are special and precious.

How I Learned It

My grandpa told me how and when to plant by the signs of the moon. He also imparted the wisdom of when to cut lumber and stack it by the same signs.

My grandma taught me about foraging certain foods and preparing meat birds.

Then I learned something more important. Every Sunday morning biscuits were made. They could have been made by one of my two aunts who lived at home. Or my grandma would make them. Some were left over for the afternoon when I would get one. I was challenged to answer, “Who made them?” They beamed with joy when I correctly identified the baker. Grandma was especially pleased when I got hers right.

Biblical Interpretation

Liberation Theology

Progressive Christianity

Spirituality

Previous Post

September 12, 2021

Why Biblical Literalism Leads to Biblical Illiteracy

Next Post

September 20, 2021 Tolerance and Compassion Fatigue

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Addiction Advent Afghanistan Anxiety Ascension Sunday Baptism Barack Obama Biblical Interpretation Bigotry Book Banning BSA Buddhism Choice Christmas Church Discipline Community Conscience Conspiracy theories COVID-19 Culture Wars death cults deconstruction Devotional Divine Judgment Donald Trump Earth Day Election Day empathy Environmentalism Evangelism Exploitation of the Poor Faith False Claims fascism Fear Forgiveness Genocide government Grace Gun Violence Halloween Hate Health Hillbilly Elegy Hindu Holy Communion Holy Week Homelessness Hope Identity Integrity Islam Joe Biden John Hagee Kamala Harris Labor Lent Liberation Theology Lies Love Love as action Neurological disorders Non-Christian Religions Online Worship Original Goodness Pandemic Peace Pentecost Philosophy Preaching Progressive Christianity Racism Redemptive Violence Myth Resentment Saint's Days Satire Sobriety social media Spiritual Self Care Spirituality Technology The Kingdom of God The United Methodist Church Theology Transfigurations Sunday Transgender persons Truth Uncategorized Violence Wesleyan Working Class

Select a Month September 2026 August 2026 July 2026 March 2026 January 2026 December 2025 November 2025 September 2025 July 2025 June 2025 May 2025 April 2025 March 2025 January 2025 October 2024 June 2024 May 2024 April 2024 March 2024 February 2024 January 2024 December 2023 November 2023 October 2023 September 2023 August 2023 July 2023 June 2023 May 2023 April 2023 March 2023 February 2023 January 2023 December 2022 November 2022 October 2022 September 2022 August 2022 July 2022 June 2022 May 2022 April 2022 March 2022 February 2022 January 2022 December 2021 November 2021 October 2021 September 2021 August 2021 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 October 2018 September 2018 July 2018 February 2018 January 2018 August 2017 May 2017 November 2016 July 2016 June 2016 November 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 January 2015 November 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 June 2013 March 2013 February 2013 December 2012 August 2012 July 2012 May 2012 February 2012 December 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

Who helped Jesus carry His cross?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Judas John Simon of Cyrene Peter