Radical Goddess Thealogy - A Woman's Holy War?

Radical Goddess Thealogy:

Sisters Athana and Lisa have posed this question:

"In her comment about yesterday's post, Lisa asked: 'I wonder how many centuries before us Goddess worshippers get so frustrated with 'patriarchy' that we become obsessive pseudo-Athena/Diana huntresses or something. What would a Goddess-worshipper holy war/crusade be like?'

Very interesting question!

I'll answer with more questions:

Would it be best to call such a conflict a holy war, a crusade, or a revolution? Or would that make any difference? (I'm reading Van Tyne's The Loyalists in the American Revolution....)

Could, should and would we get men to join us in battle?

What would happen if we didn't or couldn't interest men in joining our side? Could women win such a war alone?

Would such a war (or revolution) necessarily need to be violent, or could we win with something non-violent?

Could Ghandi teach us anything?

What if we were fairly certain we had only two choices: a Goddess Holy War, or the annihilation of the human species. Would kind of power and energy might that give us? Give others?

What if at least 50% of the world truly understood, on a deep-gut level, that before God the Father, during God-the-Mother times, we humans lacked war, violence, poverty, slavery, social divisions, hierarchy, hunger, and ennui -- all the stuff that's killing us now, and making life almost unbearable for many in our human global family. What kind of power might that realization give us? Give others?

Would, could and should this be a global war?

How could the internet be used? I have no answers to any of these questions. Just throwing them out. But Lisa -- great question. Thanks!"

Excellent topic for discussion. I would prefer the term 'Reawakening' to Revolution, but it may come to that anyway. Men typically behave with violence when women start to assert themselves as people. Just look at the trolls that pester us on line.

I've said before that I believe the key to moving in that direction is getting people to really grok the Gaia Hypothesis. Once people get that the Universe, the Earth within her, and Earth's own Nature, are a distinctly female organism of which we are only a part, then it gets easier for people to call Her Goddess.

We wouldn't have to call for a Holy War - we'd get one no matter how non-violent our approach. Should men join us in battle? No.
I'm sorry to say that, but on a collective level, their loyalties would be against us, and they couldn't be trusted.

Women would have to win the "war" on their own, but violence would only be necessary at the end, when the men realized there was no other way to oppose us. We could absolutely do it alone.

The only thing men control is money and political power. The world works on this value system because it is built to exploit the work of women for the benefit of the power structure. When we refuse to allow our reproduction to be controlled, or our sexuality limited, they lose a valuable resource. When we stop working for their benefit, the world grinds to a halt.

I think women need to call a general strike to emphasize that we won't accept any compromise on Roe v. Wade. Imagine if every pro-choice woman didn't go to work on the same three days. What would that do to the economy? What would it do to the stock market? The airlines? Business offices? Local governments? Hospitals? Schools? It is completely within our power to bring this culture to its knees without firing a shot. All that is needed is solidarity. There would naturally be some "male-identified" females of the conservative ilk, but if you look at the demographics, they are going to be a much older, wealthier group that contributes to the power structure anyway.

Quote: ""What if we were fairly certain we had only two choices: a Goddess Holy War, or the annihilation of the human species. Would kind of power and energy might that give us? Give others? "
IF?!?! We're there, ladies. We've got followers of Yahweh determined to bring on Armaggedon in the White House and they've got nukes. They're decimating the environment because they intend to make sure there's no future to plan for. Look at this drastic weather we are having - deforestation, ocean drilling, global warming, ice caps melting, North Atlantic current in danger. Earthquakes, tsunamis, hurricanes are all setting records. Killer heat waves, tornadoes where they've never had them before, drought, floods, famine. Genocide in Africa and a plague on the planet. It may already be too late. Gaia may have to wipe out the human race to save herself. I don't believe we have an option but to call on Women to act as one.

"What if at least 50% of the world truly understood, on a deep-gut level, that before God the Father, during God-the-Mother times, we humans lacked war, violence, poverty, slavery, social divisions, hierarchy, hunger, and ennui -- all the stuff that's killing us now, and making life almost unbearable for many in our human global family. What kind of power might that realization give us? Give others?

That's a huge, but necessary leap. That's why we have to educate our readers in the concept of Matriarchy and in the true Herstory of the planet. When people realize that the violence and greed that are so admired in the culture of men is NOT a natural part of the human condition, change becomes possible.

People think they are violent by "Nature". Nature doesn't include senseless violence. Animals kill to eat, not for pleasure. Only males compete for position in the wild, but they don't all do that. There have been human cultures, like the Tasaday tribe, who never conceived of violence - when they were discovered, they didn't know what violence was. It would take a few generations, but we could get back to that in a Goddess culture.

It should absolutely be a global war. It may have to start with us, but women everywhere would rise up when they saw it working. There are more of us than there are men, but we have to remember that some countries have a genocide against women. There are 5 million fewer women than there normally would be in India and China because female fetuses are being aborted. If that is allowed to continue or spread, we will all be nothing but slaves.

"How could the internet be used?" Education. Networking. Sharing information, organizing actions. This is the tool we've been waiting for - it allows us to reach out from our isolation, to connect with other Goddess women, to bring the Goddess up from the collective unconscious into full blown consciousness. How we start is giving the Goddess Her props.

For example, Beliefnet claims to represent all religions, yet the quiz on their site is completely male-centric. Everytime we see the word 'Goddess' we need to insist that it be capitalized; we need to object when panels on TV claim to be diverse when everyone on them practices a patriarchal religion. We need to object when the word "religion" is used to signify generic Christianity. We need to point out that some of us don't pray to males.

These are all small things, but they are part of an overall assumption that maleness and monotheism is "normal." By demanding equal time, we become part of the dialogue, and we begin to affect the culture.

Another thing that is going to be necessary is for the "feminist movement" to stop being embarassed by talk of the Goddess. We can't allow our sisters to continue to marginalize us. There has to be room for women's religion in the women's movement or it's a fraud.

Solidarity. That's the key.