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Short
Answer: Yes.
Long Answer:
The Gods and Goddesses refer to this as the
Olympian faith, and team-members have come to accept this
is so, though it is difficult to imagine that something so
enjoyable could be called a religion. But that religion is
so often presented in the modern world as fun-free is no
fault of theirs.
So
what is it to be religious?
For
many people religion is the reassurance: 'Ask and
you shall be given.' However, team members understand the
Olympian faith is:
'Be responsible and you shall be respected.' If you
ask for something who would you call upon? To ask one Goddesses
or God to alter your life means
they must interfere in the plans of others.
Ask and you may get what
you wish for or you may not. Some Gods and Goddesses will
give you the gift that you may call upon them.
Team-members agree the relationship between humans and the
Gods and Goddess is one of mutual respect. Humans respect
them for their work of creation and maintenance of
life, of which we
are part. They respect us for the way we conduct our
lives.
Not so much: 'ask and you shall be
given', but 'don't ask and you shall be respected.'
Remember
they can see the bigger picture, and getting what you
think you want may not always be for the best at that
time, but they can and do help an individual in many
different ways. In short they wish to be honoured for
their work, not for what they will give you.
What
this faith requires of anyone is to remember the different
Gods and Goddesses on their celebration days. Celebrate
with them, or remember them in some simple way.
The Gods
and Goddesses work hard, believe mortals should do the
same, though bear in mind - as you will find included in
the Unknown Gods and Goddesses series pages - there is a God who's
job description it is to be lazy. Generally then, they think
humankind is best when happy and working at something
worthwhile. Those who bring harm and evil to others will
spend some time with one of the deities when their life is
over. Hades' Assessors, the
Cyclops, the Erinyes and any
of the Titans are best avoided. And of course regular
evil-doers face the Devourer for termination.
The Olympians enjoy themselves, not at our
expense, but celebrate all of creation. They expect us to
do the same as best we can.
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