Switching to Goddess: Humanity's Ticket to the Future [Paperback]

Jeri Lyn Studebaker (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 15, 2008

The author argues that the 6000-year-old switch from guiding mother goddesses to sky/war/father gods must be examined and reversed if humanity is to survive. She presents evidence from archaeology, anthropology, mythology and the physical sciences suggesting a correlation between social utopia and female deity on the one hand, and on the other, social dystopia and the war/sky/father gods now worshiped by a majority of the world. Dr. Elinor Gadon (Author of "The Once and Future Goddess")

Editorial Reviews

Review

[ Switching to Goddess] is almost certain to provoke lively, animated discussion. -- Dr. Elinor Gadon, Cultural Historian, Brandeis UniversityI wanted to read it all again as Studebaker candidly infuses contemporary relevance with herstory. -- Karen Tate, scholar, lecturer, radio show hostess, and film maker; author of Sacred Places of Goddess: 108 Destinations and Walking An Ancient PathJeri has written a feisty, upbeat exploration of the place of Goddess in the ancient and modern worlds. Kathy Jones, one of the most prolific and knowledgeable figures in the modern Goddess community, organizer of the UK's annual Glastonbury Goddess ConferenceHey, I'm convinced. I'd rather Switch (to Goddess) than fight! -- Tim Ward, author, Savage Breast: One Man's Search for the Goddess

About the Author

Jeri Studebaker holds a master's degree in prehistory/archaeology. She finished a thesis on the origins of agriculture in the Middle East, and completed the coursework for a Ph.D. in cultural anthropology. She's published articles on Goddess history and spirituality in PanGaia, SageWoman, and Matrifocus. In 2003, she spent a month on the island of Crete studying ancient Minoan art.

Product Details

• Paperback: 405 pages
• Publisher: O Books, John Hunt (December 15, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1846941342
• ISBN-13: 978-1846941344
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.4 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #247,325 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #46 in Books > Religion & Spirituality > New Age > Goddesses

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

31 of 34 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Before it's too late, June 26, 2009

By 

Jesse T. (North Carolina) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Switching to Goddess: Humanity's Ticket to the Future (Paperback)

Before it's too late

I do not read non-fiction. I am not a rabid feminist, a follower of airy mythic cults, nor am I particularly interested in religious theory of any kind. So an effort like J. Lyn Studebaker's Switching to Goddess is the last book I would likely choose to read. Yet read it I did, and now I am not only convinced, but also armed with an arsenal of arguments and common sense weapons that enable me to do battle with Christianity, Islam, Judaism, and all other contemporary religions that have systematically sickened mankind for the past 6000 years.
I do not mind admitting that I was born into the Christian tradition. But over the years Jehovah, the religion's CEO, has come to seem more and more like a jealous, vengeful, vicious, misogynous, war-loving maniac responsible for millions of deaths. Anyone who doesn't precisely agree with this CEO is relegated to everlasting hell...his way, or the highway. Plus, as Studebaker points out, this boss doesn't much care for playfulness, creativity, sensuality, or even women...which pretty much leaves a gal like me out of the loop.
I do not fail to notice that CEOs Allah, Indra, and Yahweh are equally unforgiving and bloodthirsty. While religious wars continue to rage in our Twenty-First Century world, not only in the Middle East but right here in the USA, where the Religious Right and stone-throwing intolerance are making frightening comebacks, Switching to Goddess teaches us that we must find different gods to guide us...and soon. We must forsake concepts like armed, arsenal, weapons, and do battle...all words I used in the first paragraph, and steer away from faith induced self annihilation.
I do not normally read scholarly books, but J. Lyn Studebaker was sneaky. In Switching to Goddess she time warped me through the long Neolithic era, through the Bronze Age, right up until this moment. She proved through art, social and anthropological patterns, and with archeological evidence that for most of human history we all worshiped Goddess and were happier, healthier, peaceful, and much nicer people under Her tutelage. Studebaker taught with such witty, fun- loving, tongue-in-cheek, occasionally sarcastic, often sacrilegious, zippy, and engaging language that it didn't even hurt to learn so much.
I do not climb onto soapboxes, but underlying Studebaker's research and her feisty delivery, I was stricken sober by the stunningly important message: switching to Goddess is humanity's ticket to the future, our only ticket. So now I am on that soapbox hoping everyone will read this book before it is too late.
I do not listen to activists who urge us to do something, but fail to provide one clue as to HOW to do that thing we need to do. Studebaker spells it out, the ways and means of reversing our downward religious spiral and replacing our destructive sky/war/father gods with nurturing guiding Goddesses who will love us all unconditionally, just as all healthy mothers love their children...and we can, and must, do this by 2035.
So, in conclusion, if a naysayer like me needed to read this book, then so do you. Please buy it today and let's see what we all can do to help make the switch.

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating, Compelling, and Uplifting, August 10, 2009

By 

Pammyla Brooks "Avid Reader" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Switching to Goddess: Humanity's Ticket to the Future (Paperback)

This important book helps us to understand our true past, without the feelings of despair that often accompanies the knowledge of what we lost. As someone who has read many of the sources she references, I appreciated having the author synthesize the information into one coherent book that also includes hopeful visions for the future.

Although the author writes as a scholar, her tone is vastly different from typical objective-style scholarly books. She retains wit and humor throughout the book, which is surprising, and seems out of place, at first. However, the reader becomes used to this tone and then comes to appreciate the author "holding the reader's hand" throughout the book as she explains terms like "Paleolithic" and "Neolithic" and why authors and scholars cannot just use years to differentiate the periods. Also, when she describes archeological sites she places them in terms of modern-day geography, which helped me a lot. Her images and other pictures add much to the text.

I enjoyed the analysis of present-day cultures such as Moso and the Basques to use as models, and especially enjoyed learning about the Bonobu monkeys which behave vastly different from Chimpanzees, although both share 98 percent of their genes with humans. The Bonobos use sex to calm each other down and males do not beat females, like chimps do.

The author maintains that many of our modern-day ideas like democracy and conveniences such as indoor plumbing were alive and well during the time periods that Goddess-worship was the rule not the exception. She also described time periods when the Goddess made a comeback, only to be struck down again by the War God. Especially for modern-day Goddess-centered believers, it is a fascinating, compelling, and uplifting read.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fabulous book, February 11, 2010

By 

Joan G. Zakrzewski "Joan G. Zakrzewski" (New Hartford, CT USA) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Switching to Goddess: Humanity's Ticket to the Future (Paperback)

This book is so wonderful. I want to keep reading it. The author not only makes her point, but does it with such great facts. I learned so much from this book. Buy it and learn!!