Xenophon wrote: Thu Apr 16, 2020 12:57 pm
DrYouth wrote: Thu Apr 16, 2020 12:56 pm
Xenophon wrote: Thu Apr 16, 2020 12:39 pm
You look at pagan belief systems, and you see that the gods actually "need" something from the humans. In the Assyrian account of the flood, the gods made the plan to flood the earth and kill the humans. When it happened, they then understood what they had done, because they weren't getting their sacrifices. But one of the Assyrian gods had told Utnapishtim about the plan, causing him to build the ark. He made a sacrifice, and it was said that the gods circled around the sacrifice like flies after smelling it's scent.
Sacrifices to YHWH were made in the context of atonement for sin. Abraham and Isaac was a different situation, because YHWH had no intention of actually allowing Abraham to do it.
There is a common theme going back many millennia, and the old and new testament are just retellings...
Man must consider the gods (God) and make appropriate sacrifices...
This is good mojo.
Otherwise the gods (God) get angry and there is a comeuppance.
They (He) send plagues and what not to get our attention.... then if you still don't listen floods and such...
COVID19 may be just such a wake up call...
Are we listening yet? The gods are just warming up.
Nah... I'm serious...
We haven't been listening.
We are fucking this planet up... and we are gonna get a serious comeuppance if we don't start listening...
The gods are just natural forces... the elements... the human universals of love, justice, lust, war etc...
The big G god is the ultimate union of all of this... the great universal ALL...
Sacrifices are about respect
Humans who don't respect the above are practicing hubris and hubris always gets called out in the end.
This pandemic is a mere slap on the wrist compared to what is coming if we don't all figure some shit out.
So roll your eyes at your peril... this is just the beginning...
But hopefully, like all good school children we will learn our lesson... we are a pretty inventive bunch...