Mary Ann Beavis
Biographic Data
| ID | 1430914 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Mary Ann Beavis |
| GIVEN NAMES | Mary Ann |
| FAMILY NAME | Beavis |
| SIGNATURE | BEAVIS M A |
| AFFILIATIONS | Thomas More University |
| ORCID | 0000-0001-6558-9942 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 22 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 17 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 22 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 1987 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 2 |
Mark for All Christians? The Theological Implications of Audience
This essay considers the theological implications of “audience criticism,” the widely held hypothesis that the Gospel of Mark was written to address the needs of a specific audience, and not, as Richard Bauckham has argued, with a general audience of all “Christians” in mind. The “all-Christians” hypothesis has generally been embraced by evangelical scholars, but less so by non-evangelicals. In agreement with Adele Reinhartz, I find an unstated t…
You Are My Slaves
Early Church as Utopian Cult
This article uses cultic studies to explicate the development of the earliest churches, using Hebrews as a case study. “Cult” is defined as a group that suppresses individuality and critical thinking, demands intense commitment and loyalty to an individual or ideology, and curtails or eliminates personal autonomy to be replaced by the cult’s worldview. The cult-like attributes of the early ecclesia are summarized, followed by a brief introduction…
Feminist Theological Themes in the Biblical Art of Lilian Broca
For three decades, the Canadian artist Lilian Broca has been creating art featuring biblical women: Lilith/Eve, Esther, Judith and Mary Magdalene. These are not single artworks, but series, presenting these women in the contexts of their narratives. In contrast with traditional artistic representations of these figures, dominated by the male gaze, Broca brings a feminist lens to their stories. Broca’s work not only converges with feminist theolog…
Theology and Horror
Theology and Horror: Explorations of the Dark Religious Imagination." The Journal of Religion and Popular Culture, 0(aop), pp
Slaves Obey Your Masters According to the Flesh (Colossians 3
Six Years a Slave
This article interprets St Patrick’s Confessio, supplemented by his Letter to the Soldiers of Coroticus, in the light of North American slave narratives, arguing that Patrick’s account of his enslavement in Ireland shares many of the characteristics of North American slave narratives identified by James Olney. In addition, Patrick’s account of his conversion shares all of the characteristics of North American slave conversions discussed by Albert…
Christian Goddess Spirituality and Thealogy
This article reports on the preliminary findings of a research project on the phenomenon of the blending of Christianity and Goddess Spirituality 1 (‘Christian Goddess Spirituality’), with particular reference to the beliefs and values of practitioners. The contours of a grassroots Christian Thealogy (‘reflection on the female divine’) are sketched by drawing from the transcripts of over 100 interviews with women who self-identify as blending Chr…
Christian Goddess Spirituality
From Holy Grail to The Lost Gospel
Although her work is little known to academics in Mary Magdalene studies, the writings of Margaret Starbird have been, and continue to be, very influential in informing popular understandings of Mary Magdalene, including her portrayal as Jesus's wife in The Da Vinci Code, and, most recently in Simcha Jacobovici and Barrie Wilson's The Lost Gospel: Decoding the Secret Text That Reveals Jesus' Marriage to Mary Magdalene. This article will trace the…
The Deification of Mary Magdalene
The past 25 years have seen an upsurge of interest in the figure of Mary Magdalene, whose image has been transformed through feminist scholarship from penitent prostitute to prominent disciple of Jesus. This article documents another, non-academic, interpretation of Mary Magdalene – the image of Mary as goddess or embodiment of the female divine. The most influential proponent of this view is Margaret Starbird, who hypothesizes that Mary was both…
TheJournal of Religion and Popular Culture
This essay delineates the history, scope and mandate of the Journal of Religion and Popular Culture (JRPC) in the larger context of Religious Studies. The JRPC produces scholarship on the myriad ways in which religion is presented, produced, studied, interpreted, rationalised, manufactured and disseminated in popular culture. This article explains the journal's distinctive genesis in a Canadian context and provides a succinct analysis of its sali…
The Cathar Mary Magdalene and the Sacred Feminine
This study investigates the historical evidence for the widespread pop culture assertion, disseminated through popular histories, novels, and spiritual tourism, that the medieval Cathars of southern France treasured a tradition that Jesus and Mary Magdalene were married and had children, and, as such, the holy couple provides a model for human marriage affirmative of the sacred feminine. The medieval sources indicate that while there are a few te…
