Fiona said -
You're quite right here; offhand I can't think of a single society in
which the Earth *isn't* seen as feminine
Actually quite a few middle-eastern civilisations had a male earth god, and a female sky god. An example is the ancient Egyptians (where they were called Geb and Nut respectively).Both Saturn and Mars were originally male earth gods. And I have read some very persuasive stuff that one of the two or three tribal gods who were amalgamated to create Yahweh was an earth/fertility god. And remember the Israelites created the golden calf in honour of 'the queen of heaven' - i.e. a female sky god. While many of Yahweh's totemic symbols, such as pomegranates, lambs and doves, were originally mother earth symbols. It's a highly complex area, and I think masculinity and femininity of deities swapped about more than people imagine, and gods 'stole' from each other.
It is also sometimes forgotten that in northern European religion the sun was a goddess and the moon a god, while in southern Europe it was of course the other way round.
Alison
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----- Original Message ----- From: Alison Page alison_page@becta.org.uk
Fiona said -
You're quite right here; offhand I can't think of a single society in
which the Earth *isn't* seen as feminine
Actually quite a few middle-eastern civilisations had a male earth god,
and
a female sky god. An example is the ancient Egyptians (where they were called Geb and Nut respectively).Both Saturn and Mars were originally male earth gods. And I have read some very persuasive stuff that one of the two or three tribal gods who were amalgamated to create Yahweh was an earth/fertility god. And remember the Israelites created the golden calf
in
honour of 'the queen of heaven' - i.e. a female sky god. While many of Yahweh's totemic symbols, such as pomegranates, lambs and doves, were originally mother earth symbols. It's a highly complex area, and I think masculinity and femininity of deities swapped about more than people imagine, and gods 'stole' from each other.
OK, thanks, I stand corrected. In my defense I will only say it's been a few years since my last course on comparative religion-- glad that someone out there is familiar with the evidence. Though I'm kicking myself for not remembering about the Egyptians.
It is also sometimes forgotten that in northern European religion the sun was a goddess and the moon a god, while in southern Europe it was of
course
the other way round.
True, and I seem to recall that the Chinese also have a male moon god (though other people probably know better than I...) Actually, we're on that subject, can anybody think of a god who isn't either male or female? I can't, off the top of my head, except a vague recollection that the Hebrew word translated as "God" in the King James Version of Genesis I is actually plural (which still doesn't make it neuter, and my recollection may not be accurate...)
ObB7: I mean gods in the B7 universe too.
Fiona
The Posthumous Memoirs of Secretary Rontane Available for public perusal at http://nyder.r67.net
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--- Fiona Moore nydersdyner@yahoo.co.uk wrote: >
Actually, we're on that subject, can anybody think of a god who isn't either male or female? I can't, off the top of my head, except a vague recollection that the Hebrew word translated as "God" in the King James Version of Genesis I is actually plural (which still doesn't make it neuter, and my recollection may not be accurate...)
You could make a very respectable case for the Christian deity ! Certainly, once you start envisaging God as having "neither body, parts nor passions" it tends to militate against God having any sex/gender. This hasn't of course stopped people referring to God as "he". I think feminist theologians would argue that this is a hangover from patriarchy rather than saying anything about God's nature.
I would guess that most deities are given personal attributes which would include sex/ gender. As always I am open to correction from anyone who knows different. (Did Plato refer to God as "He", I can't remember off the top of my head).
ObB7: I mean gods in the B7 universe too.
The Clone Masters venerate "Life". I suppose it could be argued that Life has taken the place of God in their world view.
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