Merlin Stone
Encyclopedia
Merlin Stone was an author, sculptor, and professor of art and art history. She is best-known for her book, When God Was a Woman
.
and ancient religions from her study of ancient art. She taught at the State University of New York at Buffalo. From 1958 to 1967 she worked as a sculptor, exhibiting widely and executing numerous commissions.
She spent a decade on research before writing the book published in the UK as The Paradise Papers and then in the U.S. as When God Was a Woman
(1976). It describes her theory of how the Hebrews suppressed goddess worshipping religions practiced in Canaan
and how their reaction to what she asserts as being the existing matriarchial
and matrilineal societal structures shaped Judaism
and, thus, Christianity
.
Her other major work, Ancient Mirrors of Womanhood, collects stories, myths, and prayers involving goddess-figures from a wide variety of world religions, ancient and otherwise. Stone's hypotheses are radical and challenging to the accepted views of antiquity. She is the author of numerous short stories, book reviews, and essays, including 3,000 Years of Racism.
Stone's book When God Was a Woman
had a profound effect on the emerging Goddess Culture of the 1970s and 1980s in the US.
When God Was a Woman
When God Was a Woman is the U.S. title of a 1976 book by sculptor and art historian Merlin Stone. It was published earlier in the UK as The Paradise Papers: The Suppression of Women's Rites...
.
Biography
Merlin Stone became interested in archaeologyArchaeology
Archaeology, or archeology , is the study of human society, primarily through the recovery and analysis of the material culture and environmental data that they have left behind, which includes artifacts, architecture, biofacts and cultural landscapes...
and ancient religions from her study of ancient art. She taught at the State University of New York at Buffalo. From 1958 to 1967 she worked as a sculptor, exhibiting widely and executing numerous commissions.
She spent a decade on research before writing the book published in the UK as The Paradise Papers and then in the U.S. as When God Was a Woman
When God Was a Woman
When God Was a Woman is the U.S. title of a 1976 book by sculptor and art historian Merlin Stone. It was published earlier in the UK as The Paradise Papers: The Suppression of Women's Rites...
(1976). It describes her theory of how the Hebrews suppressed goddess worshipping religions practiced in Canaan
Canaan
Canaan is a historical region roughly corresponding to modern-day Israel, Palestine, Lebanon, and the western parts of Jordan...
and how their reaction to what she asserts as being the existing matriarchial
Matriarchy
A matriarchy is a society in which females, especially mothers, have the central roles of political leadership and moral authority. It is also sometimes called a gynocratic or gynocentric society....
and matrilineal societal structures shaped Judaism
Judaism
Judaism ) is the "religion, philosophy, and way of life" of the Jewish people...
and, thus, Christianity
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
.
Her other major work, Ancient Mirrors of Womanhood, collects stories, myths, and prayers involving goddess-figures from a wide variety of world religions, ancient and otherwise. Stone's hypotheses are radical and challenging to the accepted views of antiquity. She is the author of numerous short stories, book reviews, and essays, including 3,000 Years of Racism.
Stone's book When God Was a Woman
When God Was a Woman
When God Was a Woman is the U.S. title of a 1976 book by sculptor and art historian Merlin Stone. It was published earlier in the UK as The Paradise Papers: The Suppression of Women's Rites...
had a profound effect on the emerging Goddess Culture of the 1970s and 1980s in the US.
Books
- The Paradise Papers: The Suppression of Women's Rites
- When God Was a WomanWhen God Was a WomanWhen God Was a Woman is the U.S. title of a 1976 book by sculptor and art historian Merlin Stone. It was published earlier in the UK as The Paradise Papers: The Suppression of Women's Rites...
- Ancient Mirrors of Womanhood
- Ancient Mirrors of Womanhood, Volume 2
- 3000 Years of Racism