I’ve made a conscience effort to truly contemplate and study
story of women this month since it is nationally recognized as Women’s History Month. I expanded my studies beyond just
recent feminist history, which in my opinion is a definite highlight of our history to this point, to include our history since
start of written record. However, this was not as easy as it would seem since
vast majority of surviving records are his-story and are very short on
details of her-story. In an attempt to keep women “in their place,” those who have followed
Judeo-Christian religions destroyed most records of
significance of women in early history. This is clearly seen in
Bible when numerous times
Jews are told to “completely destroy
nations” who worshiped these other gods, of which many were actually goddesses.
It’s significant, I think, that at one point in history females shared
title of divinity with males – and at times reigned as
sole divinity. This part of our history shows woman in all her glory, not as
fallen creature of
Bible who must forever submit to a subservient position to
man because she supposedly ate a forbidden fruit and coerced him to do
same.
It’s time
truth was known. Not
presupposed “truth” garnered from what we have always been told is reality. That reality is severely lacking in
other half of
story. We see reality as we have always been taught to see it. If someone teaches me from young that a certain color is blue, and subsequently others then reinforce that teaching in my family, community, church, government, school, etc. – then I will believe
color is actually blue.
But what if they are all wrong? What if blue is really yellow but no one wants to challenge
errant teaching because
one who said it was blue in
first place claimed to be speaking on behalf of God? In
end though, just because everyone believes this color to blue does not make it indeed blue. In fact, it is still yellow.
That is exactly what has happened in feminine history. Only this teaching has gone so long without being challenged, for fear of being ostracized or even at times killed, that it is now accepted as truth. In
process
real truth has been lost.