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'''Thealogy''' is literally the study of the [[Goddess]] ([[Greek language|Greek]] θεά, ''thea'', "goddess" + λόγος, ''logos'', "study"). In [[1993]], [[Charlotte Caron]]'s definition of '''thealogy''' as "reflection on the divine in feminine and feminist terms" appeared, but the term actually originates in the writings of [[Isaac Bonewits]] in [[1974]].
{{Infobox President | name=George Washington
| nationality=american
| image name=Portrait of George Washington.jpeg
| wh image name=Gw1.gif
| order=1st President
| date1=[[April 30]], [[1789]]
| date2=[[March 4]], [[1797]]
| preceded=None
| succeeded=[[John Adams]]
| date of birth=[[February 22]], [[1732]]
| place of birth=[[Westmoreland County, Virginia|Westmoreland]], [[Virginia]]
| dead=dead
| date of death=[[December 14]], [[1799]]
| place of death=[[Mount Vernon (plantation)|Mount Vernon]], [[Virginia]]
| wife=[[Martha Washington]]
| party=None
| vicepresident=[[John Adams]]
}}
'''George Washington''' ([[February 22]], [[1732]]–[[December 14]], [[1799]]) was an [[Agriculture in the United States|American planter]], [[Politics of the United States|political figure]], and [[military]] leader. Born of [[English people|English]] descent into a moderately wealthy family in the [[Province of Virginia]], Washington worked as a [[surveyor]] before inheriting his parents' [[plantation]], [[Mount Vernon (plantation)|Mount Vernon]].
==First uses==
Washington first gained prominence as an officer during the [[French and Indian War]], a war which he inadvertently helped to start. Afterwards, he resigned his post to marry [[Martha Washington|Martha Dandridge Custis]], a wealthy widow with two children. He was elected to the [[House of Burgesses]] and became a revolutionary leader at the outset of the [[American Revolution]], attending both the first and second [[Continental Congress]]es. Washington was appointed [[Commander in Chief]] of the [[Continental Army]] in the [[American Revolutionary War]] ([[1775]]–[[1783|83]]), leading the Americans to victory over the British. After the war, he served as president of the [[1787]] [[History of the United States Constitution|Constitutional Convention]].
===First(?) usages===
Washington, a hugely popular and generally nonpartisan figure, was elected as the first [[President of the United States]] ([[1789]]–[[1797|97]]) after the [[United States Constitution|U.S. Constitution]] was adopted. The two-term [[Washington Administration]] was marked by the establishment of key American institutions that continue to operate. After his term was up, Washington retired to Mount Vernon for the remainder of his life, again voluntarily relinquishing power even as some wanted him to retain that power for life. Because of his central role in the founding of the United States and enduring legacy, Washington is sometimes called the "[[Father of the Nation|Father of his Country]]."
In "The Druid Chronicles (Evolved)," privately published in [[1976]], Isaac Bonewits used "thealogian" to refer to a Wiccan author ([[Aidan Kelly]], aka "C. Taliesin Edwards," who may have given him the term or vice versa) and "theilogy" (defined as "the study of more than one God"). Bonewits also used "theilogy" (and possibly "thealogy," since he thinks he coined them at the same time) in the pages of the widely-distributed "Gnostica" magazine he edited in 1974 and [[1975]].
==Early life==
According to the [[Julian calendar]], Washington was born on [[February 11]], [[1731]]; according to the [[Gregorian calendar]], which was adopted during Washington's life and is used today, he was born on [[February 22]], [[1732]] ([[Washington's Birthday]] is celebrated on the Gregorian date).
At the time of his birth, the English year began [[March 25]] ([[Annunciation]] Day, or [[Lady Day]]), hence the difference in his birth year. His birthplace was Pope's Creek Plantation, south of [[Colonial Beach, Virginia|Colonial Beach]] in [[Westmoreland County, Virginia]]. Kathleen is a loser
"The Druid Chronicles (Evolved)" were a three-year project starting in 1974 and finished (published) in 1976. The article referred to within "The Druid Chronicles (Evolved)" is dated to the summer of 1976. Moreover, this is almost certainly not the first usage; the context of "thealogian" is in citing a work by C. Taliesin Edwards, "Essays towards a Meta''thealogy'' of the Goddess." [stress added] There is, however, a possibility that Bonewits altered the name of the work to fit with his terminology. He is attempting to track this down. Kelley himself has said to Bonewits that he can't remember which of the two of them said "thealogy" to the other first.
Washington was part of the economic and cultural elite of the [[slavery|slave]]-owning planters of [[Virginia]]. His parents Augustine Washington ([[1693]]–[[April 12]], [[1743]]) and Mary Ball ([[1708]]–[[August 25]], [[1789]]) were of [[England|English]] descent. He spent much of his boyhood at [[Ferry Farm]] in [[Stafford County, Virginia|Stafford County]], near [[Fredericksburg, Virginia|Fredericksburg]] and visited his Washington cousins at [[Chotank]] in King George County. As a youth, he trained as a [[surveyor]] (obtaining his certificate from the [[College of William and Mary]]) and helped survey the [[Shenandoah Valley]] in Virginia. He visited [[Barbados]] with his sick half brother Lawrence in [[1751]], and survived an attack of [[smallpox]], although his face was scarred by the disease. He was initiated as a [[Freemasonry|Freemason]] in Fredericksburg on [[February 4]], [[1752]]. On Lawrence's death in July [[1752]], he rented and eventually inherited the estate, [[Mount Vernon (plantation)|Mount Vernon]] in [[Fairfax County, Virginia]] (near [[Alexandria, Virginia|Alexandria]]).
In [[1976]], [[Valerie Saiving]], ending her "[[Androcentrism]] in Religious Studies" made a much quoted invocation that yearns towards something as yet undefined-
==French and Indian War and afterwards==
[[Image:Washington 1772.JPG|thumb|right|275px|This, the earliest portrait of Washington, was painted in [[1772]] by [[Charles Willson Peale]], and shows Washington in uniform as colonel of the First Virginia Regiment.]]
