How do we deal with the less seemly aspects of our Lore: how do we reconcile our worship with the fact that our Gods sometimes do things which appear horrible to our moral codes? Do we gloss over those stories and sanitize our deities into something more palatable to modern tastes? Do we shrug our shoulders and say that might makes right? Do we turn away from the Divine in terror and seek the comforts of atheism and anti-theism? Or do we engage with our Gods in their darkness as well as their light?
One possible answer might be found in Søren Kierkegaard's Fear and Trembling
. In that book, the great Danish philosopher examined the Biblical Myth of Abraham. He pointed out, quite correctly, that by any reasonable standard Abraham was a madman who was ready to kill his only son and burn the corpse because a voice in his head told him to do so. But then he also noted that sometimes the Gods ask for things which go beyond what we consider "reasonable." Abraham's willingness to sacrifice Isaac showed that he was willing to follow God when He asked for that which was absurd, even forbidden. His journey to the mountaintop was not something to be emulated but a sign of the sheer strength of his faith.
I would not encourage people to commit sexual assault in the name of Zeus, Odin, or any of the other gods who sometimes forced their attention on unwilling maids. Neither would I encourage them to dismiss these gods for their "unworthy" behavior. Rather, I would say that Here There Be Mysteries, and warn that those who would swim here are venturing into very deep water indeed. The Divine does not always fit into the happy boxes we'd like to squeeze it in. Sometimes when we encounter the Gods we will run into that which is beyond our comprehension, indeed beyond our capability to comprehend. Turning these Mysteries into comfortable moral lessons is not the point: neither is treating them as a carte blanche to act upon our own failings.
. In that book, the great Danish philosopher examined the Biblical Myth of Abraham. He pointed out, quite correctly, that by any reasonable standard Abraham was a madman who was ready to kill his only son and burn the corpse because a voice in his head told him to do so. But then he also noted that sometimes the Gods ask for things which go beyond what we consider "reasonable." Abraham's willingness to sacrifice Isaac showed that he was willing to follow God when He asked for that which was absurd, even forbidden. His journey to the mountaintop was not something to be emulated but a sign of the sheer strength of his faith.I would not encourage people to commit sexual assault in the name of Zeus, Odin, or any of the other gods who sometimes forced their attention on unwilling maids. Neither would I encourage them to dismiss these gods for their "unworthy" behavior. Rather, I would say that Here There Be Mysteries, and warn that those who would swim here are venturing into very deep water indeed. The Divine does not always fit into the happy boxes we'd like to squeeze it in. Sometimes when we encounter the Gods we will run into that which is beyond our comprehension, indeed beyond our capability to comprehend. Turning these Mysteries into comfortable moral lessons is not the point: neither is treating them as a carte blanche to act upon our own failings.
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4 comments:
If I am correct, Zeus was husband to Hera, his sister, making him incestuous as well. :-)
Perhaps the answer is to acknowledge that these stories and their characters belonged to a different time and place. Certainly, if a deity from ancient times was to act among mortals today, he would have to negotiate through the same social mores that we all must live under for fear of violating the law.
As they say in the Church of the Subgenius: "I don't practice what I preach 'cause I ain't the kinda person I'm preaching to."
Despite the similarities between the gods and mortals, they are not the same kind of beings as us, don't have the same needs or agendas, and can't be judged by the same moralities.
Well, very often we find that in the source material, the Greek or the Latin very clearly indicates "rape" rather than anything else; it was the Victorian sensibilities of English translators that have mislead us into a more delicate interpretation of these stories.
To half-echo what Robert said, these stories were being told in a different time with different morals - the "silence is the most beautiful ornament a woman can wear" type of morals - and I think we should be able to accept that without feeling like we have to defend it.
I see this a lot in the way Lilith is taken up by modern pagan groups or feminists. In order to make Her into a "role model," the whole "baby-eating" side is usually hidden under the rug.
I also think of this when people ask me how I can have close relationships with both Loki and Odin. Considering their history, they argue, surely They're enemies to each other. In personal encounters, however, Odin has always referred to Loki as "brother." I don't understand how Their relationship works, but, as you say, it's one of those Divine Mysteries.
-Anya
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