The Skeptical Feminist: Discovering the Virgin, Mother, and Crone by HarperCollins Publishers

	Title: The Skeptical Feminist: Discovering the Virgin, Mother, and Crone Purchase Item Manufacturer: HarperCollins Publishers List Price: $14.00 Our Price: $3.79
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The Skeptical Feminist: Discovering the Virgin, Mother, and Crone by HarperCollins Publishers this should be required reading
I first read The Skeptical Feminist years and years ago and it was my first exposure to the idea that the status quo of male only deity, male domination and patriarchy was unfair to women. This sounds naive now. I was so blown away when I read this book, I was in a panic at the notion that it hadn't been read by everyone in the world. This book opened my eyes to the idea that there is something other than the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. There is the Mother, the Daughter, the Crone, and they are FEMALE! The goddess who, but for patriarchy, would be lovingly caring for the world today, is making a comeback, and I say fervently BE IT SO! This book is fairly vitriolic in its condemnation of what men have wrought over the centuries, but when you read about all the atrocities women have had to endure in the name of false male authority supported by the Judeo Christian deity, I say read this book. Then read more books, particularly The Chalice and the Blade and The First Sex. Read about what happened to the women who died for nothing, just so men could stay on top. It will open your eyes.
The Skeptical Feminist: Discovering the Virgin, Mother, and Crone by HarperCollins Publishers A Breath of Fresh Air
A wonderfully cogent analysis of the extremely destructive results of the belief in Johovah, Yahweh, Allah--basicly the monotheistic male god. For those happy with the existing level of greed, corruption, mayhem, and murder in our world, by all means skip this book. These thousand-plus year old religions have had ample opportunity to improve the world and failed miserably. For the rest of us, Walker's book provides good suggestions for getting the capricious God as he is represented in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam completely out of our heads. She provides a healthful, sane alternative for the part of our minds that needs a symbolic mystery for life-giving satisfaction. The ancient Goddess can provide a far better example for a meaningful, sane life than the destructive beliefs we find around us as particularly exemplified by fundamentalists of all stripes--although the negative effects of the father God are not limited to fundamentalists. Walker provides a positive, joyful alternative to the father gods. As she correctly puts it in describing patriarchal religion, "There is no baby in that bathwater."
The Skeptical Feminist: Discovering the Virgin, Mother, and Crone by HarperCollins Publishers Should be required reading
This book should be revised (to include the present hostilities between Christians and Muslims) and re-released. It would be unfortunate for our current world leaders not have had the opportunity to read it before they continue with the current questionable efforts toward conflict resolution. The fact that World War III might very well be fought over ancient mythologies and superstitions (Christianity, Judiasm, Islam) would be very clear to those fortunate enough to be able to appreciate the content of "The Skeptical Feminist"
The Skeptical Feminist: Discovering the Virgin, Mother, and Crone by HarperCollins Publishers tedious
I found this book used, and am glad I didn't pay full price for it. First, most of it is Christian bashing, pointing out errors and fallacies in the Bible. If the Goddess movement is to become a religion in its own right, then we must stop basing OUR religion on someone else's. It doesn't matter what Christians believe. If they are comfortable with their religion then it doesn't matter if I may percieve some of the ideas as outdated or childish. Secondly, she seemed to spend a lot of time recounting arugments she had with "lesser intellects" on the subject of religion, all of which she ultimately won. She's never wrong, nor does she ever admit that she had to change her mind on a subject. The older boy at the dance, the veteran at the college party... all these stories are presented to show how superior her intellect is to any man's. It is boring to read, and there's not much to the book besides this.
The Skeptical Feminist: Discovering the Virgin, Mother, and Crone by HarperCollins Publishers Guilty of what she accuses
The author, although well educated in the beliefs of pagan/goddess worshiping religions, tends to be guilty of the very things she accuses patriarchal religions of. She states that male-dominated religions (especially Christianity) are responsible for the atrocities committed against women over the past 2-3 thousand years (a true enough fact) but then proceeds to encourage a view so far to the opposite extreme by encouraging a purely feminist/matriarchal worldview that she completely discounts any male contributions are possible unless he is thouroughly rooted in the feminine. Overall, she understands the history of what paganism/ goddess worship is rooted in but completely misses the belief that equal contributions come from both women and men which, when in balance, benefit all of society.