:''it is just possible that the unheard testimony of that half of the human species which has for so long been rendered inarticulate may have something to tell us about the holy which we have not known - something which can finally make us whole.''
At twenty-two years of age, George Washington fired some of the first shots of what would become a [[world war]]. In [[1752]], [[France]] began the military occupation of the [[Ohio Country]], a region that was also claimed by Virginia. In [[1753]], Washington volunteered to deliver an ultimatum to the French from [[Robert Dinwiddie]], the governor of Virginia. The French declined to leave, and Dinwiddie moved to counter the French advance.
::(Saiving 1976:197)
===Second(?) usage ===
In [[1754]], Washington, now commissioned a [[lieutenant colonel]] in the First Virginia Regiment, led a mission into the Ohio Country. He ambushed a [[French Canadian]] scouting party, killing ten, including its leader, [[Joseph Coulon de Jumonville|Ensign Jumonville]]. Washington then built [[Fort Necessity]], which soon proved inadequate, as he was [[Battle of the Great Meadows|compelled to surrender]] to a larger French and [[American Indian]] force. The surrender terms that Washington signed included an admission that he had "assassinated" Jumonville. (The document was written in French, which Washington could not read.) The "[[Battle of Jumonville Glen|Jumonville affair]]" became an international incident and helped to ignite the [[French and Indian War]], known outside the United States as the [[Seven Years' War]].
In "The Changing of the Gods" 1979:96, [[Naomi Goldenberg]] selfconsciously introduces the term as a half whimsical possibility, an inspirational comment, not a prelude to exegesis. She does not go on to define what thealogy might be, other than the implicit femininity of the coinage. This lack was perhaps because at that time the very assertion of a serious feminist analysis of religion was virtually unheard of, and the introduction of the concept was an excitingly powerful, but vague, possibility.
Washington was released by the French with the promise not to return to the Ohio Country for one year. In [[1755]], Washington accompanied the [[Braddock Expedition]], a major effort by the [[British Army]] to retake the Ohio Country. The expedition ended in disaster at the [[Braddock Expedition#Battle of the Monongahela|Battle of the Monongahela]]. Washington distinguished himself in the debacle—he had two horses shot out from under him, and four bullets pierced his coat— yet he sustained no injuries and showed coolness under fire in organizing the retreat. In Virginia, Washington was acclaimed as a hero, and he commanded the First Virginia Regiment for several more years, although the focus of the war had shifted elsewhere. In [[1758]], he accompanied the [[John Forbes (General)|Forbes Expedition]], which successfully drove the French away from [[Fort Duquesne]].
This is not to say that both Goldenberg and Saiving do not both offer extremely solid chunks of thealogy, but they do not give an overview of something to which they were midwives.
Washington's goal at the outset of his military career had been to secure a commission as a British officer—which in the British colonies was a big step-up from being a mere colonial officer. The promotion did not come, and so in [[1759]] Washington resigned his commission and married [[Martha Washington|Martha Dandridge Custis]], a wealthy widow with two children. Washington adopted the two children, but never fathered any of his own. The newlywed couple moved to Mount Vernon where he took up the life of a genteel farmer and [[slavery|slave]] owner. He became a member of the [[House of Burgesses]].
===Bonewits again===
By [[1774]], Washington had become one of the colonies' wealthiest men. In that year, he was chosen as a [[delegate]] from Virginia to the First [[Continental Congress]]. Although the [[American Revolution]] had not yet devolved into open warfare, tensions between the colonies and Great Britain continued to rise, and Washington attended the Second Continental Congress ([[1775]]) in military uniform—the only delegate to do so.
Also in [[1979]], in the first revised edition of "Real Magic," Bonewits defined "thealogy" in his Glossary this way: "Intellectual speculations concerning the nature of the Goddess and Her relations to the world in general and humans in particular; rational explanations of religious doctrines, practices and beliefs, which may or may not bear any connection to any religion as actually conceived and practiced by the majority of its members." While the last clause was his editorializing, the majority of the definition was adapted by removing sexist assumptions from a dictionary then in his library. Also in the same glossary, he defined "theology" and "theoilogy" (spelled correctly this time) with nearly identical words, changing the pronouns appropriately. He has since dropped the use of "theoilogy" in favor of "polytheology," also first published by him in the 1974 "Druid Chronicles."
==American Revolution==
{{main|American Revolutionary War}}
[[Image:Washington Crossing the Delaware.png|thumb|left|350px|''[[Washington Crossing the Delaware]],'' by [[Emanuel Leutze]], 1851, [[Metropolitan Museum of Art|Metropolitan Museum]]]]
The Continental Congress appointed Washington as [[commander in chief]] of the newly formed [[Continental Army]] on [[June 15]], [[1775]]. The [[Massachusetts]] delegate [[John Adams]] suggested his appointment, citing his "skill as an officer... great talents and universal character." He assumed command on [[July 3]].
In [[2003]] he pointed out that "thealogy" is an obvious coinage that may have been invented many times, and that feminist scholars are unlikely to have been familiar with his writings.
Washington successfully drove the [[Kingdom of Great Britain|British]] forces out of [[Boston, Massachusetts|Boston]] on [[March 17]], [[1776]], by stationing artillery on [[Dorchester Heights]]. The British army, led by General [[William Howe]], retreated to [[Halifax, Nova Scotia|Halifax]], [[Canada]], and Washington's army moved to [[New York City]] in anticipation of a British offensive there. Washington lost the [[Battle of Long Island]] on [[August 22]] but managed to save most of his forces. However, several other battles in the area sent Washington scrambling across [[New Jersey]], leaving the future of the Revolution in doubt.
=== Growing usage by Carol Christ and Ursula King ===
On the night of [[December 25]], [[1776]], Washington led the American forces across the [[Delaware River]] to attack [[Hessians|Hessian]] forces in [[Trenton, New Jersey]], who did not anticipate an attack near [[Christmas]]. Washington followed up the assault with a surprise attack on General [[Charles Cornwallis]]'s forces at [[Battle of Princeton|Princeton]] on the eve of [[January 2]], [[1777]], eventually retaking the colony. The successful attacks built morale among the pro-independence colonists.
