When God Was a Woman by Merlin Stone
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Book Reviews of When God Was a Woman
Book Review: Not Your Father's God!
Summary: 4 Stars
Ms. Stone's book continues to be printed, bought and read because she has done a marvelous job bringing together archeological discovery with religious insight, creating a picture of the evolution of God that turns Monotheism on its ear. She suggests that when human beings first began to acknowledge a higher, creative power, that they recognized that power as belonging to the female principle. The first part of the book dedicates itself to the sketchy, distant archaic world that initiated the worship of the Goddess. In time, however, the male principle pushed aside and eventually crushed the worship of the female divinity, and replaced it with a Father God who was responsible for all creation. Now the Male Principle is perceived as the ultimate creative force in the universe, somewhat of an obvious paradox, but one we have bought into for thousands of years. With the tools she develops through an understanding of the rise of Male dominion, she takes a fresh look at the story of Adam and Eve, and comes to some startling conclusions. Could the story have in fact been a carefully contrived myth with little more than a political agenda? Read it and find out.The book is a little tedious at the start, as Ms. Stone spends considerable time laying the groundwork. In the first 50-60 pages you'll find yourself saying, "All right! I got it!" Then it picks up from there, and the conclusions are well worth the tedium at first (however, that's why I give it only 4 stars).
Book Review: Response to "Tunnel Vision at its worst"
Summary: 4 Stars
To: Tunnel Vision at its worst.
"When God was a Woman" is a treasure.
It's too bad you labelled this book before you even finished the first chapter. If you had gotten to the final chapter with an open, inquisitive mind, you might have noticed that Ms. Stone agrees with you (or since she actually said it 20-some years ago, I should say, YOU agree with HER). What women did to men for thousands of prehistoric years was wrong; what men have done to women for the past 4000 or so years is wrong. Only when we are equals will we be able to call ourselves civilized. And, by the way, with all the biased scholars texts that she referenced, I think one "biased" female scholar could be concidered justified in the name of balance.
This book shows extensive research, sound logic and intuitively sensical conclusions which will be appreciated by any reader. Well, except perhaps those individuals who can't handle the truth, which is what I would call "Tunnel Vision at its worst".
Book Review: Pretty good, but more background needed
Summary: 4 Stars
When this book was written, there wasn't a whole lot of information on ancient cultures. I think this book would be an excellent starter point for a college course on ancient goddess-worshiping cultures, but you'd need to supplement it with more information. For example, she mentions in passing things such as the age of the goddess-worshiping cultures, the attitudes of science in the '50s and '60s, and you really want more in the way of footnotes or a bibliography at least.This book is also good if you are a research-minded person, you want somewhere to begin, and you're not averse to doing a bit of research for more background. There's not too much male-bashing, but there is some, so be warned. M. Stone is a passionate person, and some of her commentary could stand to be a bit more neutral. She could have used a good editor.
All of that said, it's a good read, and it's a starting point for individuals who want to look into goddess worship. Read skeptically and you'll come away with the good stuff.
Book Review: Eyes Opened
Summary: 4 Stars
First of all, to the reviewer "Jeremiah" in Boston, MA, if you had read the book you would know that Merlin Stone IS in fact a woman. Maybe you shouldn't review books that you haven't read!
As a girl growing up in a male controlled, fundamentalist Christian home, I always felt as though it didn't make sense that if God loved us all equally that he would tell half of the population to submit to the other half. So many things I was taught didn't "ring" true for me. Now it all makes sense.
This book reads a lot like a dissertation, but keep reading because the conclusions she makes are fascinating and eye opening. In the opening of the book she quotes a Hebrew prayer in which men thank God for not making them a woman. Now I can thank God for making me a woman! :D
I will never look at the Bible, Judaism, Christianity, or Islam in quite the same way.
Book Review: A Startling and Well-Researched Book.
Summary: 4 Stars
Merlin Stone's book presents the reader with information long suppressed and denied by Western culture: the hidden roots and history of our spiritual past, a time in which the Female had a much greater role than it does in current Western faiths. She provides a tremendous amount of support for her claims; one can only look to her voluminous bibliography to see that thorough research was a top priority. But be warned: it is easy to want to categorically deny her conclusions simply because they are suprising and unheard-of (though not unfounded). My only complaint is that the book is written in a very dry fashion; perhaps I wish, too, that Ms. Stone had allowed for greater cultural breadth (though it is impossible for her to delve any more *deeply*) in her studies. All the same, this was an extremely useful and enlightening book.