1. Atheism – Professor Peter Boghossian Portland State University November 4, 2015 FROM GODDESS TO GOD Expunging the feminine from the divine

2. Karen L. Garst, PhD Email: karen@faithlessfeminist.com Blog: www.faithlessfeminist.com Facebook: www.facebook.com/www.facebook.com/faithlessfeminist Twitter: @karen_garst

3. How does culture reproduce itself?  Spoken language – at least 100,000 years ago  Music – 55,000 years ago in Africa  Rituals – 50,000 years ago  Art – paintings and carvings – 30,000 years ago  Writing – 3,000 BCE - Mesopotamia

4. Venus of Lespugne France – 20,000 – 18,000 BCE

5. Venus of Laussel France – 22,000 -18,000 BCE

6. Mother Goddess Giving Birth Catal Huyuk – 6,000 – 5,800 BCE

7. Hagar Qim, Malta 4,000 to 3,000 BCE

8. Goddess and Snake Crete – 4,500 BCE

9. God and Goddess Sumerian Seal, Iraq – 2,500 BCE

10. Goddess with Snakes Minoan, Crete – 1,600 BCE

11. Goddess in Crete 1600 BCE

12. Branch Goddess in Canaan Middle Bronze Age IIB 1750 – 1550 BCE

13. Clay Pillars Israel – 9 th century BCE

14. Cobra = Goddess in Egyptian

15. Snake = Healing = Caduceus

16. Memes of the Goddess  Importance of images  Mother/child/birth  Home and hearth  Cycles of nature and women  Creator is part of creation

17. Goddess and God Together Neolithic and Bronze Ages  Male deity arrives and incorporates existing goddesses  Co-exists with goddess as consort  Male deity assumes greater role  Militaries become more prevalent  Cities become increasingly fortified

18. Israelite Imposition of Yahweh 1200 BCE to 600 BCE  Multiple references in Bible against pagan gods – 7 th century BCE  Figurines of naked goddess, offering stands and incense altars found throughout Northern and Southern Kingdoms  Manasseh (d. 642 BCE) – King of Judah – Put Asherah cult object in Temple in Jerusalem  Southern Kingdom still destroying high places in Bethel – Reforms of King Josiah (d. 609 BCE)  Exile in Babylon 586 BCE - finalize first five books of Bible as well as several others

19. Yahweh and his Asherah Kuntillet ‘Ajrud – Israel – 8 th Century BCE

20. Exile in Babylon Marduk (male) conquers Tiamet (female)

21. Demonizing Feminine in Old Testament  Genesis – Eve – Devalues the images of the goddess - snake, garden, tree  Yahweh – no mother, no children  Woman – not part of divine, cause of sin  Woman – unclean, cannot participate in worship  Patriarchy – human property, virgin, adultery, rape  Near sacrifice of Isaac – final break with strong female role

22. Memes of Monotheism  One deity – male – woman is not part of the divine  Divine is separate from creation  Morality is written laws instead of tribal relationships  Written language replaces images  Linear time replaces cyclical time  Separation from the physical world with a goal of attaining a spiritual existence

23. Legacy for Women in 2015  Not part of divine  Most religious leaders are men  Female sexuality  Devaluation of right brain  Very low participation in power structure  Attacks on birth control and abortion

24. United States Not in lead for women’s rights  United Nations Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women - Ratified by 186/193 member nations – but not the US  Women heads of state – 52 countries in the last 50 years including Sweden and Germany currently – but not the US  Paid leave for newborns – 188 countries – but not the US  Wage equality – US 65th - Iceland (1), Finland (2), Norway (3) and Sweden (4)

25. Bibliography Goddess Religion The Language of the GoddessMarija Gimbutas1989 Gods, Goddesses, and Images of GodKeel and Uehlinger1992 The Alphabet Versus the GoddessLeonard Shlain1998 In the Wake of the GoddessesTikva Frymer-Kensky1992 The Myth of the GoddessAnne Baring and1991 Jules Cashford Matriarchy/Patriarchy/Women Behind the Sex of GodCarol Ochs1977 Beyond God the FatherMary Daly1993 Female Power and Male DominancePeggy Reeves Sanday1981 Her Share of the BlessingsRoss Shepard Kraemer1992 The Chalice and the BladeDiane Eisler1988 The Creation of PatriarchyGerda Lerner1987 The Female Experience and the NatureJudith Ochshorn1981 of the Divine The World According to EveCullen Murphy1998 When God was a WomanMerlin Stone1976 When Women were PriestsKaren Jo Torjesen1995 Woe to the WomenAnnie Laurie Gaylor1981 Women in Early ChristianityPatricia Cox Miller2005