[[Carol Christ]] used the term more substantially in "Laughter of Aphrodite" [[1987]].
Later in the year, General Howe led an offensive aimed at taking the colonial capital of [[Philadelphia]]. He severely defeated Washington's forces at the [[Battle of Brandywine]] on [[September 11]] and succeeded in his task. An attempt to dislodge the British, the [[Battle of Germantown]], failed as a result of fog and confusion, and Washington was forced to retire for the winter to [[Valley Forge]]. While at Valley Forge, Washington insisted on vaccinations to protect the soldiers from smallpox and it is believed that this helped to stem the rate of disease over the harsh winter.
In [[1989]] [[Ursula King]] notes its growing usage as a fundamental departure from traditional male-oriented theology, characterised by its privileging of symbols over rational explanation. She chronicles sympathetically that-
However, Washington's army recovered from the defeats and harsh winter conditions and drilled during the spring under the [[Prussia|German]] [[Baron Friedrich von Steuben]], steadily improving its fighting capabilities. Later, it attacked the British army moving from Philadelphia to New York at the [[Battle of Monmouth]] on [[June 28]], [[1778]].
:''most writing on the Goddess, when not historical, is either inspirational or devotional, and a systematically ordered body of thought, even with reference to symbols, is only slowly coming into existence.''
Against tremendous odds, Washington sustained his army throughout the Revolution, keeping British forces tied down in the center of the country while Generals [[Horatio Gates]] and [[Benedict Arnold]] won the [[Battle of Saratoga]] in 1777. After Monmouth, the British concentrated their offensives in the southern colonies, and rather than attack them there, Washington's forces moved to [[Rhode Island]], where he commanded military operations until the war's end. His ability to delay British advances earned him the nickname "American [[Fabius Maximus|Fabius]]."
::(1989:126-127)
== Further expansion of thealogy by Starr* Saffa ==
In [[1779]], Washington ordered a fifth of the army to carry out the [[Sullivan Expedition]], an offensive against four of the six nations of the [[Iroquois Confederacy]] which had allied with the British and attacked Patriot communities along the frontier. At least forty Iroquois villages were destroyed in the massive expedition, and this (according to some sources) led the Iroquois to [[nickname]] Washington "[[Town Destroyer]]."
Tahirih Thealogy
In [[1781]], American and French forces and a French fleet had [[Battle of Yorktown (1781)|trapped General Cornwallis]] at [[Yorktown, Virginia|Yorktown]] in Virginia. Washington quick-marched south, joining the armies on [[September 14]], and pressed the siege until the army surrendered. The British surrender there was the effective end of British attempts to quell the Revolution.
The basic Definition of TheAlogy as opposed to Theology means viewing the world incorporating the Female lens which to a great extent in the past has been omitted in Theology.
In [[March]] [[1783]], Washington learned about a [[Newburgh conspiracy|conspiracy]] that was being planned by some of his officers who were upset about back pay in the Continental Army's winter camp at [[Newburgh, New York]]. He was able to defuse this plot. Later in [[1783]], by means of the [[Treaty of Paris (1783)|Treaty of Paris]], the [[Kingdom of Great Britain]] recognized American independence. As a result, on [[November 2]] of that year at [[Rocky Hill, New Jersey]], General Washington gave his [[farewell address]] to the army. Then, at [[Fraunces Tavern]] in New York on [[December 4]], he formally bid his officers farewell.
Tahirih TheAlogy is religion beyond religion, politics beyond politics, and spiritual feminism beyond feminism in that it recognizes the Cosmic Christ Spirit in every individual and sets out the pattern of balance for the Sixth Cycle of humanity based on magnetic attraction vs. force and patriarchal constructs.
==Activities between Revolution and Presidency ==
[[Image:GW-painting.jpg|thumb|right|280px|''George Washington'' by [[John Trumbull]], painted in London, 1780, from memory]]
During the later part of 2004 Starr* Saffa introduced Tahirih Thealogy and the Tahirih Path in her book entitled “Tahirih Thealogy: Female Christ Spirit of the Age” based on the figure of the 19th Century Iranian born Prophet-Poetess Tahirih who was also known as Qurratu’l-ayn, and the return of Fatima.
On [[December 23]], [[1783]], General George Washington resigned his commission as Commander in Chief of the Army to the [[Congress_of_the_United_States|Congress]], which was then meeting at the [[Maryland State House]] in [[Annapolis]]. This action was of great significance for the young nation, establishing the precedent that civilian elected officials, rather than military officers, possessed ultimate authority. Washington's stature was such that had he wanted to seize and retain power—like [[Julius Caesar]] before him or [[Napoleon]] after him—he probably would have been able to do so. Indeed, there was even some support among his most devoted followers for making Washington a permanent ruler or king, but Washington, like most of the [[Founding Fathers of the United States]], abhorred the very idea.
Tahirih taught that inner knowledge is trumps and Starr* Saffa says Tahirih TheAlogy has the potential to unite East and West where everyone can be living Tahirih’s in this day through the continuous flow of Spirit.
At the time of Washington's departure from military service, he was listed on the rolls of the Continental Army as "General and Commander in Chief." (See ''Retirement, death, and honors'' section [[#Retirement, death, and honors|below]] for more on this topic.)
== Definition by Charlotte Caron ==
Washington presided over the [[Constitutional Convention]] in [[Philadelphia]] in [[1787]]. For the most part he did not participate in the debates involved, but his prestige was great enough to maintain collegiality and to keep the delegates at their labors. He adamantly enforced the secrecy adopted by the Convention during the summer. Many believe that the [[Framers]] created the [[Presidency]] with Washington in mind. After the Convention, his support convinced many, including the [[Virginia]] legislature, to support the [[U.S. Constitution|Constitution]].
In [[1993]] Charlotte Caron's definition of thealogy as "reflection on the divine in feminine and feminist terms" appeared in "To Make and Make Again" (quoted from Russell & Clarkson 1996). By this time the concept had gained considerable (though conventionally marginal) status, broadly analogous to Ruether's view of radical feminist theology as opposed to reformist [[feminist theology]].
