Hi all,

I've been wondering: why do you think feminism, strong women, and the Divine feminine are so threatening to religion? To certain people (not just men)? What is the core of this fear?

If we're all made in the image and likeness of God, it stands to reason that, although God may be formless, all is somehow an expression of the Divine. What is it about women that offends so?

With the popularity of The DaVinci Code and Elaine Pagels' books (among others), the Divine feminine is entering the collective conscious in a powerful way. What are the ripples of this influence, do you think?

I'd love to hear your thoughts!

Hi again.... *delurking* Was just browsing the forums after being gone for a while and came across this topic. First off, I LOVED the DaVinci Code. It gave me a chance to see the origional Christians in a better light than I have in the last few years (as a former baptist, now blossoming Witch). A former Catholic (now Witch) friend had mentioned Mary Magdalene as the Divine Feminine, but it never really clicked with me till I read The Davinci Code.

Anyway, I really am reluctant to try to express my opinion of why men (or, most of society in general) are so scared of the Divine Feminine and the Strong Woman. I do want to recommend a book, though, that explores it quite extensively. It's called _Beauty Bites Beast: Awakening the Warrior within Women and Girls_, by Ellen Snortland. In it she makes the case for a return to the honoring of Women as a source of the Divine, and a World Power in their (our) own right. She also argues that Human Woman is the ONLY female creature in this world that has developed the lack of ability to defend herself in the face of adversity, and that if we just return to what we were meant to be, we will be able to accomplish so much more, because we won't be afraid to stick up for ourselves, to kick rapists in the balls, and to tell crude construction workers we don't appreciate (and will not tolerate) their rude comments. Anyway, a fantastic book.

My own personal view on why men are so scared to acknowledge the Divine Feminine????? Because they are truly the Sheep that are mentioned in the bible. Paul (a seriously mysoginistic man if there ever was one), who was considered one of the foremost "shephards" of the Christian faith did little at all to include women as a real part of the "flock" that he ministered to. Instead, they were there to provide for his (and men's, in general) needs. But anyway, Men are the origional sheep. The main reason MOST of them nowadays are so scared of the Divine Feminine is not because they truly understand what it is they are afraid of (or, shouldn't be afraid of), but because their Dads, their Grandpas, every man, in every book (up till recently) that they've ever read has maligned the Divine Feminine, making Witch a bad word.

Origionally, I think it was probably a few men who saw a woman with more power than they had, so they spread rumors about her. And those rumors spread, ruining that woman, making a spot for a man to take her place. And more men saw that they could be in power if they could just get the women out of power so they spread rumors about her character, about her spirit, about her role in society. Eventually it was probably the "cool thing to do" and before long WE were believing it of ourselves and trampling the few women who weren't willing to be held down. It's mob-mentality, the men are the sheep in most of the cases. But women allowed themselves to go from Mama Bear, to sheep themselves, or at the very most to lioness who provides first for the Head Lion, before taking her own share.

Just somewhere along the way, we were tricked, blinded, and lied to. We need to open our eyes, and open the eyes of the men in our lives that we are STRONG, CAPABLE, POWERFUL, and DIVINE. That we will not suffer rape, muffling, or belitting.

Blessings. --Kati

women who think for themselves are always a threat to the establishment -- it's our duty to be so

Anything that bucks the status quo is a threat. Sexism, male dominance, rigid gender roles, etc. have been in our culture for so long that they are the status quo. They're so pervasive that most people don't even notice. Even those of us who are trying to be more conscious and fight it can fall back into it from time to time. It's hard to change something so pervasive and deeply embedded in the culture everywhere you go.

Most everyone knows me....lol....but I DO have some thoughts about the divine feminine...

When I read about Mary Magdeline in the Bible, I see a woman who realized her worth in the world. After being used and abused by members of the general population (speculative opinion) , she was forgiven and then appreciated by Jesus. She was one of the first that he spoke with after the resurrection, if not THE first, and she was present during alot of his teachings....He included her, she was not relegated to the back of the line. I've also read about her in the Gnostic writings (because I was curious) and found the remnants of a strong character and good heart. She was forgiven and relished that gift from God. She recognized that forgivness was the key to her transformation. The conversations that she had with Jesus and then later wrote about, were for her especially, another example of the personalization of Christ for women.

