"Bravo to this tour de force, to Mr. Wilkes, and for daring to bring a hopeful funny perspective
on a delicate subject matter leading too many times to conflict and war.
A Woman Called God is calling for Peace Now!"
—Emmanuel Itier, director, FEMME: Women Healing the World
New Illustrated Book Offers Fresh Perception of God as a Mother Figure, Encourages Spiritual Dialogue, Empathy, and Peace
As thousands abandon Religion (capital “R”) and seek God in new ways, Peter Wilkes says a fresh understanding of the Almighty may transform the world. Imagine a world with a motherly God: open, loving, and compassionate, instead of severe and judgmental. He illustrates this bold vision in a little book that asks big questions, A Woman Called God ($9.75, Illustrated Paperback, April 1, 2015).
In this adorably playful, yet poignant and timely book, A Woman Called God asks all of us – women and men alike – to consider how the world would look if our universal perception of The Creator were not male but female: a mother-figure of unconditional love.
An illustrated book for all ages, A Woman Called God revolutionizes the traditional tenets of organized religion and encourages open dialogue about the nature of God, fresh discussion about “religion” vs. “faith,” and interfaith understanding.
Far from insisting that God is a woman, Mr. Wilkes asks us to ponder if that one changed perception could lead us to a greater understanding and empathy for everyone on this earth.
Amiable and subversive, simple yet profound, this compact volume invites believers and seekers alike to uncover answers that will take them in a new and welcome direction…both for themselves and the world. Proceeds from the sale of A Woman Called God will go to organizations that help to end violence against women. Learn more at AWomanCalledGod.com.
A WOMAN CALLED GOD by Peter Wilkes
April 1, 2015
ISBN: 9781495919244
$9.75 45 pages Trade Paperback Illustrated
About
The Author
PETER WILKES, the son of an Episcopal minister, had a firsthand look at the inner workings of organized Religion (with a capital “R”) throughout his upbringing. Now seventy years of age, he has reached the conclusion that this institution, like many others, has continually done more harm than good.
In A Woman Called God, the first in his series of Little books for Big people™, he goes back to the source and examines how it’s possible to leave the institution of Religion behind and spiritually reclaim your soul. Peter always welcomes intelligent discussion on the subjects he writes about. Learn more at AWomanCalledGod.com.
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About the Book
So, why couldn’t God be a woman? Really, why not? In this adorably playful, yet poignant and timely book, A Woman Called God asks all of us – women and men alike – to consider how the world would and could look if our universal perception of The Creator were not male but female: a mother-figure of unconditional love.
The result of a seventy-year personal journey by the author, A Woman Called God revolutionizes the traditional thinking of organized religion and makes possible a new and inviting path for every woman and man on the planet.
In this five-minute read you may discover a new way of thinking. In the 27 hand-drawn stick-figures you may find a new dialogue. And in fewer than 500 words you might even uncover answers that will take you and the world in a new and welcome direction.
Proceeds from the sale of A Woman Called God will go to organizations that help to end violence against women. Learn more at AWomanCalledGod.com
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Website: http://awomancalledgod.com/
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Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AWomanCalledGod
An Interview with
PETER WILKES
1. Did you write this book for adults or for children?
The book is aimed at adults – it’s part of a series of a Little Books for Big people™ that I’m planning. That said, a number of children and younger folks have read A Woman Called God and I’ve gotten some very wonderful and gratifying responses.
2. Why did you choose the short, illustrated format to convey your spiritual message?
The big secret is that I really want men to read this. But they’re not gonna pick up a book with that title. However, if a woman gives a copy to the men in her life and they see it’s totally unintimidating and can be read in five minutes, they may just do it… especially if they like her. And if we can make that happen, then men all over the world may just start questioning something that they’ve taken for granted for a very long time. And that’s when I’m hoping – and praying – that a true equality between the genders can begin to happen.
3. Why do you think people might have an easier time trusting God as a mother figure, instead of as a father figure?
While there are exceptions to everything in this world, in a majority of cases the mother of the family is considered the comforter, the source of solace, the one you turned to when you skinned your knee or fell off your bike. It addition, there’s a certain logic to having a female/mother creator rather than a male/father one.