Washington farmed roughly 8,000 acres (32 km²). Like many Virginia planters at the time, he was frequently in debt and never had much cash on hand. In fact, he had to borrow £600 to relocate to New York, then the center of the American government, to take office as president.
=== Melissa Raphael's view ===
In [[1788]]–[[1789|9]], George Washington was elected the first [[President of the United States|President]] of the [[United States of America|United States]]. The [[First United States Congress|First U.S. Congress]] voted to pay Washington a salary of $25,000 a year—a significant sum in [[1789]]. Washington, whose wealth has been estimated anywhere from $500 million to $1,000 million in current dollars, refused to accept his salary.
In [[1997]] [[Melissa Raphael]] wrote "Thealogy & Embodiment" which put the usage firmly on the map, and which she sustained in her subsequent "Thealogy: Discourse on the Goddess" ([[1999]]?). Together with Carol Christ's "Rebirth of the Goddess" 1997 Raphael's work provides a start for the "systematically ordered body of thought" King found lacking in 1989.
==Presidency==
''Main article: '''[[Washington Administration]]'''''
== Three interpretations of thealogy ==
[[Image:Washington (3).jpg|250px|thumb|right|The '''[[Lansdowne portrait]]''' of President Washington by [[Gilbert Stuart]].]]
There are perhaps three distinct interpretations of thealogy, and they are evident in the briefing above.
===Cabinet===
*Christ, King and Raphael focus thealogy specifically on [[Goddess]] spirituality.
{| cellpadding="1" cellspacing="4" style="margin:3px; border:3px solid #000000;" align="left"
*Caron defines a broader field of a female worldview of the [[sacred]].
!bgcolor="#000000" colspan="3"|
*Goldenberg's neologism as a political stance that marks the [[androcentrism]] of historical [[theology]] permeates the other two and raises its own issues.
|-
|align="left"|'''OFFICE'''||align="left"|'''NAME'''||align="left"|'''TERM'''
|-
!bgcolor="#000000" colspan="3"|
|-
|align="left"|[[President of the United States|President]]||align="left" |'''[[George Washington]]'''||align="left"|1789–1797
|-
|align="left"|[[Vice President of the United States|Vice President]]||align="left"|'''[[John Adams]]'''||align="left"|1789–1797
|-
!bgcolor="#000000" colspan="3"|
|-
|align="left"|[[United States Secretary of State|Secretary of State]]||align="left"|'''[[Thomas Jefferson]]'''||align="left"|1789–1793
|-
|align="left"| ||align="left"|'''[[Edmund Randolph]]'''||align="left"|1794–1795
|-
|align="left"| ||align="left"|'''[[Timothy Pickering]]'''||align="left"|1795–1797
|-
|align="left"|[[United States Secretary of the Treasury|Secretary of the Treasury]]||align="left"|'''[[Alexander Hamilton]]'''||align="left"|1789–1795
|-
|align="left"| ||align="left"|'''[[Oliver Wolcott, Jr.]]'''||align="left"|1795–1797
|-
|align="left"|[[United States Secretary of War|Secretary of War]]||align="left"|'''[[Henry Knox]]'''||align="left"|1789–1794
|-
|align="left"| ||align="left"|'''[[Timothy Pickering]]'''||align="left"|1795–1796
|-
|align="left"| ||align="left"|'''[[James McHenry]]'''||align="left"|1796–1797
|-
|align="left"|[[Attorney General of the United States|Attorney General]]||align="left"|'''[[Edmund Randolph]]'''||align="left"|1789–1793
|-
|align="left"| ||align="left"|'''[[William Bradford (1755-1795)|William Bradford]]'''||align="left"|1794–1795
|-
|align="left"| ||align="left"|'''[[Charles_Lee_(Attorney_General)|Charles Lee]]'''||align="left"|1795–1797
|-
|align="left"|[[Postmaster General of the United States|Postmaster General]]||align="left"|'''[[Samuel Osgood]]'''||align="left"|1789–1791
|-
|align="left"| ||align="left"|'''[[Timothy Pickering]]'''||align="left"|1791–1795
|-
|align="left"| ||align="left"|'''[[Joseph Habersham]]'''||align="left"|1795–1797
|}
<br clear="all">
=== SupremeThealogy Courtas appointmentsGoddess spirituality ===
As the first President, Washington appointed the entire Supreme Court, a feat almost repeated by President [[Franklin Delano Roosevelt]] during his four terms in office (1933–45). Washington appointed the following Justices to the [[Supreme Court of the United States]]:
Taking the Goddess variant first, and it seems the commonest to the point where thealogy is typically assumed to be purely Goddess based, a linguistic derivation from the Greek "thea"
* [[John Jay]] - [[Chief Justice of the United States|Chief Justice]] - [[1789]]
(goddess). Goddess systematics inevitably face the question of "god in a skirt" or not, a subtly [[sexism|sexist]] tag that nonetheless carries a genuine issue. This can be viewed as sexist because "in a skirt" defines a subject norm as altered, trivialised, and definitely derivative, much as some have considered the female to have been historically defined in relation to the male. Thealogy specifically aims to counter what its proponents perceive as the massive [[dualism|dualistic]] sexism in the field of religion, by asserting a female [[worldview]] that is not merely reformist or derivative, so its proponents would see this quip as especially destructive.
