Feminist Spirituality
Who are they really? Goddesses who have been forced into amnesia by primitive white men trying to keep them from their true potential. Feminism is in fact a spiritual movement based partly on reawakening of "goddess consciousness," and its real goal is matriarchy, not equality.
Consider the spiritual advice feminist O.H.P. Belmont gave one young woman: "Call on G-d my dear. She will help you." Another feminist, Rosalind Miles had her own version of the Genesis 1:1 account: "In the beginning, as humankind emerged from the darkness of prehistory, G-d was a woman. And what a woman!"
Gloria Steinem sounded the war cry, "We don't just want to destroy capitalism," she said, "we want to tear down the whole f____ patriarchy."
The ultimate symbol of the patriarchy is a male G-d - the Father. In response, feminists at the National Council of Churches pushed through a unisex version of the Bible in which G-d is "our father and mother in heaven."
New Age feminist and conference speaker Charlene Spretnak in her book, The Politics of Women's Spirituality, teaches that, according to one reviewer, "Goddess worship, paganism, Wicca, and witchcraft are all names for a form of natural religion that is centered around the mystery, sexuality, and psychic mysteries of the female. The book is a clarion call to women to regain their natural power and to overthrow the global rule of men. The author's starting point for the re-establishment of female dominance is in bringing an end to Judeo-Christian religion."
In her book Changing of the Gods, Naomi Goldenberg predicted that the continued feminist presence in religion would force a redefinition - one that would alter the very essence of Judeo-Christian belief. Goldenberg writes:
"Undoubtedly, many followers of new faiths will still cling to old labels. But a merely semantic veneer of tradition ought not to hide the fact that very nontraditional faith will be practiced ... The feminist movement in Western culture is engaged in the slow execution of Christ and Hashem. Yet very few of the women and men now working for sexual equality within Christianity and Judaism realize the extent of their heresy".
In her book Beyond G-d the Father, Mary Daly stated that "to exist humanly is to name the self, the world and G-d. The 'method' of the evolving spiritual consciousness of women is nothing less than this beginning to speak humanly - a reclaiming of the right to name." The right to name, the right to define, the right to give meaning, is at the heart of the feminist movement. Over the last decade, feminists have progressed from naming themselves - affirming and celebrating their differences from men - to naming their world - affirming and celebrating female contributions to society and religious life - to now naming G-d - affirming and celebrating what we as gendered people consider to be feminine aspects of the divine.