As for some men in our society today, I think strong women with life experience and wisdom challenge men. I see it with my own husband and son. I am not a competitive person, but they compete with me alot. They compete with me over who is smarter and who is faster or who is stronger. Some times my own worth gets lost in the shuffle and I have to remember that they thrive on competition, I don't. In my opinion, it's the "mommy" thing. Some boys are raised nowadays in female-lead households primarily so the only person whose authority they have to rebel against is mom. I think it carries over into their relationships with women when they grow up. I see that in my marriage with my husband. His mother was over-bearing and domineering. She was the end all be all for determining his manhood. So when I demonstrate my strength attributes, my husbands first response is to rebel. He comes around when he is caught off-guard by my acknowledgement of his intellect. That's something he didn't get as a child from his mother. He was used to having to fight for it and prove it. As an equal partner with him, I am free to encourage his thoughts and opinions and the expressions thereof. As for strange men who are just rude....well,...I usually firmly yet kindly ask them to apologize or just ignore them.

I don't need a shield or sword to fight with. My warrior spirit is driven by the Holy Spirit that has taught me that submission is not self-defacement. I as a woman have worth in the eyes of Jesus. I have also learned that respect is not tolerance...I am not respecting anyone else if I am condoning behavior that is not right. Being rude or coarse is not "acting right " to me and I feel no shame in letting those around me know that I don't appreciate their rude abrasive behavior. Male or Female.

I've recently finished reading a wonderful book on the topic. It's a book written by a Russian author called Michail Lezhepekov, and the name of the book is "Sophia's Repentance". The author provides a very deep analysis of St. John's Apocryphe (hope the spelling is right!), the book not included in the conventional Bible, which describes the Creation in detail and explains perfectly well all the inconcistencies of the first chapters in the Old Testament. This book told me a lot about the Divine Feminine, whom the author calls Sophia, or God's Wisdom. According to St. John (or, it is better to say, to Christ, for it is Jesus's revelation that constitutes the major part of the Apocryphe), Sophia played the leading role in the creation of this world, and She was the one to send Jesus to us. The author gives an impressive list of theologists and philosophers who have been studying the nature of Sophia, and also tells a lot of amazing things about how Sophia was worshipped by early Christians and, as it seems, by people of almost every other religion in the world! The ancient ones had faith in the Divine Feminine, but later their faith and awe were destroyed by men wanting to rule the world alone. After all, male priests were the ones to choose, which writings were to constitute the Bible. No wonder there is no sign of St. John's Apocryphe or Mary's Gospel in it! I believe this was a cruel and cunning war, and it is still going on. Only when men realize, that a man and a woman are two parts of one Holy being, will this world become a blessed place to live in. ButI don't really know how this might happen, after centuries of propaganda... And it's still much more convenient for men to have all the power to themselves and continue to control a significant part of women with the help of absurd stereotypes, isn't it?
Love,
Elena

Aren't we forgetting Lilith? Forgive me for being wrong if I am...but she was made of dust like Adam, Adam didn't like the fact that she was equal to him and asked for another woman. This being Eve who was made from one of his ribs, thus making her part of him and inferior.
Another thing that makes women offending is the fact that we carry the means of rebirth. Also known as menses. Which according to the creation story was gifted to us by God as a punishment for defying him and eating from the tree of knowledge.

Of course, feminism, strong women and the Divine Feminine constitute change. People on a whole aren't really fans of change. However, the only certainty in life is that change will happen.

Wendy

The ripples of influence are Wellness.

There are dogmas here, and there, about how women shouldn't transcend their rolls as child bearers.

I think as you stated Janet, the Divine feminine is entering the collective consciousness. In my humble opinion sharing this simple fact and examples, as you just did, starts the old brains rolling along in the best way.

Since you asked to hear my thoughts he he..

Leading by example as you do is the best solution. Highlighting achievements of women that will inspire and educate others - beyond their conditioning.

