Goddesses and the Divine Feminine: A Western Religious History
Ruether charts a medium between, on the one hand, historically male-centered Western religious traditions and, on the other, the 1970s assertion (courtesy of Marija Gimbutas, Riane Eisler et al) that prehistoric societies were matricentric and matrilinear. It is possible, Ruether says, to support ecofeminism and beliefs in the divine feminine "without embracing theories about gender in human social evolution that are not historically tenable. One can affirm the validity of alternative Goddess spirituality in the contemporary context without insisting that everyone accept the thesis of a literal 'feminist Eden' in prehistoric human existence." Ruether adopts a roughly chronological approach, opening with an anthropological and archaeological look at what we know about gender in prehistory (which, it turns out, is not a lot), and about goddesses in the ancient Mediterranean world. She then examines gender and the divine feminine in Hebrew scriptures, ancient mystery cults, the New Testament and medieval Christianity before turning her attention to a particular case study of gender in the cultural contact between Aztec religion and Christianity in Mexico. The final chapters explore possible reasons for the popularity of the idea of matriarchy, with Ruether raising the overarching question: Do we need a myth of matriarchal prehistory today? Scholars and educated lay readers who are looking for a fair, comprehensive assessment of what is at stake in the debates about the divine feminine will read this with great interest. Ruether is an informed and lively guide, and her book (complete with nearly four dozen illustrations) manages to be both opinionated and balanced.Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.