God's wife "Asherah" edited out of the Bible

Yahweh's consort, Asherah, Lady of the Sea, Hebrew goddess (northernway.org)

Was God's wife edited out of the Bible? Atheist claims the Almighty had partner known as Asherah
Daily Mail (March 19, 2011)
A leading academic has claimed that God has a wife who was edited out of the Bible. Atheist Dr. Francesca Stavrakopoulou says that the [Judeo-Christian version of the] Almighty, known as Yahweh, had a partner called Asherah who was worshipped.

The scholar's controversial claims are being explored in the BBC2 series "The Bible’s Buried Secrets." His wife was presented as a deity in Israel and someone who sat alongside him, according to journal articles and books by the scholar.

The God Yahweh's wife, Asherah, reminiscent of India (integral-options.blogspot)

Dr. Stavrakopoulou, who has been given a primetime BBC slot, also claims that Eve has been "unfairly maligned" by "middle-aged bearded men" and should not have been blamed for the Fall of Man.

But some [claims] may raise eyebrows among viewers -- including her suggestion that Eve was not the first woman in the Bible [surely in the creation myth of the Bible, it was Adam's first wife, Lilith] because the Garden of Eden did not belong in the original Old Testament.

The University of Exeter lecturer told Radio Times: "Eve, particularly in the Christian tradition, has been very unfairly maligned as the troublesome wife."

But former MP Ann Widdecombe, who is a Roman Catholic, said: "I would guess that most other theologians will demolish her theory in three seconds flat." Dr. Stavrakopoulou, who has a Ph.D. in theology from the University of Oxford, has confirmed she does not believe in God.

She said: "I’m an atheist with a huge respect for religion. I see what I do as a branch of history like any other." Dr. Stavrakopoulou's claims that God had a wife appeared to be backed up by her own research into the subject. More>>

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