Guest Author - Linda J. Paul

Looking back into the fog of antiquity, we get a glimpse of what a matriarchal society must have been like. The Earth was seen as a nurturer and provider and as such, assumed the shape of the Great Goddess. Matriarchal societies flourished in harmony and balance for a very long time.

I can’t help but wonder when it was that women lost that control. I guess if you are of Christian faith, the answer to that would be in the Garden of Eden, or actually even before that, when God decided to make woman a secondary creation. But, what about non Christian faith? What if one does not believe in the Biblical version of God and creation?

The fact is that matriarchal societies did flourish, and that there is evidence of the Goddess in artifacts found from all over the world. If man originally had full control as the Genesis version implies, how did the Goddess even come into being?

The beliefs of early Christianity, or least the true teachings of Jesus, firmly implied that women were equal to men. Mary Magdalene was definitely a very important part of his story, and is seen at least in Catholicism as the First Apostle. The scriptures actually point to a good many times that Jesus chastised someone about their opinion where women were concerned.

The Old Testament definitely does not present women in a good light, nor does the Paulized version of the New Testament, or the Koran. So, we are looking at three of the major world religions, Christianity, Judaism, and Islam, which all use textbooks that make women appear to be unclean, ignorant, naïve, and responsible for the original sin. I have always found it difficult to accept that Adam is not as much at fault on that one as Eve.

When did women give up the fight and allow a male dominated world to come into existence? Women are more than half the population, are just as intelligent, and just as capable if not so at making decisions as their male counterparts. Why then, hasn’t there ever been a woman U.S. President. There are women leaders in many other countries. Why is our country, which is looked to as a world leader the last in line instead of the first to place women in both political and spiritual leadership positions?

We still have religious factions in our country that believe that women cannot be spiritual leaders, ministers, heads of households, or that they can even have a voice in their churches. Why? Because apparently they are still living by old Jewish law that considers a women to be subservient to her spouse. And, women are still allowing that to happen.

Why should women have to be feminists, or activists or bra burners ala Gloria Steinham in the first place? Why should we have to fight in order to have our voices heard at all? We are not a race or a creed or a culture… we are more than half of the world’s population. We are a sisterhood billions strong worldwide. We care for our households, put food on our families tables, and are a major voice in every workplace today. We are climbing up the executive ladders, and more women actually graduate from college than men.

But, I think that this brings up an important point. With more and more women coming into leadership positions worldwide, both politically and spiritually, we are in essence going against one of the main Biblical principles. The Bible does discourage women from preaching, assuming leadership roles, or seeing divinity in our own image.

Could this pose a threat to the male dominated leadership roles in our country and even in our world. Do some men see us as becoming more Lilith than Eve based? Most likely so. I don’t have a problem with that actually. I have always admired Lilith for having the guts to say no to Adam.

Could it be that the tide is turning once again, and that women are beginning to question the rules and regulations that have kept us in check for so long? I don’t think that the answer is the old Matriarchal societies like days of old, but maybe a balance between the male and female energy. And, freedom and justice for all.

Love and Light…