When God Was a Woman [Paperback]

Merlin Stone (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 4, 1978

Here, archaeologically documented,is the story of the religion of the Goddess. Under her, women’s roles were far more prominent than in patriarchal Judeo-Christian cultures. Stone describes this ancient system and, with its disintegration, the decline in women’s status. Index; maps and illustrations.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Merlin Stone became interested in archaeology and ancient religions from her study of ancient art. She taught at the State University of New York at Buffalo. From 1958 to 1967 she worked as a sculptor, exhibiting widely and executing numerous commissions. She spent a decade on research before writing the book published in the UK as The Paradise Papers and then in the U.S. as When God Was a Woman (1976). It describes her theory of how the Hebrews suppressed allegedly goddess-based religions practiced in Canaan and how their reaction to what she asserts as being the existing matriarchial and matrilineal societal structures shaped Judaism and, thus, Christianity. Her other major work, Ancient Mirrors of Womanhood (ISBN# 0-8070-6751-2) collects stories, myths, and prayers involving goddess-figures from a wide variety of world religions, ancient and otherwise. Stone's hypotheses are radical and challenging to the accepted views of antiquity, and as such they remain controversial. She is the author of numerous short stories, book reviews, and essays, including "3,000 Years of Racism." Stone's book When God Was a Woman had a profound effect on the emerging Goddess Culture of the 1970s and 80s in the US. It spoke clearly and simply to women raised in traditional Judeo-Christian traditions, and made the concept of a female deity accessible

Product Details

• Paperback: 302 pages
• Publisher: Mariner Books; First Edition edition (May 4, 1978)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 015696158X
• ISBN-13: 978-0156961585
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5.2 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (68 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #98,596 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #15 in Books > Politics & Social Sciences > Women's Studies > History

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

216 of 223 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars intelligent and important work, March 6, 2004

By 

Jon Norris (Oregon, USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: When God Was a Woman (Paperback)

The history of our society, our religions, and our gender roles is vital to understanding ourselves and our world. Things are not the way we have been told they were. The truth may well shock and anger you.

We are becoming used to conspiracy theories and revisionist history surfacing in an almost constant stream these days. Much real history has been destroyed or distorted, and much we simply never knew. Spin doctors throw an immense amount of PR garbage in our faces to try and manipulate us into their camps. It is difficult to know whom to trust, particularly regarding emotionally loaded issues like religion and sex.

Merlin Stone has written a very good book about the history of gender roles in Western society and the part religion plays in forming these roles. She also gives us insight into the nature of laws regarding sexual behavior and marriage, a subject of considerable interest right at the moment.

The book is very well documented with quotes attributed and citations listed in the bibliography. While the subject of populations in remote historical times can be quite dry when treated in detail, Stone manages to mantain a high degree of academic depth while remaing very readable and accessible.

The book is well organized and leads one through the evidence to her very rational conclusions. She draws on vast amounts of archelogical and historical data, and her arguments are convincing. The information in this book correlates well with information I have seen from other sources in my investigation of why religions and governments put so much time, money, and energy into criminalizing sexual behavior.

The basic theme of the book is that gender roles, the nature of sexual expression, and the rights of women changed drastically when the Aryan-driven patriarchal religions took over in the Middle East. While we have been told that this was an inevitable "progression" as we moved to a "modern" society, the truth is that it was more a matter of physically superior forces destroying any opposing points of view. The changes studied here were not the progress of people thoughtfully moving to new ideals, but of vanquished peoples crushed by violent and greedy religious fervor. The evidence, even from the religious sources themselves, is undeniable. The bias in favor of the triumphant religious structure is shown to still exist today and to reach even into the halls of Science, which exists supposedly to free us from superstitious nonsense.

This is not a book about male-bashing, nor does it promote a particular feminist stance. Stone is not as strident as I sound in this review, but very logical and even-tempered. The conclusions and information in this book shed light on oppression and global violence that effect us all; male, female, or otherwise. When you see that sexual laws and supposed "morals" are actually twisted excuses for oppression and control, it might open your eyes to a new understanding of the debates about sex and marriage happening as I write this (March 2004). I sincerely hope so. We must grow beyond the twisted neuroses of sexually maladjusted, oppressive superstition if we want to make the Earth a safe, warm, loving home for all. Read this book if you want to grow in your understanding of our history, our present, and our future.

