Uncle Orson Reviews 1998
Religion
Richard R. Hopkins, How Greek Philosophy Corrupted the Christian
Concept of God (Horizon, 1998, 464pp hc). See review under "My
Favorites of 1998" above.
Raphael Patai, The Hebrew Goddess (Wayne State University Press,
1967/1978/1990, 368pp pb). I read this as research for Sarah, which
meant that the material on kabbalistic views of a feminine deity or aspect
of God were irrelevant to me. But this prefeminist treatment of female
deities in Jewish life during the biblical era was eye-opening and very
helpful. He takes no mother-goddess-vs.-the-patriarchal-skygod
position; his purpose is merely to explore the degree to which goddesses
and female aspects of deity persisted in Judaism. I knew that the statue
of a goddess had stood in Solomon's temple in Jerusalem under some of
the later kings, but had not realized (though I should have) what this
implied -- that there had to be some kind of mythos that allowed this
deity to take her place beside YHWH in the state religion of the Judaic
kings.
Noel B. Reynolds, ed., Book of Mormon Authorship Revisited: The Evidence
for Ancient Origins (Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon
Studies, 1997, 574pp hc $19.95). I reviewed this at great length in a
supplement to a recent issue of my LDS newsletter Vigor, q.v. at
www.nauvoo.com.
http://www.hatrack.com/osc/reviews/reviews98/religion.shtml
