# Gamble, *The God-Idea of the Ancients*, 1996 > [!cite] > Gamble, Eliza Burt. *The God-Idea of the Ancients; Or, Sex in Religion*. 1996; Project Gutenberg, 2018. EPUB. Project Gutenburg. [https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/639](https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/639). > [!abstract] > A scholarly treatise that examines the historical and psychological underpinnings of religious beliefs, likely written during the late 19th century. The work delves into how sexual differentiation has historically influenced conceptions of the divine, asserting that the evolution of religious morality and deity figures has been parallel to the societal roles and perceptions of gender. The opening portion of the text sets the groundwork for Gamble’s exploration by discussing how humanity’s understanding of God has undergone significant shifts, particularly influenced by the rise of male dominance over matriarchal structures. Gamble asserts that the earliest god-concepts were intrinsically linked to fertility and the female principle, which gradually transformed as patriarchal societies developed. Through the examination of religious symbols and ancient worship practices, the opening articulates a thesis that the evolution of the god-idea reflects broader societal changes concerning gender and power dynamics. This argument promises a rich investigation into the interconnectedness of religion and sexuality throughout history. --- Re. the God-idea: ‘As mankind construct their own gods, or as the prevailing ideas of the unknowable reflect the inner consciousness of human beings, a trustworthy history of the growth of religions must correspond to the processes involved in the mental, moral, and social development of the individual and the nation.’ [[Gamble, God-Idea of the Ancients, 1996|(Gamble 1996, preface)]] ^87afd2 ‘By means of data brought forward in these later times relative to the growth of the God-idea, it is observed that an independent chain of evidence has been produced in support of the facts recently set forth bearing upon the development of the two diverging lines of sexual demarcation. In other words, it has been found that sex is the fundamental fact not only in the operations of Nature but in the construction of a god.’ [[Gamble, God-Idea of the Ancients, 1996|(Gamble 1996, preface)]] ^93c4d3 ‘A comprehensive study of prehistoric records shows that in an earlier age of existence upon the earth, at a time when woman’s influence was in the ascendancy over that of man, human energy was directed by the altruistic characters which originated in and have been transmitted through the female; but after the decline of woman’s power, all human institutions, customs, forms, and habits of thought are seen to reflect the egoistic qualities acquired by the male.’ [[Gamble, God-Idea of the Ancients, 1996|(Gamble 1996, preface)]] ‘Religion is especially liable to reflect the vagaries and weaknesses of human nature; and, as the forms and habits of thought connected with worship take a firmer hold on the mental constitution than do those belonging to any other department of human experience, religious conceptions should be subjected to frequent and careful examination in order to perceive, if possible, the extent to which we are holding on to ideas which are unsuited to existing conditions.’ [[Gamble, God-Idea of the Ancients, 1996|(Gamble 1996, preface)]] ‘The difficulty of the ancients in establishing a First Cause seems to have been exactly the same as is ours at the present time. When we say there must have been a God who created all things, the question at once arises, Who created God? According to their theories, nothing could be brought forth without the interaction of two creative principles, female and male; yet everything, even these principles, must proceed from an indivisible energy—an energy which, as the idea of the sex functions became more and more clearly defined, could not be contemplated except in its dual aspect. So soon, therefore, as the Great First Cause was separated into its elements, a still higher power was immediately stationed above it as its Creator. This Creator was designated as female. It was the Mother idea Even gods could not be produced without a mother.’ [[Gamble, God-Idea of the Ancients, 1996|(Gamble 1996, chap. 4)]] ^a6e6e7 ‘The mythologies of all nations are largely founded upon the “religious history” of a flood.’ [[Gamble, God-Idea of the Ancients, 1996|(Gamble 1996, chap. 4)]] ^fbd703