Rating: 
Summary: I was sceptical at first.....
Review: This is a really good book. ... having read quite a bit of other stuff on proto-Jewish, pre-monotheistic religions, I confirm that the author does stick to pretty well-known facts.
She bases her arguement primarily on a few (pretty-well established) facts, namely:
- that (visibly female) goddess images are *the* oldest religious imagery to have been discovered,
- that animistic religions with large local pantheons abounded for most of human history,
- that the Jewish pentatuch was written in the context of other contemporary religions, and
- that it is an easy jump to believe that prior to the advent of animal domestication/husbandry the relationship between men and pregnancy was probably not well understood/known.She uses these main pieces of evidence as well as scholorship on pre-historic religions to build a (very convincing) argument that once upon a time when people thought women possessed some magic ability that allowed them to reproduce alone (via parthenogenesis and sans l'homme), femaleness was worshipped. So, people had no clue where babies came from, men were seen as pretty much useless and inheritance was a purely matrilineal affaire. Then, ta da, a big bad monotheistic religion (proto-judaism) came along and said "Forget this stuff about men being useless! No,in fact, the Man is the creator of ALL!And what's more, the woman is born of the man -- contrary to all appearances. And we've got proof, just read this book we wrote called Genesis!" So, her book is about this; how did we get to this impasse? How did men manage to turn the common sense of the preceding millenea on its head? And how has this situation managed to persist for thousands of years (3 thousand to be exact)? Where did monotheism come from? Where did the notion of male gods come from, for that matter? Were there some groups worshiping male gods and others worshiping female gods which existed concurrently? How did a major female figure of divinity manage to acquire, first, a son, then a consort, then a husband/father? And after she acquired all of these celestial relatives, how did they manage to metaphysically dominate and eventually eclipse her entirely -- making feminity utterly un-associable with divinity until well into the 10TH century (with the cult of Mary)? So, those sound like pretty good questions, huh? I have read quite a bit on religions, but I would say that this is one of those rare books, where you don't actually have to know anything about the subject to be able to be consistently engaged by the authors reasoning. If you really think the author is totally off the wall, as far as historical facts, then read some other stuff too. But as an arguement, this book is up there with any plausible historical theory.
Rating: 
Summary: Response to "Tunnel Vision at its worst"
Review: 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".
Rating:
Summary: An insightful look into our spiritual origins
Review: What a wonderful book! As a woman, this book was such an eye-opener, a breath of fresh air, and provided me confirmation for many of the sneaking suspicions and problems I had with Christianity. I am a former Evangelical Christian, who has since left and is walking the Witch's path. I had so many problems reconciling my feminist values--my values as a *human*--with the misogyny that left its gross stink seemingly everywhere in Christendom, from the Old Testament to the "megachurch". This feeling grew even deeper as I read more and more of the Bible.The repression of the Feminine Principle in every way shape and form was so clear, so blatant, that I *knew* something was up. Well, thanks to Ms. Stone, the jig is up! Her research is painstakingly thorough, and although it can get "heavy" at times (thus the reason for 4 and not 5 stars), if you can hang in there through those parts you are well rewarded. Everything flows so seamlessly together, and she makes a very compelling case. I never looked at the Bible the same way after reading this book, it opened my eyes in so many ways. If there is one problem I have with this book, it's one that actually isn't Ms. Stone's fault. Her work was groundbreaking, revolutionary even, and unfortunately a slew of quack pseudo-scholars have followed in her wake, *poisoning* Wicca and the feminist spirituality movement with theories parading as fact pulled straight out of their arses. So many flaky New Agey sunshine-and-moonbeam twits have taken her well-grounded research and twisted it into all kinds of half-baked "truths", like how ancient Europe was supposedly some granola-eating free-love Earth mama-lovin hippie commune (yes Z. Budapest, DJ Conway et al. my finger is aimed *right at you*). Tangents aside, this book is critical not only to understanding the origins of Judeo-Christian misogyny, but is also quite helpful in understanding the views espoused by the modern Religious Reich as represented by Robertson, Falwell, Dobson, etc. I highly recommend it, especially to women with fundimentalist backgrounds similar to myself. It was an intergral part of my own healing process.
Rating:
Summary: All About Eve......
Review: 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.
Rating:
Summary: All About Eve......
Review: 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.
Rating:
Summary: Pretty good, but more background needed
Review: 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.
Rating:
Summary: A fresh perspective
Review: While I think it might be foolsih to swallow everything Stone writes, it is certainly an interesting hyopthesis. It's an absorbing read on a fascinating subject matter. She draws her own conclusions on accepted historic facts, and opened my eyes to the possiblie interpretations of history.
Rating:
Summary: One of the first books on the subject
Review: With the growth of literature on goddess religion in recent years, it is easy to compare Stone's achievement with that of those who have stood on her shoulders. Originally published more than 20 years ago, it has remained steadily in print since, in great part because of its accessibility to the lay audience. Although some of the material in her book has since been superceded, this remains an important and exciting book.
Rating:
Summary: All I can say is.. Wow!
Review: You need to read this book to know how I felt while reading it. I can't even explain the sadness, the horror, the anger I felt. All beacuse a few tribes of men decided they wanted their patrilineal system to take over. I wish there were some way to reverse the damage, take back our matrilineal rights (and rites). But that would mean that every woman would need to read this book, and agree with it, and make her own decision to take it all back. It hurts to read this and realize what there was before, what we are missing now, what they did to us in the name of their god.
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