Sure religion is man made, its also very hide to define in any comprehensive way. Just because its man made, doesn't make it invalid. The Gods aren't man made, the religions we create to honour them surely are.
Hide = hard... grrr. I'd add that even if what we call "Gods" aren't really as we see them (perhaps something indescribable that we chose to characterize in these ways for the sake of our limited intellects) that still doesnt' invalidate our worship of them. :)
Wow...very nicely put. I guess seeing them as really big people was what I was doing subconciously. I was upset reading the Illiad that shouldn't the Gods be above this type of thing? It shook my faith a bit hard...I hate seeing the Gods portrayed badly, that's why I'm really of a fan of Hesiod...he seems to see the Gods as "the Great out there"s.
The Gods aren't man made, the religions we create to honour them surely are.
I think that's part of the reason I was upset...all these classical scholars out there don't see the Gods from a Hellenistic viewpoint, and to them...they are as a friend puts it, "Humanity writ large...no one really believes in them". Sometimes I feel like an acolyte of the Gods of Olympus, transported to modern day Harvard trying to explain my faith to people who don't believe in it. When I see in writings people taking liberties with the stories of the Gods...poking fun at them, it hurts. Somehow, Greek Religion became Modern "myth". And what was once "Mythos" lost it's meaning to become, "Myth" - something that no one really believes in. It just feels sometimes like modern scholars are saying I'm putting my faith into Little Red Riding hood, or Cinderella.
oh, my cariad...ladymacbecJuly 27 2005, 19:12:20 UTC
Adam, dearest... don't let it happen. If I were there, I'd take you for a long, totally silent ramble amongst the redwoods... you need to reconnect, sweet. I'm so sorry you're having a lost moment. I know how it feels, believe me- if you want to rant, or to question, or to vent, please email me dear, or call--I'm a good listener and I care.
Just don't get pulled in a way you didn't want to go is all.
Sometimes I find these elements from all kinds of different faiths and I just want to hodge-podge them together so that I can get this 'perfect' faith. And I'm glad I know better, and when to stop.
Well, organized religion is absolutely a man-made phenomenon, no question about that. I was raised Jewish, but I’ve grown more and more disillusioned with the entire Judeo/Christian/Muslim monotheistic sect as a whole, and have pretty much concluded that its not for me. First of all, I’ve never understood the concept of a god that demands worship, why would a supreme being require gratification from humans? Secondly, 95% of the Jewish teachings make no sense to me, and the Christian religion seems far too dour and has way too much emphasis on wrath and smiting. Why does god need to smite anyone? I certainly don’t see the universal purpose behind any kind of hell
( ... )
I 'did the Jewish thing' as my Mother called it, for a few years. It's something I still feel strongly about...but I guess now I'm officially a polytheist. I have trouble with Jewish/Christian/Islamic teaching too. My friend John says that the worst thing that happened to the world was all trying to believe in the same Deity. I was trying to classify and catalogue my faith, I think that's what brings in these moments of sadness. Faith speaks in another language, the right-brain symbolism.
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I think that's part of the reason I was upset...all these classical scholars out there don't see the Gods from a Hellenistic viewpoint, and to them...they are as a friend puts it, "Humanity writ large...no one really believes in them". Sometimes I feel like an acolyte of the Gods of Olympus, transported to modern day Harvard trying to explain my faith to people who don't believe in it. When I see in writings people taking liberties with the stories of the Gods...poking fun at them, it hurts. Somehow, Greek Religion became Modern "myth". And what was once "Mythos" lost it's meaning to become, "Myth" - something that no one really believes in. It just feels sometimes like modern scholars are saying I'm putting my faith into Little Red Riding hood, or Cinderella.
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don't let it happen. If I were there, I'd take you for a long, totally silent ramble amongst the redwoods...
you need to reconnect, sweet.
I'm so sorry you're having a lost moment. I know how it feels, believe me-
if you want to rant, or to question, or to vent, please email me dear, or call--I'm a good listener and I care.
blessings a chariad
Becky
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It must be a Welsh secret, right?
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Sometimes I find these elements from all kinds of different faiths and I just want to hodge-podge them together so that I can get this 'perfect' faith. And I'm glad I know better, and when to stop.
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