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When God Had a Wife
- The Fall and Rise of the Sacred Feminine in the Judeo-Christian Tradition
- Narrated by: Theresa Windmann
- Length: 12 hrs and 38 mins
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When God Had a Wife
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Publisher's Summary
Reveals the tradition of goddess worship in early Judaism and how Jesus attempted to restore the feminine side of the faith
- Provides historical and archaeological evidence for an earlier form of Hebrew worship with both male and female gods, including a 20th-century discovery of a Hebrew temple dedicated to both Yahweh and the warrior goddess Anat
- Explores the Hebrew pantheon of goddesses, including Yahweh’s wife, Asherah, goddess of fertility and childbirth
- Shows how both Jesus and his great rival Simon Magus were attempting to restore the ancient, goddess-worshipping religion of the Israelites
Despite what Jews and Christians - and indeed most people - believe, the ancient Israelites venerated several deities besides the Old Testament god Yahweh, including the goddess Asherah, Yahweh’s wife, who was worshipped openly in the Jerusalem Temple. After the reforms of King Josiah and Prophet Jeremiah, the religion recognized Yahweh alone, and history was rewritten to make it appear that it had always been that way. The worship of Asherah and other goddesses was now heresy, and so the status of women was downgraded and they were blamed for God’s wrath.
However, as Lynn Picknett and Clive Prince reveal, the spiritual legacy of the Jewish goddesses and the Sacred Feminine lives on. Drawing on historical research, they examine how goddess worship thrived in early Judaism and included a pantheon of goddesses. They share new evidence for an earlier form of Hebrew worship that prayed to both male and female gods, including a 20th-century archaeological discovery of a Hebrew temple dedicated to both Yahweh and the goddess Anat. Uncovering the Sacred Feminine in early Christianity, the authors show how, in the first century AD, both Jesus and his great rival, Simon Magus, were attempting to restore the goddess-worshipping religion of the Israelites. The authors reveal how both men accorded great honor to the women they adored and who traveled with them as priestesses, Jesus’s Mary Magdalene and Simon’s Helen. But, as had happened centuries before, the Church rewrote history to erase the feminine side of the faith, deliberately ignoring Jesus’s real message and again condemning women to marginalization and worse.
Providing all the necessary evidence to restore the goddess to both Judaism and Christianity, Picknett and Prince expose the disastrous consequences of the suppression of the feminine from these two great religions and reveal how we have been collectively and instinctively craving the return of the Sacred Feminine for millennia.
What the critics say
“A book that blows the lid off one of the most ancient cover-ups in the world--the existence of a feminine deity every bit as important as the masculine Yahweh. This is a book that all should read--it is powerful, thought-provoking, and wonderfully contentious. The scholarship of the writers is evident on every page. So read on and be prepared to be astounded and diverted. Your world may never look the same again.” (John Matthews, coauthor of Temples of the Grail and The Lost Book of the Grail)
“Lynn Picknett and Clive Prince are two of the most important history writers of modern times. They build a compelling case for the veneration of the goddess alongside the religion of Yahweh among the ancient Israelites and how its persistence lingered through to the age of Jesus. A page-turning read from start to finish.” (Andrew Collins, author of The Cygnus Key and Göbekli Tepe)
“Picknett and Prince, long known for profoundly unsettling religious and historical revelations, have excelled themselves with this story of the little-known Israelite goddesses--their rise, fall, and, unexpectedly, their rise again. But now we are also faced with another deeply uncomfortable cover-up--that of the priestesses who celebrated the goddess even from within Christ’s own circle. A major book and a gripping read.” (Graham Phillips, author of The Virgin Mary Conspiracy)
What listeners say about When God Had a Wife
Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance1 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Natalie B
- 2020-11-30
Good book, lacklustre narrator..
Very much enjoyed the writing and the information in this book. The narrator is stiff, lacks expression, mispronounces many things and her phrasing is off. This pulled me out of the narration on several occasions, which is distracting.
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance2 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Chelsea Patterson
- 2021-10-13
The audio was shit
When God Had a Wife: The Fall and Rise of the Sacred Feminine in the Judeo-Christian Tradition by Clive Prince and Lynn Picknett
Is a curious book. A long very drawn out but well argued book, it details the background, religious, archeological, and academic evidence to support the ever present need and worship of a sacred feminine.
Unfortunately, like with many feminist books or book focusing on the feminine/ or a woman, it talks an awful lot about masculine and men.
For example they spoke about Simon and Helen a cult focused on Helen being the divine wisdom in human form. But they speak so much about Simon Magus, his background, his history, his run ins with Jesus, or the disciples that one forgets there is a Helen at all. I even forgot her name and had to look it up for this review.
This is true for Mary Magdalen too. Speaking so much of Peters hatred for her and of other writings talking about her instead of using text from her gospel.
The Virgin Mary is left to the epilogue which to be honest is what saves the book. The epilogue is brilliant. And packs so much in it’s a shame it isn’t sprinkled about or has a few chapter of its own.
The rest is iffy when compared.
The Judeo section is pitiful. Except for the talk of the Asherah which was very interesting. A lot more time was devoted to Yahweh and Elohim that about this supposed spouse of god.
None the less it is an interesting read, if only it would have gone through some editing or footnoting for non-divine feminine back story.
It glossed over what would be important parts like why Virgin Mary was venerated, or the female in Kabbalah, and the need to retain an acceptable sacred feminine. And often refers to women or female divinity in terms of their being a possession from the man or male divinity. Simon’s Helen, Christ’s Mary, Osiris’ Isis.
That annoyed me greatly. Calling out misogyny in church leaders ie. Peter and Paul does not mean the authors can go on speak of woman solely in relationship to men in their lives. A point they often show as a tactic to down play the role of powerful woman. Yet the others do the same.
This book is great for those that want a more in-depth historical lesson on the founding of the Christian churches, on female cults, and are interested in why sometimes are highlighted over others and the impacts it has on society.
Note: the audio version has some issues in sync-up, “standardize” pronunciation, and volume.
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