#william dever

[thelovelygods]

It is almost as though theology is “men’s work,” but piety and ritual are “women’s work” (although it is not quite that simple). I do not imply any value judgement, but I suggest that in religion men are perhaps more analytical, women more emotional, yet more practical. And because women’s instincts are to do something to symbolize their experiences, their prayers and vows, it is natural for them to present votives and votive offerings to the deity. Again, this is seen in traditional piety in many religious circles. Women light a candle and place it near the altar in the church; they may leave flowers in a chapel or a shrine; they may often pin a little prayer or a miniature replica of a body part on a saint’s bier…these offerings are votives, which symbolize pious wishes and promises; visible signs that “tap into” the invisible divine powers. They are, in effect, “stand-ins” for the worshipper, who cannot always be physically present before the gods, but desires to petition them continuously.

William G. Dever, Did God Have a Wife? Archaeology and Folk Religion in Ancient Israel

[thelovelygods]

…it is clear that while women were often shut out of public rituals and more formal observances of cult, they were accustomed to household and private forms of religious practice that were uniquely “real” to them. They were more personal, more meaningful; and they found their expression chiefly in prayers and vows. Women could venerate female deities, if they seemed more accessible to them, more congenial, more likely to understand and fulfill their needs–not competing with, but different from those of men...one can still see women’s piety among traditional Roman Catholic families, especially in less developed cultures. It is mostly women who go to mass and to the confessional; who invoke Mary’s blessings; who perform vows and do penance; who tend the family shrine; who go on pilgrimages; and, of course, who rear the children in the tradition. And it is no accident that in traditional Roman Catholic piety, the most common epithet of Mary is Mother of God. Popes and bishops may be somewhat uneasy about what some see as the dangers of “Mariolatry,” but her popularity and veneration persist because for many she makes God more accessible.

William G. Dever, Did God Have a Wife? Archaeology and Folk Religion in Ancient Israel