* [[James Wilson]] - [[1789]]
* [[John Rutledge]] - [[1790]]
* [[William Cushing]] - [[1790]]
* [[John Blair]] - [[1790]]
* [[James Iredell]] - [[1790]]
* [[Thomas Johnson (governor)|Thomas Johnson]] - [[1792]]
* [[William Paterson (jurist)|William Paterson]] - [[1793]]
* [[John Rutledge]] - Chief Justice, [[1795]] (an associate justice since [[1790]])
* [[Samuel Chase]] - [[1796]]
* [[Oliver Ellsworth]] - Chief Justice - [[1796]]
=== MajorBroad Presidentialinterpretation Actsof thealogy (Caron) ===
* Signed [[Judiciary Act of 1789]]
* Signed [[Indian Intercourse Act]]s, starting in 1790
* Signed [[Residence Act|Residence Act of 1790]]
* Signed [[Bank of North America|Bank Act of 1791]]
* Signed [[Coinage Act (1792)|Coinage Act of 1792]]
* Signed [[Fugitive Slave Act (1793)|Fugitive Slave Act of 1793]]
* Signed [[Naval Act of 1794]]
Caron's definition "Reflection on the divine in feminine and feminist terms" holds a caution for feminist theologians and thealogians alike that the female sacred extends beyond the feminist agenda. Often theology or feminist thealogy writes as if the Goddess is a feminist discovery. The "womenspirit" Goddess is a highly selected deity who for thealogians such as Christ has nothing to do with goddess practices such as violent sacrifice, or validating a male conqueror. However, this can be seen to be as inauthentic as the habit of some Christians of disowning the [[Inquisition]] as "not done by real Christians" (see the "[[no true Scotsman]]" [[logical fallacy]]).
=== States admitted to the Union ===
* [[North Carolina]] (1789)
* [[Rhode Island]] (1790)
* [[Vermont]] (1791)
* [[Kentucky]] (1792)
* [[Tennessee]] (1796)
Nor is it a matter only of past history: many members of a huge international organisation like the [[Fellowship of Isis]] would not identify as feminist, nor would a great many [[Pagan]]s. Outside the goddessing of western [[New religious movement|NRMs]] thealogy can recognise and give due respect to the world millions in village and tribal religions who look to goddesses in ways that may or may
==Retirement, death, and honors==
not be feminist, and Caron's definition allows thealogy to be this widely inclusive.
[[Image:Apotheosis of George Washington.jpg|right|thumbnail|250px|[[Constantino Brumidi]]'s 1865 [[fresco]] The [[Apotheosis of Washington]] is found in the [[rotunda]] of the [[United States Capitol]]]]
This broader view accords well with the kind of fluid systematics profiled by [[Cynthia Eller]] when she reports her respondent [[Margaret Keane]] as saying:
After retiring from the presidency in [[March]] [[1797]], Washington returned to Mount Vernon with a profound sense of relief.
:''I don't make those kind of distinctions that you hear about, they don't make any sense to me. You can say it's the Great Goddess, and that's the one Goddess, but she's also all of the many goddesses, and that's true. And she's everywhere. She's immanent in everything, in the sparkle of the sun on the sea, and even in an animistic concept. I think certain objects can embody that force and power. So I worship the Great Goddess, and I'm polytheistic and pantheistic and monotheistic too. And I also have a feeling for nature spirits...''
In [[1798]], Washington was appointed [[Lieutenant General]] in the [[United States Army]] (then the highest possible rank) by President [[John Adams]]. Washington's appointment was to serve as a warning to [[France]], with which war seemed imminent. Washington never saw active service, however, and upon his death one year later the U.S. Army rolls listed him as a retired Lieutenant General, which was then considered the equivalent to his rank as General and Commander in Chief during the Revolutionary War.
::(1993 :132-133)
This broader view has most recently been labelled by [[Michael York]] as "polymorphic thealogy." He also raises the issue of whether thealogy venerates one Goddess or many, which some thealogicians consider a non-question since it arises from a monotheist worldview that they do not hold.
Within a year of this 1798 appointment, Washington fell ill from a bad cold with a fever and a sore throat that turned into acute [[laryngitis]] and [[pneumonia]] and died on [[December 14]], [[1799]], at his home. Modern doctors believe that Washington died from either a [[strep throat|streptococcal infection of the throat]] or, since he was bled as part of the treatment, a combination of [[shock]] from the loss of blood, [[asphyxia]], and [[dehydration]]. One of the physicians who administered [[bloodletting]] to him was Dr. [[James Craik]], one of Washington's closest friends, who had been with Washington at Fort Necessity, the Braddock expedition, and throughout the Revolutionary War. Washington's remains were buried in a family graveyard at [[Mount Vernon (plantation)|Mount Vernon]].
However Caron's definition falls short of explicitly allowing for male positions in thealogy.
Congressman Henry [[Light Horse Harry Lee]], a Revolutionary War comrade, famously eulogized Washington as "a citizen, first in war, first in peace, and first in the hearts of his countrymen."
=== A challenge to androcentrism ===
With the exception of [[Dwight Eisenhower]], who held a lifetime commission as [[General of the Army]] (five star), George Washington is the only President with military service to reenter the military after leaving the office of President. Even though he had been the highest-ranking officer of the Revolutionary War, having in 1798 been appointed a ''Lieutenant General'' (now three stars), it seemed, somewhat incongruously, that all later full (that is, four star) generals in U.S. history (starting with General [[Ulysses S. Grant]]), and also all five-star generals of the Army, were considered to outrank Washington. General [[John J. Pershing]] had attained an even higher rank of ''General of the Armies'' (above five star—though the most stars Pershing actually ever wore were four). This issue was resolved in [[1976]] when Washington was, by Act of [[Congress]], posthumously promoted to the rank of [[General of the Armies]], outranking any past, present, and future general, and declared to permanently be ''the'' top-ranked military officer of the United States. [https://www.perscom.army.mil/tagd/tioh/rank/goa.htm]
The third interpretation of thealogy as an assertion of female sacred worldviews is clearly political. The notes above touch on how this usage aims to counter the deeply established dualistic relegation of female as derivative, making the male the norm: as [[Mary Daly]] put it "If God is male, then the male is God."
