Rutilius got a kick out of my post Worshiping An Imperfect God, and asked to translate it into Polish. And since my life has been very much about going with the flow over the past couple of weeks, I said “Sure, why not?” So for entertainment value I used Google Translate on the Polish translation to pull it back into English. Google did a pretty decent job.
I do not believe in perfection (perfection). I do not believe in the integrity of things. I do not believe in purity. I do not believe in “pure good” because it implies the opposite of “pure evil”. I do not think such a thing existed.
I do not believe that the Gods were pure and perfect, without blemish. This is the kind of language that is used to talk about Jesus and to promote an unattainable ideal. I do not think people in the inferiority of the Gods was to being imperfect. I think this is dangerous theology promoted. I’m not tainted imperfection impeccable humbling before God. I am mortal, bidding for excellence (excellence) nieśmietlene worshiping creatures bigger than myself, which is also trying to Excellence (excellence).
My gods make mistakes. Sometimes they do bad things. Sometimes they even kill people. I can not help it if it is a problem for you, but do not expect your approval for my faith.
Hera gave Heracles her friendship and daughter in marriage because she admired his striving for excellence against all odds. She had given him a hard time because he had been given gifts tricked out of her which made him superior to other mortal men, but is she to blame that he let the stress of adversity lead him to commit murder?
When hades seduced bark, her mother Demeter stopped succession of the seasons. The vegetation on the earth began to die. This is a bad thing. Hades seducing a woman away from her family and against the wishes of her mother is a bad thing. Permission to mankind and other living beings suffer because of your personal despair is a bad thing. But these things are understandable. Who did not disappoint his family and not break the social rules of love. Who has not suspended its obligations at a time when he suffered a deep personal sorrow?
The problem with the perception of the Gods as pristine and perfect is that you fall into the problem of theodicy. How perfect beings allow so much suffering in the world? Excellent, immaculate Poseidon, who makes only impeccably good deeds do not allow children to drown in the waves. If Zeus is perfectly good, then why initiate a house fire lightning? Do make us human imperfection?
The gods are not supernatural. Created by Kosmos, are subject to the cosmos. One of these rights is the evolution of the Gods certainly evolve and change as we do, and influence our evolution. Perfect, eternal being can not evolve. Excellent could not be more perfect. Eternal life would have to precede the cosmos, and the myths tell us that the gods are immortal and created, which is not the same as being eternal.
The gods are older than us. Smarter, more powerful and immortal beings. They recognize their own evolution and gift in our efforts to excellence (excellence). They help us in this, and sometimes sacrifice themselves to help us. I believe that they are worthy of worship, not because they are perfect, but because they are imperfect in spania way. Balance each other out, keep restrictions, enter and correct each other when necessary. Just as nature balances itself, and human society are balanced, so the gods offset one another. They are not static but dynamic as anything in nature.
You can try to erase the myths. You can purify religion. But then wkroczycie in the same space as the Christians who rationalize that the Lord tormented Job, to win a bet with a subordinate entity. You can not criticize or make fun of them for doing this. You can not call God Jehovah violence and turning to say that pagan myths are not true. You can not use double standards.
For me, the gods are imperfect makes perfect sense. People are not called to be perfect (perfect), we seek excellence (excellence). Applying the means to make mistakes, but do not give up. The gods are different from us in many ways. They are bigger, smarter, more powerful, and more importantly, immortal. That’s what they do with us is that they also evolve and strive for excellence (excellence). They help us because they see us siągających the excellence (excellence) in our short lives of mortals. They are not perfect (perfect) beings are demanding the impossible from the mortals and winiącymi us when we fail to meet these impossible determinants, and are not engaged in dividing the world into “bad” and “good”. Strive for excellence, and help us when we do the same.
I am safely in Paganistan, but tired and still being a vagabond. I’ll have more updates soon.