Imagine you were the first guy on earth. And you find out that this first woman you’re with can bleed without dying. Every month it happens, in concert with the moon and the tides! Whoa, that’s impressive! And then something alive starts growing inside her body. You can see it and feel it move. And then the child arrives and you realize that the survival of the entire human race depends on this…incredible creature...called woman. So, if you were looking for something to worship, that would be a really logical place to start. And the fact is that’s exactly what happened. There was an entire thriving, peaceful civilization that existed ten thousand years before Adam and Eve were even invented which worshipped a female deity. Somehow that never got mentioned in Sunday School…or any other place of learning that I know of.
4. Doesn’t your illustration of “God the Father” assume all fathers (or men in general) are severe, scary, or judgmental?
I don’t think so. Not any more than it illustrates that all mothers are loving, kind, supportive, and generous. Neither one is realistic. But it’s interesting to observe that many times the closer a man gets to believing he is a “God” the more he behaves that way. It’s the wrathful, vengeful, smiting Old Testament God every man was told – as a very small child – he was made in the image of.
5. How did the female figures in your life inspire your personal spiritual journey?
Along the way I’ve found it’s the ones you don’t listen to that are usually the ones that have the most to offer. And it was pretty much the females in my life that I didn’t listen to for fifty years. But when I finally did go back and listen I found that, for the most part – in one way or the other – they were the ones who were telling me the real truth about who I was at the time. So, I’d say they inspired me a lot…
6. Where are you currently at in your spiritual journey?
Well, I’m in the 3rd act of life so, with luck, I’m on page one of my spiritual journey.
7. Does your book refer to the God of the Bible, or of Christianity?
The severe, judgmental God is the Old Testament God of The Abrahamic Religions (Islam, Christianity, and Judaism). The God I choose to think of as female is the one Creator of all and is not affiliated with any religion.
8. Why do you think so many people are walking away from traditional religion and seeking faith elsewhere, or abandoning faith altogether?
Organized religion is designed to tell people what to think. If too many people decided to think spiritually for themselves, the holy fathers and other religious leaders will be out of a job. So, to make sure that didn’t happen, the three Abrahamic Religions, controlling 54% of the world’s faithful, built their foundations on fear – fear of the unknown, fear of what comes next, and fear of punishment. And only they had the power to relieve that fear, that nagging uncertainty. Anything based on fear cannot last. It will eventually implode under its own weight. So that’s what’s happening. A whole lot of people are either giving up on the whole deal or searching for new answers.
I like the new pope, except for, of course, his stand against women in the Catholic clergy. He needs to read my book.
9. How do you hope this fresh perception of God as a mother figure might transform people’s lives—or the world as a whole?
I think the important thing is to ask ourselves this key question: if our image of The Creator had been – and were today – a mother figure, would so many women and girls be covered in burkas? Raped on campuses? Stolen from schools? Beaten in hotel elevators? And would men – made in the “image” of the male God – have such a feeling of entitlement, superiority, and privilege that they could do whatever they wanted or, conversely, find it impossible to live to a fabricated concept of pure male power and perfection and thus lash out in frustration, anger, and fear? I believe a fresh perception of God as a mother figure would go a long way to alleviate much of this.
But it’s important to note that that concept, and thus my book, is not the final answer. Both are, hopefully, only stepping-stones to a greater and more universal acceptance – that the one true Creator may just happen to turn out to be genderless. For, ironically, it’s only then that men and women will be able to see each other as truly equal in every respect. And it’s only then we’ll all be able to do what we were sent here to do – to protect and preserve this planet, her most glorious creation. And I’ll be looking at that in my third book.
10. What is the number one thing you hope readers take away from A Woman Called God?
That the concept of the exclusively male God is quite debatable… and very much worth debating.
My Review:
This is a very interesting book. It is short and to the point. The drawings are basic and yet the author definitely gets his point across. As I read through this book I thought a lot about how different the Bible would be if God was a woman. From there the differences snow balled. I also thought about how the author is a man and how the reader would react if the author were a woman? This is a great thought provoking book! I am giving this book a 4/5. I was given a copy to review, however all opinions are my own.
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