Rating: 
Summary: Great story, well-written, unhistorical
Review: It was a fun and interesting book to read. Seeing the story through the eyes of Mary Magdalene was a nice angle. Unfortunately, at this time period Asherah was no longer worshiped in Israel, so the story is more fantasy than history. Also, Jesus being the incarnation of Osiris makes him less realistic and less human. I see the influence of the outdated Golden Bough is pervasive. There is plenty of good recent scholarship on the historical Jesus (and he was even a feminist!), so read that for history and this for entertainment.
Rating: 
Summary: Well Why Not!!?
Review: Kinstler weaves a tale that is not only believable but also logical; a missing link, the "Ah Ha!" of Christianity. Truly, what point would there be for any "god", to come to Earth to experience life as a man and not include in that experience two of the most important male events -- those being sex and parenthood? For millennia any historical truth that might have been the core of the Christian myth, has been shrouded in so many layers of secrecy and confusion that we are left with not much more than an incomplete trail that is senseless at best. Kinstler reconstructs a bridge that connects the ancient Pagan traditions to Christianity and if nothing else, gives us a possible explanation of how the blood thirsty atrocity of female oppression that is Christianity as it has stood from the early establishment of the church and up until today, got its foothold, thereby providing us not only with substantial food for thought, but with an unbroken chain of events that actually works! This story makes as much sense to me as any other and is in fact once again, a reaffirmation that the cycle of birth, life, death and re-birth is the only truth that remains steadfast once the myths of religion are stripped away.
Rating:
Summary: The NT version of 'The Red Tent'
Review: Overall, I really liked the book. The author really did her homework and incorporated a multitude of sources along with her vivid imagination on what Jerusalem, during the rule of Caesar, was like. Don't expect a regurgitation of the traditional biblical accounts of Jesus (Y'shuah) and Mary Magdalene (Mari Anath). This is based on heretical beliefs that have been hidden or suppressed by orthodoxy for millenia. Mary Magdalene was a high priestess of the great Goddess (Isis-Ashera in the book). Her status as harlot was figurative on two counts. The Great Mother was also known as the Great Whore. Sexuality is sacred in pagan belief systems. The patriarchal elite could not reconcile themselves with a woman who's status didn't require her to be married to her consort. There are other reasons why the title of prostitute probably stuck too, for which you 'll have to read the book to find out. The 'Virgin' Mary is also a significant character and not the Mary you think you know. I just wished that the book could have been longer and more detailed. I hated it when it ended. I think the author should write a sequel on the Daughter. I'd give this book 4.5 stars.
Rating:
Summary: The NT version of 'The Red Tent'
Review: Overall, I really liked the book. The author really did her homework and incorporated a multitude of sources along with her vivid imagination on what Jerusalem, during the rule of Caesar, was like. Don't expect a regurgitation of the traditional biblical accounts of Jesus (Y'shuah) and Mary Magdalene (Mari Anath). This is based on heretical beliefs that have been hidden or suppressed by orthodoxy for millenia. Mary Magdalene was a high priestess of the great Goddess (Isis-Ashera in the book). Her status as harlot was figurative on two counts. The Great Mother was also known as the Great Whore. Sexuality is sacred in pagan belief systems. The patriarchal elite could not reconcile themselves with a woman who's status didn't require her to be married to her consort. There are other reasons why the title of prostitute probably stuck too, for which you 'll have to read the book to find out. The 'Virgin' Mary is also a significant character and not the Mary you think you know. I just wished that the book could have been longer and more detailed. I hated it when it ended. I think the author should write a sequel on the Daughter. I'd give this book 4.5 stars.
Rating:
Summary: The Moon Under Her Feet
Review: Professor Kinstler's retelling of the Christ story depicts Jesus' life and death as part of the Sacred Marriage, a Goddess-worship ritual. Her reimagining the gospel from the point of view of the women, particularly Christ's mother and Mary Magdalene, brings a refreshing and beautiful perspective, reminiscent of the way Marion Zimmer Bradley retold the Arthurian legend in "The Mists of Avalon." My one complaint, when I read this novel more than a decade ago, was that the cast of characters at the beginning of the book gave away too much about Judas. I would have preferred Judas' relationship to the story to have come as an interesting plot twist, not as a character note. ...
Rating:
Summary: The Goddess and the Gospel
Review: Professor Kinstler's retelling of the Christ story depicts Jesus' life and death as part of the Sacred Marriage, a Goddess-worship ritual. Her reimagining the gospel from the point of view of the women, particularly Christ's mother and Mary Magdalene, brings a refreshing and beautiful perspective, reminiscent of the way Marion Zimmer Bradley retold the Arthurian legend in "The Mists of Avalon." My one complaint, when I read this novel more than a decade ago, was that the cast of characters at the beginning of the book gave away too much about Judas. I would have preferred Judas' relationship to the story to have come as an interesting plot twist, not as a character note. ...
Rating:
Summary: Lots to think about
Review: The best way to describe this book is the mirror opposite of King Jesus. Instead of a Jesus who wants to destroy the Feminine, this Jesus sacrifices himself to the Feminine. It's the story of Jesus, written in an alternative Universe, and fully imagined. After I read this book, I spent a lot of time thinking about the world it portrayed and how it moved within the story of Jesus, the legend of Inanna, and the legend of Isis. It surely does paint a beguiling "no bad people" Christianity. But, there's still original sin at the bottom of it, and I'll stay happily Pagan, thank you.
Rating: 
Summary: Definitely offends!
Review: The problem with this book is that it shows women as more important than they really were in those times. In Israel at that time, just like much of the ancient world, women did not hold much power. It's sad but that's just the way it was.
Also, if religious figures are going to used in a work of fiction, making blasphemous suppositions about them is not the way to go. I can just imagine what an uproar there would be if there were books which undermined other religions. But Christianity apparently, you can undermine and demean..that's okay. And, again Mary Magdalene was mentioned in the Bible a couple of times and now she's great all-powerful woman and married to Jesus? Whatever. If the author was going to write this story, she should made it a complete work of fiction and not have any of the predominant Bible characters in it. Oh, and by the way, Goddess worship was nonexistent in Israel. They had other religions around them, but not this. If anyone is going to be offended by this, I would advise you not to read it. The only reason I even gave the book 2 stars was the good writing.
Rating:
Summary: Wonderful passage on the importance of doubt
Review: There is a passage in this book that I have posted in my house and reread many times. "Do you love your daughter less or feel less responsible because she has a mind to think for herself? Has the Mother ever demanded that you always love her, or that you blindly believe in her. She asks only that you care for her children. Could you ever do less? I think not. No true God demands mindless belief and punishes the honesty of those that admit their doubt. The Mother knows you must doubt to understand, to grow in wisdom. Do not be ashamed of your doubts. They prove your devotion to the Law [of God]." I am the devotee of an East Indian guru. Naturally doubts come and go. Rereading this passage has been extremely helpful as I progress on my own path. Thank you Clysta Kinstler
Rating:
Summary: The Moon Under Her Feet
Review: This book was an absolute cannot-put-it-down read! It was wonderful!!! I was completely rivited by the storytelling, the story, the characters ... the fact that it was the story of Jesus from a woman's perspective was an additional plus! I thank the author for sharing her vivid imagination with me.
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