Restoring the Goddess: Equal Rites for Modern Women

Rating:
Summary: Men of quality are comfortable with womens equality
Review: I am a male, and I found this book extremely interesting, from a historical and cultural perspective. The author believes that in ancient times, human culture was more respectful toward women, and this may be true, at least in some lands. Certainly, in intervening centuries, women have been treated as having far less worth than many animals, especially in lands ruled by patriarchal governments.
I didn't interpret her book as a recommendation for atheism. Instead, Ms Walker offers a view of what the world would be like if, instead of an angry, vengeful Father God, our culture had instead a gentle, nurturing, Mother Goddess as its highest moral example. She does make a point that, statistically, atheists tend to be somewhat more law-abiding than the general population in the U.S., but she doesn't encourage everyone to become atheists. Rather she offers an alternative image of deity, in hopes that a kinder deity will serve to inspire kinder followers. She suggests, not a simple inversion of the patriarchal system, but rather a system in which the qualities of the Goddess are defined by what anyone can observe in the workings of the natural world, rather than simply made up by some self-proclaimed prophet (who may or may not agree with the writings of earlier prophets). In her system, society is not heirarchal, with power concentrated at the top, but cooperative, with power and responsibility shared.
I thought that her view sounded like a better world in which to live than the one in which we find ourselves at present. It seems reasonable that, if people grew up in a culture where crime and violence were not viewed as entertainment, members would be far less likely to perpetrate such acts. And if children were trained, from infancy, that Earth was one aspect of the sacred Goddess, then in adulthood perhaps they would act as responsible stewards of the environment. Her book is extremely thoroughly researched, and I found I was reading it for a couple of hours each evening before going to bed.
I hope to see this movement grow stronger over time, I'd like to be part of the world described.

Rating:
Summary: An excellent book.
Review: I found this book refreshing in it's originality and wide-spanning in it's knowledge. Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed it and would recommend it to nearly anyone with a curiousity or just an open mind. Undoubtedly, some will reject it with fervor just for it's subject matter, but I really find no cause for it. The author presents her self impartially. Some sections of the book do contain quotes and passages from other women, these quotes are not always impartial and can be pro-patriarchal, middle-of-the-road, or anti-patriarchal, just like people.

Short review: I loved it. Give it a chance, new books are good.

Rating:
Summary: Part manifesto, part group therapy, part philosophy textbook
Review: I think that some Wiccans who bought this seemed disappointed that it wasn't a more practical work. I love this book specifically because it is a total exercise in thought. It examines where we may have been, where we know we've been, where we are and where we *could* go in human society.

The book for the most part serves as an indictment of patriarchal society, and like any good manifesto, it tells why the proposed system is better. Unlike a manifesto, however, it doesn't get bogged down in the minutia and instead retains its philosophical focus. Yes, there are practical suggestions, but they are a side benefit to the overall thinking process going on.

The group therapy part is the comments from "modern women" at the end of each chapter. They are all different shades of thought on the same subject, and no they don't all agree with each other.

The other concept indicted is Christianity, and to some extent the other two religions that stem from the same root, Judaism and Islam. It is a very good, very thorough indictment of the many fallacies and inconsistencies in Christian thought, action and doctrine.

Unlike Ronald L. Russell, who did not believe that the author was advocating atheism in any way, I believe that in a way Ms. Walker was in fact advocating a thealogy that is so radically different in its application and in how its followers view it that in a way it is atheism as we define it today. Rather than encouraging people to believe in a literal Goddess, she encourages people to view Her as a metaphor or a work of art that we use to recreate our society ourselves. She also emphatically encourages scientific discovery and thought, and criticizes irrationalism, epecially as it pertains to religion, many times.

Ms. Walker recognizes the emotional needs that humans have concerning religion. She proposes that a Goddess system, which is about celebrating the truth of the cycles of our lives and the importance that women actually have in the biological and social structures of our species, would work better than the patriarchal "zero-sum game" that we are all living through now.

In a very real way, Ms. Walker is proposing that we redefine what religion is, based on a more knowing, scientific and adult viewpoint than our forebears were capable of thousands of years ago. She theorizes -- and I think that she is right -- that if our mythology and the images, stories and art that we surround ourselves with reflect a more mature thinking process, a more rational thinking process, that in turn our societies will mature beyond their current state of near-constant crisis and inequality.

Rating:
Summary: NOT a disturbing book
Review: Ignore the Culver review. Walker does not destroy Christianity; she questions it from a woman's viewpoint. But if that's how he sees it, so what? Women are treated as property in the Bible. Christians believe original sin was caused by a woman. Without original sin, there's no need for a male messiah. Read the horrible things church "fathers" have said about women - they even debated whether women had souls. My statements are only a glimpse at Christianity's anti-woman stance. This book is emotionally satisfying. I would give it 5 stars, but it does not cite to primary or scholarly material and uses the questionable 9 million number for the witch hunts. The testimonials offer women's viewpoints. If some of them are less than kind to men, just read the Bible, read about violence against women - both in the Bible and in our current world and you'll understand why some women express anger toward men, Christianity, and patriarchy. I highly recommend this book as well as Sue Monk Kidd's Dance of the Dissident Daughter. Walker's book is a valid push for the notions that woman are people too and that the divine exists in feminine form. If the divine has been viewed as male, what's wrong with women viewing the divine as female? I don't need any man's stamp of historical approval to believe in the Goddess.