Christian Origins, Egalitarianism, and Utopia
In recent years, several scholars have challenged the widely held hypothesis that the historical Jesus and the kingdom of God movement were egalitarian, but that as early as the time of Paul the early church began conforming to the nonegalitarian norms of the ancient Mediterranean world. In particular, "feminist myths of Christian origins" have been criticized for anachronistically projecting contemporary gender egalitarian ideals back into the f…
The Kingdom of God, 'Utopia' and Theocracy
While the phrase 'the kingdom of God' has obvious political overtones, its use by Jesus has most often been interpreted in social, eschatological and theological terms. This paper will survey representative interpretations of this concept in the secondary literature, and attempt to situate Jesus' understanding of 'the rule of God' within the spectrum of Greco-Roman and hellenistic Jewish political thought, with special reference to utopian and th…
A Daughter in Israel
This article offers a new hypothesis regarding Judg. 11.39d-40, a reference to an otherwise unknown festival celebrated by the ‘daughters of Israel’ in memory of the sacrifice of Jepththah’s daughter. After a survey of feminist and non-feminist speculations as to the nature of the festival, evidence from Greek heroine cults in which daughters are sacrificed for the good of the state is adduced as the closest parallel in ancient literature. The ar…
Philo’s Therapeutai
This article takes issue, on rhetorical and geographical grounds, with Engberg-Pedersen’s (1999) argument that Philo’s De Vita Contemplativa is a ‘philosopher’s dream’. Further, it is argued that while Philo’s description of the Therapeutai/Therapeutrides is shaped by Hellenistic utopian conventions, particularly Iambulus’ account of the Islands of the Sun (Diodorus Siculus 2.55-60), Philo’s account is sober and realistic enough to suggest that h…
I Like the Bird
Starting from two well-known avian metaphors for Godde, this article explores non-human and specifically avian imagery for the divine in a variety of contexts, including the Hebrew Bible, the Jewish tradition, the ancient Near East and contemporary world religions. The imagery has wide-ranging symbolic reference. It has the advantage of being counter to the androcentric and anthropocentric bias of much language about Godde, and reflecting the pot…
Prey for Us”
This article explores the biblical, theological and philosophical themes in the cult science fiction TV series Prey (ABC, 1998). After a brief introduction to Prey and Prey fandom, the following biblical-theological themes which pervade the series are identified and analyzed: creation, faith, the Christ figure, the Satanic figure, and eschatology. The paper also comments upon the broader ethical and philosophical issues raised in the series, espe…
Pluck the rose but shun the thorns
Although early Christianity had a "scholastic" dimension at an early stage, the place of the Greco-Roman urban institution of the school in the lives of Christians and the role of education in the development and dissemination of Christianity has not received much attention in recent scholarship. This article revisits this topic, with special reference to the concept of "competition." Three conclusions result: Christian students and teachers typi…
Is Urban Sprawl Back on the Political Agenda
The author argues that the apparent ineffectuality of efforts to control urban sprawl is in some part a result of a failure to distinguish between growth controls, which have a well-earned reputation as a thinly veiled form of NIMBYism and regional growth management (RGM), which involves the attempt to set out rules for development that are designed to preserve the livability, viability, and attractiveness of an urban area as a whole. This study …
Anti-Egyptian Polemic in the Letter of Aristeas 130-165 (the High Priest's Discourse)
Is Urban Sprawl Back on the Political Agenda
The author argues that the apparent ineffectuality of efforts to control urban sprawl is in some part a result of a failure to distinguish between growth controls, which have a well-earned reputation as a thinly veiled form of NIMBYism and regional growth management (RGM), which involves the attempt to set out rules for development that are designed to preserve the livability, viability, and attractiveness of an urban area as a whole. This study …
Philo’s Therapeutai
This article takes issue, on rhetorical and geographical grounds, with Engberg-Pedersen’s (1999) argument that Philo’s De Vita Contemplativa is a ‘philosopher’s dream’. Further, it is argued that while Philo’s description of the Therapeutai/Therapeutrides is shaped by Hellenistic utopian conventions, particularly Iambulus’ account of the Islands of the Sun (Diodorus Siculus 2.55-60), Philo’s account is sober and realistic enough to suggest that h…
Christian Origins, Egalitarianism, and Utopia
