The return of Zeus??

[Peter@Beoworld]

I was looking forward to seeing a spirited debate about the resurrection of the ancient Greek religion which was criticised by a member of the Orthodox Church who called the adherents 'miserable resuscitators of a degenerate dead religion.'
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/6283907.stm is the link to the BBC story.

Pots and kettles comes to mind!

[Mr Clingford]

Pots and kettles comes to mind!But as Christianity never died out it could not be resuscitated so they are not the same! Odd happenings, though. Anyone up for a trip to Athens for an ancient orgy?

[Ryokan]

The president of the Association of Greek Clergymen, Father Efstathios Kollas, has described the followers of the Olympic gods as a handful of miserable resuscitators of a degenerate dead religion who wish to return to the monstrous dark delusions of the past.

Pot and kettle indeed.

[clarsct]

Hmmmmm.

I wonder when they celebrate Dionysis?

That is one celebration I might attend.....

[CapelDodger]

I vaguely recall this came up last year, but more in regard to the concept of "official religion" than to Zeus. Also in relation to Greek Nationalism. Remember the Greek Colonels? Greece is a relatively recent European democracy, rather bizarrely. Zeus doesn't worry me, the other things do.

I say that despite the utterly splendiferous thunder we had last night, windows rattling, dogs levitating, the whole bit. I don't scare that easily. I understand the physics. I also have a good grasp of history, and that's where I get scared.

[Kopji]

I feel like that damn robot in Hitchhikers guide. - Depressed

Why, it's as if they drop in here and see someone asking why nobody worships Zeus any more, and that atheists just believe in one less god than most people. And so, sensing an unmet need, they go off to worship a pantheon of archetypes for dysfunctional living.

[clarsct]

Oh, people still worship Odin and Dana and all sorts of dieties, my friend.

There are people who still believe in fairies and goblins and kobolds.

These people just wanted to worship at historical sites, thus the media attention...

[JamesDillon]

Just let me know when they revive the cult of Aphrodite. Those folks knew how to party.

[Alliebubs]

Just let me know when they revive the cult of Aphrodite. Those folks knew how to party.

I'm more leaning towards the cult of Bacchus, but that's just me.

[Madalch]

Just let me know when they revive the cult of Aphrodite. Those folks knew how to party.
"Let us pray to Aphrodite
Let us pray to Aphrodite
She wore that little silk nightie
And she's good enough for me!"

[Kopji]

Oh, people still worship Odin and Dana and all sorts of dieties, my friend.

There are people who still believe in fairies and goblins and kobolds.

These people just wanted to worship at historical sites, thus the media attention...

Humm, maybe. There have been political issues in the EU over freedom of religion though. I get the feeling that there is an occasional effort to loosen the Greek Orthodox grip. So this could just be political embarassment too, hard to say.

Article below from Turkish press lays out some of the compexity with the GO.

European Union membership requires Turkey to allow all religions to be freely practiced, but this is still not the case. The Greek Orthodox seminary on the island of Heybeliada in the Sea of Marmara, a focal point of a tiny Christian minority in Turkey, has been closed since 1971 and its reopening is viewed in Brussels as a litmus test of the implementation of one of the EU's core principles.
http://www.thenewanatolian.com/tna-14735.html

and...

Some non-Orthodox religious communities encountered difficulty in communicating with officials of the Orthodox Church and claimed that the attitude of the Orthodox Church toward their faiths increased social intolerance toward their religions. The Orthodox Church maintained a list of practices and religious groups, including the Jehovah's Witnesses, evangelical Protestants, Scientologists, Mormons, Baha'is, and others, which it believed to be sacrilegious. Officials of the Orthodox Church have acknowledged that they refused to enter into dialogue with religious groups considered harmful to Orthodox worshipers; church leaders instructed Orthodox Greeks to shun members of these faiths.
http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2006/71383.htm


boldface mine ('cause they are so loving and kind)

[ail]

For a bit of boring trivia ancient Greeks worshiped a diety they called Agnostos Theos, that is: the Unknown god.
There was a temple specifically dedicated for whatever god or gods actually existed but were not revealed.

My theory is that the old Greeks got bored with the whole 12 Gods business and decided to invent their own Flying Spaghetti Monster type deity for a laugh.
The Apostle Paul fell for it because he thought they were ignorant when he saw the altar with the inscription to that god.

Funny isn't it that we never hear one religion praising the virtues of another.

[Glen.Nogami]

Saw that the other day. Kinda strange, but at least most Greek mythology is kinda fun to read, as opposed to most of the bible (both testaments) and koran.

[JamesDillon]

I'm more leaning towards the cult of Bacchus, but that's just me.

Lush.

[wollery]

Saw that the other day. Kinda strange, but at least most Greek mythology is kinda fun to read, as opposed to most of the bible (both testaments) and koran.Yeah, at least the Greeks (and Romans) acknowledged that their gods were fickle obnoxious wankers! ;)

[CapelDodger]

Saw that the other day. Kinda strange, but at least most Greek mythology is kinda fun to read, as opposed to most of the bible (both testaments) and koran.
Enthusiastic agreement from me. The old pantheons were soap-opera, which we humans are obviously susceptible to. "Greatest Story Ever Told"? Jason and the Argonauts, not that wimpy Jesus pap. Gods and heros and monsters and unknown lands and magic and baby-eating mothers - that's a story.

Astonishing your elders with your precocious learning ... puh-lease! Got an agenda, have we?

[ceo_esq]

Funny isn't it that we never hear one religion praising the virtues of another.

That's not true, though.

Vatican II on Judaism:

The Church of Christ, in fact, recognizes that according to the divine mystery of salvation the origins of the Church's faith and election are already found in the Patriarch's, Moses, and the Prophets. ... The Church, then, can forget neither that it received the revelation of the Old Testament through that people with whom God, in his ineffable mercy, made the Ancient Covenant, nor can the Church forget that it draws sustenance from the root of that good olive tree onto which have been grafted the wild shoots, the Gentiles. ... Therefore, since the spiritual patrimony common to Christians and Jews is so great, this Sacred Council recommends and promotes a mutual understanding and respect ...


John Paul II on Judaism:

This extraordinary people continues to bear signs of its divine election.


John Paul II on Islam:

As a result of their monotheism, believers in Allah are particularly close to us ... the religiosity of Muslims deserves respect. It is impossible not to admire, for example, their fidelity to prayer. The image of believers in Allah who, without caring about time or place, fall to their knees and immerse themselves in prayer remains a model for all those who invoke the true God, in particular for those Christians who, having deserted their magnificent cathedrals, pray only a little or not at all.

[Alliebubs]

Lush.

Bite me.