Rating:
Summary: Truly a disturbing book, let's work towards equality instead
Review: RESTORING THE GODDESS states that its mission is to encourage worship of the divine in a female aspect. Simple enough, there has lately been a fad of books on spirituality with a feminine twist. This book is different, however, because its theme is by the author's own admission about nothing less than the total destruction of "patriarchal" religion (i.e. belief even in God as without gender), because of the author's opinion that she teaches the only acceptable faith. By the end, the book's subtitle "Equal Rites for Modern Women" becomes risible, because there's no equality when you try to destroy all different viewpoints.

The end of each chapter consists of testimonials from women who believe in goddess worship, and who say such misandrist and hateful things as "All men are Hitler." And no, I'm not quoting out of context, take a look for yourself if you come upon the book in a bookstore. The book also perpetuates that "ancient humanity had a matriarchal society" myth that has no convincing evidence and for which no valid studies have been done. This theory has been totally disproven in such works as THE MYTH OF MATRIARCHAL PREHISTORY by Cynthia Eller.

In our modern age, it's generally assumed that we should be seeking to bring harmony between all people, and not create schisms based on the idea that one gender is superior to or meaningfully different than another. RESTORING THE GODDESS really sets the idea of sexual equality back, it requires one to look as the divine as only female. The author claims that belief in a gender-neutral God (as most theologians, male *and* female have held) is the cause of all rape, war, and violence against women. This book is a bigoted thesis. One of the tenets of most religions is that God is beyond human differences and weaknesses, but this book tries to pull the divine down to humanity's level as if it is to blame for mankind's unfortunately slow march towards sexual equality.

Rating:
Summary: A LIFE CHANGING BOOK
Review: This is one of the most powerful books I've ever read -- and believe me, I've read a lot. I am a spiritual seeker, and come from a Roman Catholic tradition. For the longest time I've been "on the fringe", struggling with many things in my tradition, and struggling also with much in the Christian tradition. I've read a lot of theology and have studied religion a great deal. Now Walker comes along with enormous research, pulling together the bits and pieces I've learned and weaving them into a book that does carry some anger but also a ring of Truth. And why shouldn't we women be angry? 2000 years of patriarchy have infiltrated our culture so deeply that we aren't even aware of much of it. I do not believe in Hell as a place, do not believe in heaven as a place, and struggled to believe the unbelievable. I DO believe that we should love and do what we will, that God/dess IS Love and vv, and that Jesus was a man filled with the spirit of Love. And Walker's book affirms much of this. She reveals how deeply Christianity is founded upon what we would today call Paganism. I knew some of it, but my eyes were really opened. I keep saying WOW, taking a deep breath, and then put the book down because it knocks me off my feet.

Excellent and "enjoyable" reading.

Rating:
Summary: A terrific contribution to Goddess studies.
Review: This provides a critique of patriarchal religion and a proposal for new rituals to help liberate readers from Judeo-Christian male-centered spirituality. From advocating studies surrounding the goddess to rejecting patriarchal sources in traditional religion, this provides specific advice on how to restore the goddess figure to new meaning.

Diane C. Donovan Reviewer

Rating:
Summary: Great Book
Review: When I read this book, I was already well-versed in the damage that patriarchal religions have done to women's lives and sad part it true even in paganism and wicca a example of this is found on P17 of ED fitches A book of shadows which talk about the high priestess and high priest are chosen by looks ack what kind of stuff is that I think we need equality and get away from these sterotype which seem to leach in paganism. I found this book had alot of offer and makes the reader think.
Worth the price

Blessed Be:

Rating:
Summary: A LIFE CHANGING BOOK
Review: When I read this book, I was already well-versed in the damage that patriarchal religions have done to women's lives, bodies & souls. But this book validated my anger. It was comforting to know that there are women out there who are as angry about it as I am! Any man who finds himself getting angry at this book should take a long, hard look at his own fear of women. Anybody with half a brain can see what's going on & what's been going on for centuries: women are denied spriitual comfort & recognition because they're women. It's time (way past time) for this to change & if books like this make a few people uncomfortable, GOOD. Change is never easy.

My only complaint about this book is that Ms. Walker's solution is atheism. She goes to great lengths in this book to say that the idea of believing in a deity is detrimental and a part of the patriarchal past. I disagree totally. What is the point of the author wanting equality for women if she is telling them what to believe or not believe? I feel the Goddess all around me everyday; not as an abstract or symbol but as a real being, a real force. Does this belief harm me? I don't think so....Ms. Walker stressed her athiestic beliefs so strongly that I had the suspician that some of the excerpts of other women (at the end of the book) were written by her. Why she seems to have such a vendetta to make everyone an athiest, is beyond me.

Having said that, you must read this book for the rest of the book; Ms. Walkers empassioned argument that patriarchy has hurt so many cannot be ignored.