===Summary of Military Career===
* 1753: Commissioned [[Lieutenant Colonel]] of the [[Virginia Militia]]
* 1754: Led abortive expedition to Fort Duquesne, later served as aide to General [[Edward Braddock]]
* 1755: Promoted to [[Colonel]] and named Commander of all Virginia Forces. Commissioned a [[Brigadier General]] later that year
* 1758–75: Retired from active military service
* June 1775: Commissioned General and Commander in Chief of the Continental Army
* 1775–81: Commands the Continental Army in over seven major battles with the British
* December 1783: Resigns commission as Commander in Chief of the Army
* July 1798: Appointed Lieutenant General and Commander of the Provisional Army to be raised in the event of a war with France
* 1799: Dies and is listed as a Retired Lieutenant General on the U.S. Army rolls
* 19 January 1976: Approved by the [[United States Congress]] for promotion to [[General of the Armies]]
* 11 October 1976: Declared the senior most U.S. military officer for all time by Presidential Order of [[Gerald Ford]]
* 13 March 1978: Promoted by Army Order 31-3 to General of the Armies with effective date of rank July 4, 1776
Thealogy has been criticised as [[essentialism|essentialist]] by [[queer theory|queer theorists]] and others.
==Personal information==
[[image:Genwashington.jpeg|thumb|right]]
Admirers of Washington circulated an apocryphal story about his honesty as a child. In the story, he wanted to try out a new axe, so he chopped down his father's [[cherry]] tree; when questioned by his father, he gave the [[famous non-quotation]]: "I cannot tell a lie. It was I who chopped down the cherry tree." The story first appeared after Washington's death in a naïve "inspirational" children's book by Parson [[Mason Weems]], who had been rector of the Mount Vernon parish. (See also [[George Washington's axe]] for an elaboration of this story.) Parson Weems also fabricated a famous story about Washington praying for help in a lonely spot in the woods near Valley Forge.
To a thealogian it is important to explore the female worldview (not only but notably of the sacred) and not be compelled to take off female spectacles when looking at themes beyond female [[psychobiology]]. A speaker may choose to adopt a kind of gender neutral stance insofar as she can, or she may try to empathise with a male worldview, and a male speaker vice versa.
Nevertheless, Washington was a man of great personal integrity, with a deeply held sense of duty, honor and patriotism. He was courageous and farsighted, holding the Continental Army together through eight hard years of war and numerous privations, sometimes by sheer force of will.
== Linguistic twiddling ==
Because of Washington's involvement in Freemasonry, some publicly visible collections of Washington memorabilia are maintained by Masonic lodges, most notably the [[George Washington Masonic Memorial]] in Alexandria, Virginia. The museum at [[Fraunces Tavern Museum]] in New York City includes specimens of Washington's [[false teeth]].
Many scholars find the term "thealogy" exasperating, a linguistic twiddling, including some feminist theologians. But the position of women operating within the male worldview of theology, as in most of [[feminist theology]], is more marginal than in the general run of professional occupations these days. The rigidly entrenched sexism in the contemporary academy perceived by some thealogs recalls situations of general Women's Liberation in 1972, rather than society 30 years later (see recent research studies Ofsted UK).
Washington was plagued throughout his adult life with bad teeth, losing about one tooth a year from the age of 24. In his later years he consulted a number of dentists and used a number of sets of false teeth (but none of wood). Washington routinely smoked [[marijuana]] to alleviate the pain from his ailing teeth. Washington's own diary recounts, on several occasions, his efforts to better cultivate and enhance his crops of marijuana, which he used both for [[hemp]] (fiber) production and for medicine: [[May]] 12–13, [[1765]]: "Sowed Hemp at Muddy hole by Swamp." [[August 7]], [[1765]]: ". . .began to seperate (sic) the Male from the Female Hemp at Do—rather too late."
==See also==
Washington was notable for his modesty and carefully controlled ambition. He never accepted pay during his military service, and was genuinely reluctant to assume any of the offices thrust upon him. When John Adams recommended him to the [[Continental Congress]] for the position of general and commander in chief of the Continental Army, Washington left the room to allow any dissenters to freely voice their objections. In later accepting the post, Washington told the Congress that he was unworthy of the honor. However, it should be reminded that Washington was always an ambitious man. He ensured that during the Continental Congress he arrived and was always present wearing his old colonial uniform so as to make it clear to all that he was deeply interested in commanding the continental troops. Congress actually made him the commander of the continental army before they authorized an army for him to command. In reality, no one else could have ensured the southern colonies would assist the northern ones unless Washington was part of the equation and aside from a few other, less endearing leaders, Washington was, overall, the only choice that would achieve this.
*[[God and gender]]
*[[feminist theology]]
*[[goddess]]
*[[goddess worship]]
==References==
It is often said that one of Washington's greatest achievements was refraining from taking more power than was due. He was conscientious of maintaining a good reputation by avoiding political intrigue. He had no interest in [[nepotism]] or [[cronyism]], rejecting, for example, a military promotion during the war for his deserving cousin [[William Washington]] lest it be regarded as favoritism. [[Thomas Jefferson]] wrote, "The moderation and virtue of a single character probably prevented this Revolution from being closed, as most others have been, by a subversion of that liberty it was intended to establish."
* Isaac Bonewits "The Second Epistle of Isaac" in "the Druid Chronicles (Evolved)" Berkeley Drunemeton Press, 1974.
*Isaac Bonewits "Real Magic" Creative Arts Book Co., 1979
*Charlotte Caron "To Make and Make Again: Feminist Ritual Thealogy" NY Crossroad 1993
*Carol Christ "Rebirth of the Goddess:Finding meaning in feminist spirituality" Routledge 1997
*Cynthia Eller "Living in the Lap of the Goddess: The Feminist Spirituality Movement in America" Crossroad 1993
*Naomi Goldenberg "The Changing of the Gods" 1979
*Ursula King "Women and Spirituality" Macmillan 1989
*Melissa Raphael "Thealogy & Embodiment" 1997 Sheffield Academic Press
*Melissa Raphael "Introducing Thealogy: Discourse on the Goddess" 1999 Sheffield Academic Press
*Letty M. Russell & J Shannon Clarkson "Dictionary of Feminist Theologies" Mowbray 1996.
*Starr* Saffa "Tahirih Thealogy: Female Christ Spirit of the Age" OzForUs Publishing 2004; Zeus-publications 2005.
