Why is a Goddess important?
09 Sep 2010 Leave a Comment
in ancient wisdom, goddess, mythology, religion, sacred feminine, Uncategorized
The question begs another question. Whose god are we discussing? Scholars have assumed that the concept of monotheism emerged rather suddenly with the Hebrews, but increasingly biblical archeology, and a wider study of other cultures, are revealing a different picture. The idea of an overarching and unifying divine principle has existed in diverse cultures, including Egypt and some so-called primitive groups. But the idea certainly took hold in the patriarchies of Judaism, Christianity and Islam and has dominated religious orthodoxy for more than two millennia. It also seems that followers of monotheism, or what are called the Abrahamic religions, are not very tolerant of dissent when they are in a position of power.
The male god of the Abrahamic religions is not a warm and welcoming deity. Rather, he is an aloof, vengeful and authoritarian father figure who, in Christianity, sent his son to be murdered, and dooms his wavering children to eternal damnation in a fiery hell. Missing from this picture is the nurturing warmth and love provided by a mother goddess. As a result, half of humanity has been devalued and stripped of power. That’s changing, but I believe it’s vital to restore balance by reclaiming the feminine side of the divine.
Things were different in the early days of Christianity. There was a rich diversity and sense of exploration in the days following the death of Jesus and final destruction of the Jerusalem temple. Later, the emerging Church of Rome declared many of these beliefs to be heresy and priceless text were burned, forgotten and suppressed for eighteen centuries. Then in 1945 and 1947 the stunning Nag Hammadi codices, and the Dead Sea Scrolls, were unearthed in Egypt and Israel. The contents of these caches caused quite a stir in biblical scholarship.
