Something that has really been stirring in me for the last while is this notion that the Bible is a “holy” text. I know that this is considered some pretty serious blasphemy, so bear with me for a moment.
I’ve no doubt that some of what is in the Bible is indeed holy. My heart truly believes that Jesus was an incredible man and that what he said (when it is properly translated and accurately delivered) is truly pretty darn sacred.
But butted up next to him and within the same two covers is a whole lot of trauma-inducing, misogynistic, and oppressive asshattery.
I know a lot of women (and likely men) who have been seriously harmed by the “holiness” of a lot of the stories and beliefs codified within those covers. Coveted and “sacred” stories of women being given away by fathers to be raped and enslaved, women being treated as chattel, women being denigrated at every turn. (As one example, a quick scan of Deuteronomy will give you a glimpse into what has been programmed into our experience.)
Through those pages, we learn that we are devalued compared to men, that we are dirty and that we are shameful. We are told we are the cause of the downfall of man and that we are evil.
Some scholars believe that the earliest authors of the Old Testament, which was likely written over a span of hundreds of years, could have started writing it in the 10th century BCE. That was 3,000 years ago! This means that about 500 years after the first raids of those who followed the thunder god had instituted a dominating patriarchal society, they put pen to paper to codify their shitty treatment of women.
It also means that even though we live in a completely different world now, we are still undergirded by words that were scribed at a time when overturning the goddess religions of the Neolithic and earlier periods was a top priority.
And while they did this, they intentionally set out to take the prevailing goddess stories and pervert them by turning them on their head and turning what was sacred to the goddess into something to be hated and feared.
Their goal was to dominate. Their goal was to oppress.
And what better way to do that than through the use of propaganda. Enter the “holy” scriptures.
For up to 3,000 years, those of us raised in societies that are dominated by the monotheistic religions that formed within this 1000-ish year period have been fed the narrative that women are dirty, devious, and shameful and it’s been done under the guise of being God’s holy word.
What little place women had in religion was not one to be envied, for sure.
Part of the healing that happened for me when I started working with the divine feminine was that I could finally not only see myself in a truly holy way, but I I felt myself welcomed to that experience in love.
The divine feminine, the goddess, initiated a re-membering for me. That re-membrance is a weaving that instills: I am holy. I am powerful. I am grace. I am loved.
And it allows me to perceive and know a world in which all of goddess’ children are loved and honored. It brings me back to me and it also brings me back to you.
We are special. We do matter. Our voices matter, our expression matters, our healing matters.
THAT is holy, that is life-affirming, and that is of the divine.
While I don’t expect anyone to take that word off of the Bible anytime soon, I do believe that when more of us question the propaganda, we open our own souls to healing, which is something I’m sure Jesus and any deity would want for us.
Lots of love,
Janet