In recent years, several scholars have challenged the widely held hypothesis that the historical Jesus and the kingdom of God movement were egalitarian, but that as early as the time of Paul the early church began conforming to the nonegalitarian norms of the ancient Mediterranean world. In particular, "feminist myths of Christian origins" have been criticized for anachronistically projecting contemporary gender egalitarian ideals back into the f…
Prey for Us”
This article explores the biblical, theological and philosophical themes in the cult science fiction TV series Prey (ABC, 1998). After a brief introduction to Prey and Prey fandom, the following biblical-theological themes which pervade the series are identified and analyzed: creation, faith, the Christ figure, the Satanic figure, and eschatology. The paper also comments upon the broader ethical and philosophical issues raised in the series, espe…
Pluck the rose but shun the thorns
Although early Christianity had a "scholastic" dimension at an early stage, the place of the Greco-Roman urban institution of the school in the lives of Christians and the role of education in the development and dissemination of Christianity has not received much attention in recent scholarship. This article revisits this topic, with special reference to the concept of "competition." Three conclusions result: Christian students and teachers typi…
Anti-Egyptian Polemic in the Letter of Aristeas 130-165 (the High Priest's Discourse)
Is Urban Sprawl Back on the Political Agenda
The author argues that the apparent ineffectuality of efforts to control urban sprawl is in some part a result of a failure to distinguish between growth controls, which have a well-earned reputation as a thinly veiled form of NIMBYism and regional growth management (RGM), which involves the attempt to set out rules for development that are designed to preserve the livability, viability, and attractiveness of an urban area as a whole. This study …
Pluck the rose but shun the thorns
Although early Christianity had a "scholastic" dimension at an early stage, the place of the Greco-Roman urban institution of the school in the lives of Christians and the role of education in the development and dissemination of Christianity has not received much attention in recent scholarship. This article revisits this topic, with special reference to the concept of "competition." Three conclusions result: Christian students and teachers typi…
Prey for Us”
This article explores the biblical, theological and philosophical themes in the cult science fiction TV series Prey (ABC, 1998). After a brief introduction to Prey and Prey fandom, the following biblical-theological themes which pervade the series are identified and analyzed: creation, faith, the Christ figure, the Satanic figure, and eschatology. The paper also comments upon the broader ethical and philosophical issues raised in the series, espe…
I Like the Bird
Starting from two well-known avian metaphors for Godde, this article explores non-human and specifically avian imagery for the divine in a variety of contexts, including the Hebrew Bible, the Jewish tradition, the ancient Near East and contemporary world religions. The imagery has wide-ranging symbolic reference. It has the advantage of being counter to the androcentric and anthropocentric bias of much language about Godde, and reflecting the pot…
The Kingdom of God, 'Utopia' and Theocracy
While the phrase 'the kingdom of God' has obvious political overtones, its use by Jesus has most often been interpreted in social, eschatological and theological terms. This paper will survey representative interpretations of this concept in the secondary literature, and attempt to situate Jesus' understanding of 'the rule of God' within the spectrum of Greco-Roman and hellenistic Jewish political thought, with special reference to utopian and th…
A Daughter in Israel
This article offers a new hypothesis regarding Judg. 11.39d-40, a reference to an otherwise unknown festival celebrated by the ‘daughters of Israel’ in memory of the sacrifice of Jepththah’s daughter. After a survey of feminist and non-feminist speculations as to the nature of the festival, evidence from Greek heroine cults in which daughters are sacrificed for the good of the state is adduced as the closest parallel in ancient literature. The ar…
Philo’s Therapeutai
This article takes issue, on rhetorical and geographical grounds, with Engberg-Pedersen’s (1999) argument that Philo’s De Vita Contemplativa is a ‘philosopher’s dream’. Further, it is argued that while Philo’s description of the Therapeutai/Therapeutrides is shaped by Hellenistic utopian conventions, particularly Iambulus’ account of the Islands of the Sun (Diodorus Siculus 2.55-60), Philo’s account is sober and realistic enough to suggest that h…
Christian Origins, Egalitarianism, and Utopia
In recent years, several scholars have challenged the widely held hypothesis that the historical Jesus and the kingdom of God movement were egalitarian, but that as early as the time of Paul the early church began conforming to the nonegalitarian norms of the ancient Mediterranean world. In particular, "feminist myths of Christian origins" have been criticized for anachronistically projecting contemporary gender egalitarian ideals back into the f…