A pop song about a woman transcending other people's limited thinking and succeeding without any problems at all for anyone. That would help the collective conscious by giving a chant, catchy melody, inspiration to people.

Thank you for the opportunity to share my ideas! :kiss:

Love and light being, Teo :beamedup: :beamedup:

Hello all,

Wow, what thought provoking insights! I'm still pondering and digesting, myself. I appreciate you all taking the time to share your thoughts about this subject, as well as how it impacts individuals and society itself. Feel free to post more book recommendations on this topic, as well as additional insights. I'll be sure to do the same as they come to me. <img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

In my eyes, it is mostly a political thing. Men took over many millenia ago. They want to keep that power, and any strong women poses a threat to that.

I think we are slowly but surely over coming that...

Why Is The Divine Feminine A Threat?

The answer is simple; It's not! A lot of people (Some women as well as men) have trouble adapting to this changing world!

In India, a very large population considers god as Shakti- a woman.Not less than 10 crore people in India and india belive strongly in Shakti.

off the topic but who is Lilith? and Sophia?

Sophia I have no idea who she is, Lilith is Adam's (of Adam and Eve fame) first wife. However, she defied Adam and was banished from Eden. I'm sure that someone else here can give you a full on explanation but I am only aware of the the 'Cliff's notes' version.

Sophia is Divine Wisdom. In some traditions she takes the place of the Holy Spirit (who is also Divine Wisdom) in the Trinity.

It's all power and conditioning. With time, we can make a change through our children. Once little girls know it's okay to be assertive (not aggressive) and intelligent, that they hold value just as themselves, not because what man they are with. And to teach little boys the value of girls, mothers, sisters. I just think men like being on top and want to keep it that way... but nothing lasts forever. Once upon a time Rome fell. Male dominated religions are only a couple of thousand years old. Not so long in the bigger scheme of things. Worshipping the feminie devine lasted many thousands of years before that. It will come back or hopefully something equally feminine and masculine will come in its place.

The ripples of influence are Wellness.

There are dogmas here, and there, about how women shouldn't transcend their rolls as child bearers.

I think as you stated Janet, the Divine feminine is entering the collective consciousness. In my humble opinion sharing this simple fact and examples, as you just did, starts the old brains rolling along in the best way.

Leading by example as you do is the best solution. Highlighting achievements of women that will inspire and educate others - beyond their conditioning.]

Hear, Hear! Excellent post! I agree.
Everyone has heard the old saying what is good for the goose is good for the gander. Well if you ask the goose most of the time he doesn't agree. Why's that? It has long been my personal opinion that men deep down without realizing it remeber when women were worshiped and honored. The Divine Feminine was the main deity. Women in general were revered as life bringers, the held the positions of power. So that nowdays when women do things that not only threaten the male dominant role in society, but going even deeper do things that diminish themselves in the eyes of the men it upsets the men. Men (most men)are used to holding women in high regard and when the pedstal is knocked out from under the woman it like I said upsets them. Opening doors, stopping to help a lady change a tire, etc, they may tell themselves it is because women are weak or incapable, but really I think it goes back to Goddess worship and honoring women. But of course that's just my opinion.

If you would like accurate and researched reasons for why women strike fear in men, read
"Mysogyny - The World's Oldest Prejudice".This book has been discussed elsewhere on this forum, but it is certainly worth mentioning and reading.

Incidentally, the author is Male. His name is Jack Holland. His daughter had the book published posthumously, and had to tackle 9 Publishing houses before one had the courage to 'Publish and be damned....'

Quite the most brilliant, unbiased, factual and explanatory book I have ever read on the subject.

It's all tied in with "environmentalism"
indigenous peoples seen by patriarchal/ colonial mindset as substandard and exterminated
women abused and exploited and their children ignored/ expoited and left for dead
ripping up the dirt for the bounty beneath and leaving the rest to rot
these are all signs of the sickness that a male dominated society can produce when it has no respect for the other half-the other part of it's own- male and female are spereate energies, but each must respect and allow for the other in balance <img src="/images/graemlins/beamedup.gif" alt="" />