*Valerie Saiving "Androcentrism in Religious Studies" in Journal of Religion 56:1976:177-97
[[Category:Theology]]
Washington had to be talked into a second term of office as President, and very reluctantly agreed to it. However, he refused to serve a third term, setting a precedent that held until the Presidency of [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]]. At John Adams's inauguration, Washington is said to have approached Adams afterwards and stated "Well, I am fairly out and you are fairly in. Now we shall see who enjoys it the most!" Washington also declined to leave the room before Adams and the new [[Vice President of the United States]], [[Thomas Jefferson]], establishing the principle that even a former president is only, after all, a private citizen.
====Trivia====
*A popular belief is that Washington wore a wig, as was the fashion among some at the time. He did not.
*A number of younger men were essentially surrogate sons to the childless Washington, including [[Alexander Hamilton]], [[Gilbert du Motier, marquis de La Fayette|Lafayette]], and [[Nathanael Greene]].
*Washington was a [[cricket]] enthusiast and was known to have played the sport, which was popular at that time in the British colonies.
===Washington and slavery===
Washington owned [[slavery|slaves]] throughout his adult life, as did most of his peers in the Virginia [[plantation]] aristocracy. He was noteworthy, however, for the humane treatment of his slaves and for his growing unease with the "[[peculiar institution]]." Historian [[Roger Bruns]] has written, "As he grew older, he became increasingly aware that it was immoral and unjust. Long before the Revolution, Washington had taken the unusual position of refusing to sell any of his slaves or to allow slave families to be separated." After the Revolution, Washington told an English friend, "I clearly foresee that nothing but the rooting out of slavery can perpetuate the existence of our [Federal] union by consolidating it on a common bond of principle." He wrote to his friend [[John Francis Mercer]] in [[1786]], "I never mean... to possess another slave by purchase; it being among my first wishes to see some plan adopted, by which slavery in this country may be abolished by slow, sure, and imperceptible degrees." Ten years later, he wrote to [[Robert Morris]], "There is not a man living who wishes more sincerely than I do to see some plan adopted for the gradual [[abolition]] [of slavery]."
As President, Washington was mindful of the risk of splitting apart the young [[republic]] over the question of slavery (as in fact happened in [[1861]]). He did not advocate the abolition of slavery while in office, but did sign legislation enforcing the prohibition of slavery in the [[Northwest Territory]], writing to his good friend the [[Marquis de la Fayette]] that he considered it a wise measure.
Unlike all the other slaveholding [[Founding Fathers]], Washington included provisions in his will which freed his slaves upon his death. His widow Martha freed those she owned shortly before she died.
As cited in [[Henry Weincek]]'s ''Imperfect God: George Washington, His Slaves, and the Creation of America'', one of his slaves, [[Ona Judge Staines]], escaped the Executive Mansion in Philadelphia in [[1796]] and lived the rest of her life free in [[New Hampshire]].
===Religious beliefs===
Washington's religious views are a matter of some controversy. There is considerable evidence that he (like a number of [[Founding Fathers of the United States]]) was a [[Deism|Deist]]—believing in [[God]] but not believing in [[revelation]] or [[miracle]]s. Before the Revolution, when the [[Episcopal Church in the United States of America|Episcopal Church]] was still the [[state religion]] in Virginia, he served as a [[vestry]]man (lay officer) for his local church. He spoke often of the value of prayer, righteousness, and seeking and offering thanks for the "blessings of Heaven". He sometimes accompanied his wife to Christian church services; however there is no record of his ever becoming a communicant in any [[Christianity|Christian]] church, and he would regularly leave services before [[communion]]—with the other non-communicants. When Rev. Dr. [[James Abercrombie (Episcopal Priest)|James Abercrombie]], [[rector]] of St. Peter's Episcopal Church in Philadelphia, mentioned in a weekly sermon that those in elevated stations set an unhappy example by leaving at communion, Washington ceased attending at all on communion Sundays. Long after Washington died, asked about Washington's beliefs, Abercrombie replied: "Sir, Washington was a Deist"; however, his adopted daughter, Eleanor Parke Custis Lewis, and several others have said that he was, indeed, a Christian. Various prayers said to have been composed by him in his later life are highly edited. He did not ask for any clergy on his deathbed, though one was available. His funeral services were those of the [[Freemasonry|Freemasons]] at the request of his wife, Martha.
Washington was an early supporter of [[religious pluralism]]. In [[1775]] he ordered that his troops not burn the [[pope]] in effigy on [[Guy Fawkes Night]]. In [[1790]] he wrote to [[Jewish]] leaders that he envisioned a country "which gives to bigotry no sanction, to persecution no assistance.... May the Children of the Stock of [[Abraham]], who dwell in this land, continue to merit and enjoy the good will of the other Inhabitants; while every one shall sit under his own vine and fig tree, and there shall be none to make him afraid." This letter was seen by the Jewish community as highly significant; for the first time in millennia, Jews would enjoy full human and political rights.
==Legacy==
[[Image:DSCN3500 georgewashington e.JPG|300px|right|thumb|Tourists pose under the statue of Washington outside the [[Federal Hall]] Memorial in lower [[Manhattan]], site of Washington's first inauguration as President]]
Washington peacefully relinquished the presidency to [[John Adams]] after serving two terms in office. Only one president since Washington has exceeded this tenure ([[Franklin Delano Roosevelt]] was elected four times), and the Constitution was subsequently amended by the [[Twenty-second Amendment to the United States Constitution|Twenty-second Amendment]] to set an express two-term limit upon future presidents. Washington set many other precedents that established tranquility in the presidential office in the years to come and is [[historical rankings of U.S. Presidents|generally regarded by historians as one of the greatest presidents]]. He was also lauded posthumously as the "[[Father of His Country]]" and is often considered to be the most important of the United States' "[[Founding Father]]s." Therefore, he has been commemorated frequently. Men considered as the [[Father of His Country]] in other nations are also given the nickname "the George Washington of his nation". For example, in [[India]] [[Mahatma Gandhi]] is often thought of as "the George Washington of [[India]]"
Perhaps the most pervasive commemoration of his legacy is the use of his image on the [[U.S. one dollar bill|one dollar bill]] and the [[Quarter (U.S. coin)|quarter-dollar coin]]. The image used on the dollar bill is derived from a famous portrait of him painted by [[Gilbert Stuart]], itself one of the most notable works of early American art.
