Humans vs the Divine: Mutually Beneficial or One-sided Glorification? Over the years, humans have created many ways to cope with their existence on Earth. Some are existentialists, who believe that life lacks objective meaning, and some take the transcendentalist view and embrace the encompassing spirit of nature. Even though these and many more modern concepts tackle the idea of a godless existence, time-honored religion continues to sway the majority of humans on Earth. Some of the earliest written stories and legends, like the Odyssey, the Epic of Gilgamesh, and the Bible, provide a snapshot of the origins of religion itself, and the interactions between the divine figures and humans in each work indicate the diminutive roles humans have
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There are many times in the text where God makes a covenant to protect a man and his family, and to multiply his offspring. After God destroyed the world in a flood, he made a covenant with Noah, establishing that “never again shall all flesh be cut off by waters of a flood,” using a rainbow as a sign of his enduring promise to “[Noah] and [his] offspring, and every living creature that is with [him]… for all future generations” (Genesis 9:8-17). Later on, God also established his covenant with Abraham, ensuring that he will “be the father of a multitude of nations… and kings will come from [him]” (Genesis 17:4-6). Abram and his wife, Sarai were unable to have children after many years of trying, and Abram even resorted to having a child with Hagar, Sarai’s servant, in order to keep his family line going. After God made a covenant with Abram ensuring that he and Sarai will have a huge lineage, he changed their names to Abraham and Sarah as a mark of his promise, and gave only one stipulation: everyone in Abraham’s family and everyone apart of his house, including servants, slaves, and his bastard child, had to be circumcised as a sign of their faith and …show more content…
For example, Athene favors Odysseus and helps him escape off of Calypso’s Island, but Poseidon hates Odysseus for blinding his cyclops son and actively works against his return home. Thought Athene tries to help Odysseus when possible, Poseidon doesn’t let Odysseus return for ten years, and in that time Odysseus’ entire crew perishes. During this arduous journey, Odysseus is thrown into situation after situation that he can neither control nor ever fully escape from. After escaping Polyphemos’ cave, Circe’s island, Scylla, and Charybdis, Poseidon continues to work against Odysseus’ efforts to return to Ithaca. He even punishes the Phaiakians for helping Odysseus, even though Zeus has strict hospitality rules set in place for all guests. When gods of this society are in conflict, all established rules become obsolete and the humans are at the mercy of the gods and their mood
There are many times in the text where God makes a covenant to protect a man and his family, and to multiply his offspring. After God destroyed the world in a flood, he made a covenant with Noah, establishing that “never again shall all flesh be cut off by waters of a flood,” using a rainbow as a sign of his enduring promise to “[Noah] and [his] offspring, and every living creature that is with [him]… for all future generations” (Genesis 9:8-17). Later on, God also established his covenant with Abraham, ensuring that he will “be the father of a multitude of nations… and kings will come from [him]” (Genesis 17:4-6). Abram and his wife, Sarai were unable to have children after many years of trying, and Abram even resorted to having a child with Hagar, Sarai’s servant, in order to keep his family line going. After God made a covenant with Abram ensuring that he and Sarai will have a huge lineage, he changed their names to Abraham and Sarah as a mark of his promise, and gave only one stipulation: everyone in Abraham’s family and everyone apart of his house, including servants, slaves, and his bastard child, had to be circumcised as a sign of their faith and …show more content…
For example, Athene favors Odysseus and helps him escape off of Calypso’s Island, but Poseidon hates Odysseus for blinding his cyclops son and actively works against his return home. Thought Athene tries to help Odysseus when possible, Poseidon doesn’t let Odysseus return for ten years, and in that time Odysseus’ entire crew perishes. During this arduous journey, Odysseus is thrown into situation after situation that he can neither control nor ever fully escape from. After escaping Polyphemos’ cave, Circe’s island, Scylla, and Charybdis, Poseidon continues to work against Odysseus’ efforts to return to Ithaca. He even punishes the Phaiakians for helping Odysseus, even though Zeus has strict hospitality rules set in place for all guests. When gods of this society are in conflict, all established rules become obsolete and the humans are at the mercy of the gods and their mood