The Cathar Mary Magdalene and the Sacred Feminine
This study investigates the historical evidence for the widespread pop culture assertion, disseminated through popular histories, novels, and spiritual tourism, that the medieval Cathars of southern France treasured a tradition that Jesus and Mary Magdalene were married and had children, and, as such, the holy couple provides a model for human marriage affirmative of the sacred feminine. The medieval sources indicate that while there are a few te…
The Deification of Mary Magdalene
The past 25 years have seen an upsurge of interest in the figure of Mary Magdalene, whose image has been transformed through feminist scholarship from penitent prostitute to prominent disciple of Jesus. This article documents another, non-academic, interpretation of Mary Magdalene – the image of Mary as goddess or embodiment of the female divine. The most influential proponent of this view is Margaret Starbird, who hypothesizes that Mary was both…
TheJournal of Religion and Popular Culture
This essay delineates the history, scope and mandate of the Journal of Religion and Popular Culture (JRPC) in the larger context of Religious Studies. The JRPC produces scholarship on the myriad ways in which religion is presented, produced, studied, interpreted, rationalised, manufactured and disseminated in popular culture. This article explains the journal's distinctive genesis in a Canadian context and provides a succinct analysis of its sali…
Christian Goddess Spirituality
From Holy Grail to The Lost Gospel
Although her work is little known to academics in Mary Magdalene studies, the writings of Margaret Starbird have been, and continue to be, very influential in informing popular understandings of Mary Magdalene, including her portrayal as Jesus's wife in The Da Vinci Code, and, most recently in Simcha Jacobovici and Barrie Wilson's The Lost Gospel: Decoding the Secret Text That Reveals Jesus' Marriage to Mary Magdalene. This article will trace the…
Christian Goddess Spirituality and Thealogy
This article reports on the preliminary findings of a research project on the phenomenon of the blending of Christianity and Goddess Spirituality 1 (‘Christian Goddess Spirituality’), with particular reference to the beliefs and values of practitioners. The contours of a grassroots Christian Thealogy (‘reflection on the female divine’) are sketched by drawing from the transcripts of over 100 interviews with women who self-identify as blending Chr…
Six Years a Slave
This article interprets St Patrick’s Confessio, supplemented by his Letter to the Soldiers of Coroticus, in the light of North American slave narratives, arguing that Patrick’s account of his enslavement in Ireland shares many of the characteristics of North American slave narratives identified by James Olney. In addition, Patrick’s account of his conversion shares all of the characteristics of North American slave conversions discussed by Albert…
Slaves Obey Your Masters According to the Flesh (Colossians 3
Theology and Horror
Theology and Horror: Explorations of the Dark Religious Imagination." The Journal of Religion and Popular Culture, 0(aop), pp
Early Church as Utopian Cult
This article uses cultic studies to explicate the development of the earliest churches, using Hebrews as a case study. “Cult” is defined as a group that suppresses individuality and critical thinking, demands intense commitment and loyalty to an individual or ideology, and curtails or eliminates personal autonomy to be replaced by the cult’s worldview. The cult-like attributes of the early ecclesia are summarized, followed by a brief introduction…
Feminist Theological Themes in the Biblical Art of Lilian Broca
For three decades, the Canadian artist Lilian Broca has been creating art featuring biblical women: Lilith/Eve, Esther, Judith and Mary Magdalene. These are not single artworks, but series, presenting these women in the contexts of their narratives. In contrast with traditional artistic representations of these figures, dominated by the male gaze, Broca brings a feminist lens to their stories. Broca’s work not only converges with feminist theolog…
You Are My Slaves
Mark for All Christians? The Theological Implications of Audience
This essay considers the theological implications of “audience criticism,” the widely held hypothesis that the Gospel of Mark was written to address the needs of a specific audience, and not, as Richard Bauckham has argued, with a general audience of all “Christians” in mind. The “all-Christians” hypothesis has generally been embraced by evangelical scholars, but less so by non-evangelicals. In agreement with Adele Reinhartz, I find an unstated t…
Philosophy (18 works) · Art (16 works) · Theology (14 works) · Literature (13 works) · Sociology (12 works) · History (11 works) · Biblical Studies and Interpretation (10 works) · Law (9 works) · Religious studies (9 works) · Philosophy (8 works)