From the Mother Goddess to God the Father

Abstract

With these words the Apostle John emphasizes an idea central to the Old Testament myth of the Creation — the power of the word or Logos. Although the first verse of the Book of Genesis states simply, ‘In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth’, each stage in the act of creation is represented as a verbal fiat, bringing form and meaning where there had been only formlessness and void: ‘And God said, Let there be light: and there was light’ (Genesis 1.3). The divine spirit is manifest in the Word — to be set down in the Bible — as well as in his creation. This association of divine power and verbal authority has been profoundly significant for Western culture. For women in particular, this element in the Judaeo-Christian tradition has been critical in shaping Western understanding of femininity and sexual difference.

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

(John 1.1)