I feel like lately I\u2019ve been seeing a lot of commentary about how the Gods aren\u2019t nice. \u00a0The basis of the discussion roots in the \u201crealness\u201d of the gods, and that they aren\u2019t all sugar and spice, made of just pretty statues and paper cutouts, waiting to grant our wishes and desires.<\/p>\n
As someone who spent 10 years in Catholic School and whose mother taught religion while also having a Jewish father, my education included fairly intense theological discussions, and a keen interest in the Old Testament. Add to that a life-long passion for mythology from around the world \u2013 Egypt, Babylon, India, Native American, Greece, etc. So I can\u2019t help but think of both \u201cmy God is a vengeful god\u201d and \u201cand the Goddess\/God was jealous of X, and cursed her to\u2026\u201d and go \u201cNo shit Sherlock, really? Who really thinks that?\u201d<\/p>\n Whether you view myths of deities as a means to explain the mysteries of nature and human existence, or have a very real, personal relationship with a divine entity, it\u2019s very hard to deceive yourself \u00a0into ignoring the reality of how the world works.<\/p>\n Water gives life, but can flood and drown you. \u00a0Fire brings warmth, but can burn down homes and ravage the landscape. Earth brings us food, but can also yield poison and swallow us whole. Air gives us breath, but can also destroy and break us down. \u00a0Myths from every culture extol the virtues and blessings of the Gods, as well as their most foul attributes. \u00a0Which is no surprise when we look at the nature of humanity \u2013 our brightest and darkest moments, and everything in between.<\/p>\n If we are modeled in the form of the gods, why would they be different from us in virtue, vice, and personality? \u00a0If we all (gods and humans) come from starstuff, why would we not have other things in common? \u00a0Whether they exist because of us, we exist because of them, or something in between, we are undeniably linked.<\/p>\n I do understand the tendency for one breaking away from Judeo-Christian religion to want to embrace an opposite sort of deity \u2013 often one that is female, kind, accepting, and understanding. \u00a0But I think that is a fantasy that is short-lived as one grows to understand our relationship with nature, the divine, and ourselves. We know that a woman isn\u2019t just one thing, and that a mother goddess can be fierce and angry, just as a father god can be nurturing, protective, giving, and supportive. \u00a0One cannot be aware and not have an inkling of the balance.<\/p>\n As you journey along your path, if you happen to forge a personal relationship with a divine entity or spirit (or multiple ones), then you very quickly grow to understand the nature of it \u2013 the give and take of energy, the diversity of personality, the blessings and the curses. If we do come into it naively, the gods do not suffer fools well, and it\u2019s either sink or swim with the current.<\/p>\n So it makes me wonder, who are we really scolding about understanding the nature of gods? Or is it more about congratulating ourselves on figuring it out?<\/p>\n Either way, the gods are laughing.<\/p>\n![\"The](\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/654\/2017\/01\/gods2.jpg\")