The Red Tent by Anita Diamant

[CatQuilt]

This story takes place in a time during the Old Testament. Have any of you read it? If so, could you share your thoughts. One of my daughter’s teachers told her about it so my daughter (a freshman in high school) wants to read it.

Thanks!

 

[maryalene]

I haven’t read it myself, but I have always heard it referred to as a book that supports the idea of the feminine divine and goddess worship. If it were my daughter, I think I would read it first.

 

[corvidae]

I have read it

Now this is a male perspective,

It deals with many different things for a girl, such as finding a place in the world, and coming of age,

But

It is also full and I mean full, of pagan imagery, and claims that the early women of the Bible were actually “goddess worshipers”. Even Sarah is a priestess of the goddess. There is also one very graphic description of basically masturbation with an idol in order to return the blood of the first menstration to the earth.

I do not know how old your daughter is, but many of the topics dealt with in the book are not for young people.

Basically, I would suggest that you read it first, and if you believe your daughter is old enough to be exposed to it, then discuss it with her as she is reading it, so you will know what she is getting out of it, and confront any false ideas that may pop up.

A lone Raven

 

[puzzleannie]

ok if read as a novel, usual error committed by modern feminists in producing historical fiction, projecting their personal prejudices about sexuality on ancient societies in attempts to legitimize their own perverse views on sexuality. There is some thin thread of truth in noting that Jacob did choose brides who did not follow his religion, and there is ample biblical basis for the dire consequences among his descendents of the practice of polygamy and intermarriage with pagans. any fiction writer is free to use biblical sources as inspiration, and to make up what the bible lacks in detail and characterization. this author certainly did that imaginatively.

whether the author is accurate in her assumptions about the historical basis for Jewish law regarding family purity I have no competence to judge.

 

[LilyM]

I have read it

Now this is a male perspective,

It deals with many different things for a girl, such as finding a place in the world, and coming of age,

But

It is also full and I mean full, of pagan imagery, and claims that the early women of the Bible were actually “goddess worshipers”. Even Sarah is a priestess of the goddess.

A lone Raven

Interesting - I’ve also read part of a novel in which it was claimed that Sarah was all set to become a priestess of the goddess Asherah. Something to do with her being descended from a royal family which had traditionally supplied priestesses to lead the worship of the goddess.

But in the story she abandons these plans after meeting and marrying Abraham.

 

[Katie1723]

I read it. Read from the perspective that it is merely a novel, I found it to be a wonderful read.
Kathy

 

[CatQuilt]

Thanks everyone. I should have noted that the teacher who recommended the book is my daughter’s Religion teacher (female). They’re studying the Old Testament this year.

I’m going to read it first before I let my daughter read it.

It’s always to helpful to come here to get the background on things. I wish the world wasn’t so confusing but I guess there’s always been heresies out there.

 

[marytk]

I read it and wasn’t impressed. Parts were interesting. I had a lot of trouble with the pagan gods and the way the women of the Old Testament were protrayed. (It has been quite a while since I read it) I remember losing interest.

 

[corvidae]

FAIR WARNING: I am corvidae’s wife so the thoughts expressed here are not those of corvidae. (And he asked me to express my feelings and promised not to alter or delete them )

I am the one who introduced him to this book while in college and while I agree for the most part with everything that he said… since the first part of the book that he read was the part that he HATED (the giving of the first mensus back to the goddess that the women believed in) his disdain for the book may have been somewhat effected.

With that said here are my feelings toward the book. I enjoyed the book for its fictional qualities. It is well written and flows nicely. One must remember that it is FICTION first and for most. Like books written by Dan Brown (DiVinci Code and Angels and Demons) and Jerry B. Jenkins and Tim LaHaye (Left Behind series) there are historical and theological errors in the books and the author did take creative licensure with elements that she could have not known. I would agree that any parent that is concerned with some more adult content (pagan idol worshiping, “female issues”, drunkeness, and the masterbation scene that turned “corvidae” away from actually liking the book) should read the book first and speak with children reading it. The book is the story of Rachel and Leah’s children told from the view point of the only daughter, Dinah, that is mentioned in the bible. It speaks of how a girl may feel being the only girl in a family with 12 brothers. The book culminates with the rape of Dinah (Gen 34) and her life after. While I would not recommend the book as a history book, it is a good book for entertainment and light reading.

If your daughter (or anyone else for that fact) is looking for other Old Testament religious fiction revolving around this time in history, Orson Scott Card wrote a series called “Women of Genesis” that is pretty good and doesn’t have the older themes that “The Red Tent” does. These books are entitled: “Sarah,” “Rebekah,” and “Rachel and Leah.” I hope this helps.

 

[CatQuilt]

Thank you, corvidae’s wife! I’ll check out those other books too…

My daughter is a voracious reader and she expressed an interest in the DVC but I didn’t want her to read it as her faith is not strong and I didn’t want her to get confused about Church teachings.