The capital city of the United States, [[Washington, DC|Washington, D.C.]], is named for him. The [[District of Columbia]] was created by an [[Act of Congress]] in 1790, and Washington was deeply involved in its creation, including the siting of the [[White House]]. The [[Washington Monument]], one of the most well-known landmarks in the city, was built in his honor. [[George Washington University|The George Washington University]], also in D.C., was named after him, and it was in part founded with shares Washington bequeathed to an endowment to create a national university in Washington.
The only state named for a president is the state of [[Washington]] in the U.S. [[Pacific Northwest]].
Washington selected [[West Point]], [[New York]], as the site for the [[United States Military Academy]]. The [[United States Navy]] has [[USS George Washington|named three ships]] after Washington.
Other examples include the [[George Washington Bridge]], which extends between [[New York City]] and [[New Jersey]], and the [[Arecaceae|palm tree]] genus ''[[Washingtonia]]'' is also named after him.
''See also:'' [[List of places named for George Washington]]
==Further reading==
The literature on George Washington is immense. The [[Library of Congress]] has a comprehensive bibliography [http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/gwhtml/gwbib.html online]. Notable recent works include:
*Comora, Madeleine & Deborah Chandra. ''George Washington's Teeth.'' Illustrated by Brock Cole. Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2003; ISBN 0374325340. A lighthearted chronicle of his dental struggles, aimed at children and adults.
*[[Joseph J. Ellis|Ellis, Joseph J.]] ''His Excellency: George Washington''. New York: Knopf, 2004. ISBN 1400040310.
*Flexner, James Thomas. ''Washington: The Indispensable Man.'' Boston: Little, Brown, 1974. ISBN 0316286168 (1994 reissue). Single-volume condensation of Flexner's four-volume biography.
*Grizzard, Frank E., Jr. ''George! A Guide to All Things Washington.'' Buena Vista and Charlottesville, VA: Mariner Publishing. 2005. ISBN 0-9768238-0-2.
*Grizzard, Frank E., Jr. ''The Ways of Providence: Religion and George Washington.'' Buena Vista and Charlottesville, VA: Mariner Publishing. 2005. ISBN 0-9768238-1-0.
*Lengel, Edward G. ''General George Washington: A Military Life.'' New York: Random House, 2005. ISBN 1400060818.
*Wiencek, Henry. ''An Imperfect God: George Washington, His Slaves, and the Creation of America''. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2003. ISBN 0374175268.
==Related articles==
* [[George Washington's presidency]]
* [[U.S. presidential election, 1789]]
* [[U.S. presidential election, 1792]]
* [[Famous military commanders]]
* [[George Washington's farewell address]]
* [[List of U.S. Presidential religious affiliations]]
* [[Newburgh conspiracy]]
In recent years, a number of anti-Semitic groups have attributed false quotations to George Washington and other [[Founding Fathers]], with the intention of inciting [[anti-Semitism]]. This subject is discussed in [[Neo-Nazi Theory (American founding fathers)]].
==Notes==
#{{anb|father}}The earliest known image in which Washington is identified as such is on the cover of the circa [[1778]] [[Pennsylvania German]] almanac (Lancaster: Gedruckt bey Francis Bailey). This identifies Washington as "Landes Vater" or ''Father of the Land''.
==External links==
{{commons|George Washington}}
{{wikiquote}}
{{Wikisource author}}
*[http://gwpapers.virginia.edu/] Full version of the on-line Papers of George Washington and other information from the University of Virginia
*[http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/presiden/washpap.htm The Papers of George Washington] from the Avalon Project (includes Inaugural Addresses, State of the Union Messages, and other materials)
*[http://www.loc.gov/rr/program/bib/ourdocs/commission.html Library of Congress: Washington's Commission as Commander in Chief]
*[http://usinfo.state.gov/usa/infousa/facts/democrac/49.htm Farewell Address]
*[http://www.libraryreference.org/washington.html Biography of George Washington]
*[http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~jamesdow/s004/f647706.htm A pedigree of George Washington]
*[http://www.ericdigests.org/1999-2/washington.htm Teaching about George Washington]
*[http://www.thirty-thousand.org/pages/section_IB5.htm The First Presidential Veto] Analysis of the first veto by a U.S. President
*[https://www.perscom.army.mil/tagd/tioh/rank/goa.htm General Washington's military rank]
*[http://www.whitehouse.gov/history/presidents/gw1.html White House Biography]
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{{succession box|title=[[President of the United States]]|before=''(none)''|after=[[John Adams]]|years=[[April 30]], [[1789]]<sup>(a)</sup> – [[March 4]], [[1797]]}}
{{succession footnote| marker=<sup>(a)</sup>| footnote=Washington's term as President is sometimes listed as starting on either March 4 or April 6. March 4 is the official start of the first presidential term. April 6 is the date on which Congress counted the electoral votes and certified a winner. April 30 is the date on which Washington took the oath of office.}}
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{{USpresidents | before=''(none)'' | after=[[John Adams]]| years=[[1789]]–[[1797]]}}
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[[Category:Biography|Washington, George]]
[[Category:1732 births|Washington, George]]
[[Category:George Washington| ]]
[[Category:People from Virginia|Washington, George]]
[[Category:1799 deaths|Washington, George]]
[[Category:Autodidacts|Washington, George]]
[[Category:Freemasons|Washington]]
[[Category:Continental Army generals|Washington, George]]
[[Category:Continental Congressmen|Washington, George]]
[[Category:French and Indian War people|Washington, George]]
[[Category:Revolutionaries|Washington, George]]
[[Category:U.S. Founding Fathers|Washington, George]]
[[Category:Signers of the U.S. Constitution|Washington, George]]
[[Category:Presidents of the U.S.|Washington, George]]
[[Category:Episcopalians|Washington, George]]
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