In the book “When God Was a Woman” author Merlin Stone illuminates how the god of early mankind was a woman. She backs her theory with archeological evidence and historical facts. She makes multiple claims about her work to try and persuade the reader that god was a woman. Stone talks about Mother Earth and how the creation of life is associated with women, but states that this was not always how people viewed woman. She goes on to discuss the sculptures from prehistoric sanctuaries as well as other events that have led her to her interest in believing that god was a woman. Not only that god was a woman, but also that females played a more important in ancient society than people perceive.
Stone gives us some factual based theories on how the idea of god as woman deteriorated over time. The main reason behind this seems to be associated with the northern invaders. Invaders from the north conquered southern land and expanded widely over the East leading to the cultural and spiritual loss of the original Middle Eastern communities. Stone gives evidence from tablets and other forms of symbolism that the changing belief from god as a woman to god as a man did not happen overnight, but over the course of thousands of years. "Battle axe” cultures, as she calls them, of the north invaded and distilled their beliefs on the Southern communities. These battle-axe cultures had aimed to take property and rule over the southern communities. They forced their beliefs onto the territories they conquered. “In historic times the northern invaders viewed themselves as a superior people”. (pg.64) During this period of time there were close to no written records, it is pre-history so it is hard to say. Over a period of time the image of the woman goddess faded and men where looked at more as gods. With the invaders changing so much and distilling a new religious belief it is very likely that in the original culture god could have been a women.
When religion changed to a male god and the northern invaders spread their beliefs and practice upon the conquered territories the oppression of woman in society started. Before the invaders it is said that woman had more authority than men. Women were very independent economically and sexually. In the book it basically says they were the owners of property and the family. Sacrifices were made to woman gods and there were woman that ruled whole territories. After invasions of the northerners woman were not respected as much as men. “Invaders, who saw woman as inferior, are responsible for the racial attitudes as well” (pg.72)
In Hebrew law, Stone says, “a woman was to be stoned or burned to death for loosing her virginity before marriage, a factor never before mentioned in law codes of the near east”. (pg. 56) Women were also entitled to nothing after a divorce. These are just examples Stone gives of the new religion that was taking over the East.
Stone says at the beginning of the book that, “nearly all female deities of the Middle East were entitled Queen of Heaven” (pg.2). She backs this up numerous times with archeological evidence from several cultures. This aids her theory that god was a woman by showing that back then the female goddess’s were literally called the Queens of heaven and they were seen this was all over the Middle East. Today, people associate heaven to with Jesus Christ, a male.
Stone draws many of her assumptions from studying different statues,
