Merlin Stone is a sculptor and professor of art and art history who became interested, in adulthood, in archaeology and ancient religions from her study of ancient art. She spent a decade on research before writing the book published in the U.K. as The Paradise Papers and then in the U.S. as When God Was a Woman (1976). It describes her theory of how the Hebrews suppressed allegedly goddess-based religions practiced in Canaan and how their reaction to what they considered abominable idolatry shaped Judaism and, thus, Christianity. Critics note that, while goddess figures were very important in the religions of many ancient cultures, there is no proof that any of them were the dominant figures, as argued by Stone and others in the Neopagan movement.
