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Complete June 24 2007Issue of the Newspaper Edition (PDF) Recent Articles The Two Faces of Bill Richardson,
The "Clean Energy" Governor's Nuclear Ties The Corporate Prison
Boom, Immigration and The Law What is a Culture of Peace? Diplomacy the Watchword, Gary
King: "We Are All Constituents" Holocaust or Hoax, The Global Warming
Debate Heats Up The Hunting Fallacy Impeachment Limerick “Powerbrokers” (Legislative
Leadership and Lobbyists) in Control of Conference Committee NM Senate Joint Memorial
to Begin Process of Prohibiting Production of New Nuclear Weapons in
New Mexico Legislature is a “Brain
Trust” to Accomplish All We Need in New Mexico |
The
Return of the Goddess to Balance with the God It was interesting to note that matriarchal religions
did not always emphasize the necessary balance between the sexes, assigning
men domestic roles now typically reversed. Women were the judges, conducted
business and were the high priestesses. There is clear evidence that
they were warriors as well, and the idea that the “Amazons” of Greek
mythology were not real is demolished by Stone with certitude. As we
look at the civilizations of the Mother Goddess, we see that they often
made similar mistakes to those of the Father Gods of modern times, creating
laws or holding assumptions that gave one sex a political or social
advantage over the other based on which sex deity was acknowledged the
more powerful. Perhaps the most curious of all the assertions in the book was that matriarchal societies evolved because at one time it was not known that sex was responsible for children. Hence the father’s role as equal partner in creation was not acknowledged and the Mother Goddess was placed highest. She was understood to be the sole creator of life. Women with whom I have spoken differ on whether or not they could ever be so ignorant, but perhaps it was just the men who did not understand. Then again, perhaps this line of reasoning is the wrong one, and there was another reason for matriarchal society: respect for nature. As discussed in my related essay this issue, male political
domination has produced the most awful nightmare imaginable upon this
beautiful Earth. Noting the natural qualities of the femine - nurturing,
loving, naturally connected – it is hard to imagine that any society
based on a Mother Goddess could ever produce such a barbaric and alien
civilization as that of the Father Gods of modern times. It is time
to welcome the Goddess to return, not just in the way she was, but in
the way She would like to be now, without prejudice, without assumption,
without condition. In the end, as it was in the beginning, it is the
Balance that is so necessary. |
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“When
God Was a Woman,” the brilliant 1976 book by Merlin Stone brings the
issue of sexual politics into sharp focus. Her thesis is that the earliest
known religions as well as the “civilizations” of the Middle East, Europe
and Asia, all worshipped a Mother Goddess. She is convincing, and backs
her assertion up with page after page of evidence from archaeological
digs, historical records and new analyses made by women who sifted through
the male bias of early explorers and historians. The picture that emerges
is one of an evolving deity which starts out Female, begins to incorporate
the Male over time and is finally completely overtaken by the Male.
It is a sad story, one that was doubtless accompanied by agonizing life
and death situations over millenia. And yet, the pain of knowing the
truth is mitigated by Her resurrection: God is Female in Balance with
the Male.