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The Goddess: Theological Sign or Religious Symbol?

The Goddess: Theological Sign or Religious Symbol? THE GODDESS: THEOLOGICAL SIGN OR RELIGIOUS SYMBOL? LARRY D. SHINN It is nothing new to suggest to historians of religion that religious symbols are intended to function as more than signifiers of known realities. However, in what ways signs and symbols differ is a sub- ject worth occasional reflection so that unintended, truncated, or il- licit distinctions are corrected by the historical record itself. It might appear unusual to historians to discuss sign and symbol in the con- text of one segment of the current feminist theological movement that is influenced as much by social and political concerns as a field of study as it is by academic ones. Yet it is often that which appears to be a fad or sectarian excess at one moment in history that can become the grist for the historian's mill at another (could one in the first century have believed that the marginal, sectarian Essene com- munity would someday attract the inordinate attention it has been accorded among twentieth century biblical scholars?). In any case, both of these issues (namely, the importance of the religious sign/symbol distinction and the use of feminist goddess symbolism as a case in point) should be http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Numen Brill

The Goddess: Theological Sign or Religious Symbol?

Numen , Volume 31 (2): 175 – Jan 1, 1984

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Publisher
Brill
Copyright
© 1984 Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, The Netherlands
ISSN
0029-5973
eISSN
1568-5276
DOI
10.1163/156852784X00022
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

THE GODDESS: THEOLOGICAL SIGN OR RELIGIOUS SYMBOL? LARRY D. SHINN It is nothing new to suggest to historians of religion that religious symbols are intended to function as more than signifiers of known realities. However, in what ways signs and symbols differ is a sub- ject worth occasional reflection so that unintended, truncated, or il- licit distinctions are corrected by the historical record itself. It might appear unusual to historians to discuss sign and symbol in the con- text of one segment of the current feminist theological movement that is influenced as much by social and political concerns as a field of study as it is by academic ones. Yet it is often that which appears to be a fad or sectarian excess at one moment in history that can become the grist for the historian's mill at another (could one in the first century have believed that the marginal, sectarian Essene com- munity would someday attract the inordinate attention it has been accorded among twentieth century biblical scholars?). In any case, both of these issues (namely, the importance of the religious sign/symbol distinction and the use of feminist goddess symbolism as a case in point) should be

Journal

NumenBrill

Published: Jan 1, 1984

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