Men of patriarchal cultures have been committing heinous acts in the name of their God ever since they created a god for themselves. It seems that the earlier, goddess-oriented, nature-centered religions were far less cruel.
Interpretation
This quote critiques the violent tendencies of patriarchal religions compared to earlier goddess-based beliefs.
Barbara G. Walker's quote suggests that patriarchal religions have historically promoted violence and cruelty, often justifying heinous acts in the name of a male deity. In contrast, she posits that earlier, nature-centered religions that honored the feminine were less associated with such brutality, implying that the nature of the deity influences the moral implications of the beliefs.
In practice
During a panel discussion on gender and religion, this quote can illustrate the conversation about the role of women in spiritual narratives.
In short, no pattern is an isolated entity. Each pattern can exist in the world only to the extent that is supported by other patterns: the larger patterns in which it is embedded, the patterns of the same size that surround it, and the smaller patterns which are embedded in it.
Thoughts are universally and not individually rooted; a truth cannot be created, but only perceived. The erroneous thoughts of man result from imperfections in his discernment. The goal of Yoga Science is to calm the mind, that without distortion it may mirror the Divine vision in the Universe.
As long as men are free to ask what they must, free to say what they think, free to think what they will, freedom can never be lost and science can never regress.
We have associations to things. We have, you know, we have associations to tables and to - and to dogs and to cats and to Harvard professors, and that's the way the mind works. It's an association machine.
The sacredness, if there is any, is all in yourself and not in the place.
The opposite of every truth is just as true.
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