When God Had a Wife
When God Had a Wife is a fascinating, thought-provoking read; sub-titled The Fall and Rise of the Sacred Feminine in the Judeo-Christian Tradition this book compiles the arguments for the existence of goddess as well as gods within the faiths of the ancient Israelites and more, a female deity as preeminent as the male Yahweh.
Well researched, academic, yet also an enjoyable read that is amusing in places, When God Had a Wife is based in factual sources with part of the authors’ mission in writing the book being to build a bridge between the Mind, Body and Spirit community and academics. As someone raised Christian I particularly enjoyed the section ‘Is the Bible History’ where bible stories are compared to historical facts discovered from archaeology and other sources.
Another chapter I found of great personal interest was ‘Jesus and his Goddess’, as I’ve found the story of Jesus and Mary Magdalene fascinating for many years and indeed since childhood the biblical denigration of Eve and the single role model for women of a virgin mother (impossible to attain surely!) or vilification as a whore seemed … well, highly illogical for a loving God! One of the evidences provided in this book demonstrates how, as opposed to these ideas, Jesus as well as Simon Magus were actually attempting to restore the ancient, goddess-worshipping religion of the Israelites.
When God had a Wife is a wonderful resource where the authors have sifted through the mass of archaeological and historical data to locate the relevant information and fit it together with their speculation into a great act of historical detection. A captivating and highly intriguing read I’d highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to read the evidence and make up their own mind about the truth of the divine feminine in the Judeo-Christian tradition.
Book Details: Lynn Picknett & Clive Prince. When God had a Wife. Bear & Company (9 Jan. 2020). ISBN: 978-1591433705
Review Details: When God had a Wife was reviewed by June Kent, editor of Indie Shaman magazine and this review was published in Issue 44.
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