111 of 116 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars All About Eve......, July 11, 2004

By 

Dianne Foster "Di" (USA) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)   

This review is from: When God Was a Woman (Paperback)

WHEN GOD WAS A WOMAN by Merlin Stone explores the controversy surrounding Eve by examining the links between the Old Testament text and archeological and linguistics research conducted in the 20th century. Although you may not agree with Stone's premise, interpretation of the Old Testament text, or conclusions, if you are one of Eve's daughters you owe it to yourself to learn more about her and how she may have been maligned by the ancient Levite priests when they constructed text such as Genesis, Deuteronomy, and other Old Testament books.

Stone's work has been referenced by feminist writers Margaret Starbird, Sue Monk Kidd, and Lynn Picknett, and her chapter "Unraveling the Myth of Adam and Eve" presents a compelling argument and an interesting perspective, especially when contrasted with Elaine Pagels' ADAM AND EVE AND THE SERPENT, and Joseph Campbell's mythology works.

I enjoyed this book very much. As one who studied the Bible many years and found the murder and mayhem in the Old Testament quite disturbing, I was intrigued by Stone's insights which caused me to reflect on the folks the Hebrews fought. Perhaps they were not nearly so wicked as we were taught to believe ages ago. On top of that, the criticism of women in the Old Testament may be totally unjustified as it was directed towards non-Hebrew women who were forced marry the male Hebrew victors after they had killed their kinsman. In other words, when the walls of Jericho fell, who died?

This book is so stunning, I am amazed that Stone had the courage to write it, let alone that a publishing house published it. If nothing else thia book is an example of having the intellectual courage to address a verboten subject that could lead to a Christian fatwah if Christians did such things. Think of Merlin Stone as Christianity's answer to Salmon Rushdie. Only this is not a work of fiction, however speculative it may be.

The only complaint I have concerns the sourcing of statements. As it happen, I know a bit about the Bible so I could follow Stone's arguments. Unfortunately, she offers direct quotes in some cases, but does not in others. One unfamiliar with the Old Testament might find Stone's book challenging.

65 of 67 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An insightful and stunning read..., April 1, 2006

By 

Kelley Heckart "Celtic historical romance/fan... (Lake Havasu, AZ) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: When God Was a Woman (Paperback)

In the beginning God was a woman...

[...]

I remember picking up the Bible as a young girl, and knowing that something was wrong with the content, especially the lowly status assigned to women. For this reason, I never connected with the Bible. Now I know why. Even without the extensive archaeological evidence that Ms. Stone discovered on the Goddess religion, I know this to be the truth--for thousands of years the Goddess reigned as Queen of the Heaven until Indo-European invaders, who worshiped a thunderbolt wielding war god, wiped it out. Everyone should read this book. Is our world a better place without the Goddess?

The final assault on the Goddess religion by the Levite priests was the most horrifying event in history. The mass murder of women, children and anyone who refused to denounce the Goddess-whole towns were slaughtered-it's all recorded in the Bible. Ask yourself-would a kind and loving God allow that to happen? The civilization that worshiped the Goddess for thousands of years, bringing with them in the earliest times knowledge of agriculture, medicine, architecture, metallurgy, wheeled vehicles, ceramics, textiles and written language were gradually stamped out because the northern invaders wanted to control the paternity of children, and land that the priestesses of the Goddess temples controlled. The legends were re-written to disgrace the sacred sexual customs of Goddess worship, and because of that, all females were regarded as sinful and blamed for the downfall of man in the Bible.

The key to a harmonious world is for both sexes to respect each other and not place one sex above the other-what we need in the world is balance.

I highly recommend this well-researched and well-written account of the murder of the original deity-the Goddess. Ms. Stone did a wonderful job of organizing the information so that it is easy for everyone to understand.