Rebirth of the Goddess Quotes

“When the earth is body of Goddess, the radical implications of the image are more fully realized. The female body and the earth, which have been devalued and dominated together, are resacralized. Our understanding of divine power is transformed as it is clearly recognized as present within the finite and changing world. The image of the earth as the body of the Goddess can inspire us to repair the damage that has been done to the earth, to women, and to other beings in dominator cultures.”
― Carol P. Christ, Rebirth of the Goddess: Finding Meaning in Feminist Spirituality

“We find in the Goddess a compelling image of female power, a vision of the deep connection of all beings in the web of life, and a call to create peace on earth.”
― Carol P. Christ, Rebirth of the Goddess: Finding Meaning in Feminist Spirituality

“Gradually, it began to dawn on me that the image of God as Father, Son and Spirit was at the root of the problem. No matter what I did, I would never be ¨in his image.¨ While I had hoped to find in God a father who would love and accept my female self, it seemed that ¨he,¨ like my father and most of my professors, liked boys better. I decided that unless we could call God Mother as well as Father, Daughter as well as Son, women and girls would never be valued.”
― Carol P. Christ, Rebirth of the Goddess: Finding Meaning in Feminist Spirituality

“Psychologist of religion Naomi Goldenberg has argued that a simple, basic, and fundamental lie must be maintained for patriarchy to function. This lie is the denial of the womb that gives us birth. The lie of patriarchy tells us that the Father is the only true parent. Its corollary is that whatever the father does is justified because he is the Father. Goldenberg argues that the lie of patriarchy is contrary to fact and experience. Everyone knows that it is the Mother who gives birth. There can be very little doubt about who the mother is, while the identity of the father can always be questioned. But if the lie of patriarchy is so obvious, why is it believed? Why doesn't the audience laugh when Apollo and Athena speak nonsense? Why have whole cultures believed that powerful women are monsters and dragons who must be slain because they are the source of sin and evil in the world? Goldenberg's answer is simple. We believe the patriarchal lie because it is 'performed,' repeated, reenacted, read, told, sung, and taught again and again in so many contexts that we finally accept it as true.”
― Carol P. Christ, Rebirth of the Goddess: Finding Meaning in Feminist Spirituality

“In Old Europe and other traditional cultures, white, the color of bone, was the color of death, whereas black, the color of earth and the womb, signified transformation and rebirth. The symbolism was reversed by Indo-Europeans. It is likely that the Indo-Europeans used the symbolism of light to justify their conquest of 'darker' peoples. And, as we have seen, one of the foundations of dualistic thinking is the notion that the 'light' of reason enables 'men' to transcend the 'dark' earth.
The contrast between Old European thinking and modern western thinking is sharply drawn when we understand the positive valuation of blackness as one of the primary symbols of the Goddess.”
― Carol P. Christ, Rebirth of the Goddess: Finding Meaning in Feminist Spirituality

“Visual images of the Goddesses stand in stark contrast to the image of God as an old white man, jarring us to question our culture's view that all legitimate power is male and that female power is dangerous and evil. The image of the naked Eve brazenly taking the apple from the serpent, then cowering in shame before a wrathful male God, tells us not only that female will is the source of all the evil in the universe, but also that the naked female body is part of the problem. This image communicates to the deep mind the message that female will and female nakedness must be controlled and punished by male authority. In contrast, the Goddesses show us that the female can be symbolic of all that is creative and powerful in the universe. The simplest and most profound meaning of the image of the Goddess is the legitimacy and goodness of female power, the female body, and female will.”
― Carol P. Christ, Rebirth of the Goddess: Finding Meaning in Feminist Spirituality

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― Carol P. Christ, Rebirth of the Goddess: Finding Meaning in Feminist Spirituality

“When exposed to the light of day, the belief that objectivity protects us against irrationality and chaos does not seem to be true.”
― Carol P. Christ, Rebirth of the Goddess: Finding Meaning in Feminist Spirituality

“Many feminist theologians and thealogians insist that the masculine images of God will not be transformed unless we can (also) imagine God as “she.” Jewish feminist theologian Judith Plaskow argues that we must learn to speak the name of the Goddess: “The deep resistance called forth by her naming indicates that the needs she answered are still with us. It is precisely because she is not distant that the goddess needs to be recognized as a part of God.” Unless and until the God we have known can (also) be called “Goddess,” the specter of the male God will still be with us...

...Images of the Goddess help to break the hold of “male control” that has shaped our images not only of God, but of all significant power in the universe. This insight of the Goddess, both verbal and visual, before it settles fully into the body and mind.”
― Carol P. Christ, Rebirth of the Goddess: Finding Meaning in Feminist Spirituality