Calling who?

[TatteredAngel]

TeaDidikai

Fiddlers Green

Oh, I am well aware of several differences between Mars and Aries... however, my point is more one of origin and nature of entity.
Actually, a stronger case can be made for Mars being a pilfered god from the Etruscans, but that's hardly the point.
The point being, if a culture steals a deity from another culture, then starts altering the particulars of said divinity's lore, and the means of worship, has it birthed a new god, or is it just wrong? Or, mayhaps, as unlikely as it may be, is it okay so long as the god doesn't seem to mind.
ninja

Bascially, how much Syncretism is allowed before it becomes rank blasphemy.

I'm suggesting that it isn't either of the options presented.

That the individual god exists prior to other cultural encounters, and that what looks like "god damn stealing" (Oh! So Punny!) is actually more of a human's desire to make connections. That is to say, that the origin of the given deity is present in the culture that is called by it without any connection to another beyond what mankind makes up.

I have to wonder how far that stretches, though. Aren't there cases of outright historical theft?  

[TeaDidikai]

TatteredAngel

I have to wonder how far that stretches, though. Aren't there cases of outright historical theft?

YHVH and Christian v. Jewish theology. But then, you have to take into account that the NT doesn't mention the name of their god.  

[TatteredAngel]

TeaDidikai

TatteredAngel

I have to wonder how far that stretches, though. Aren't there cases of outright historical theft?

YHVH and Christian v. Jewish theology. But then, you have to take into account that the NT doesn't mention the name of their god.

What about the Hittites? I am going from memory off a class I took three years back and don't have my textbook with me, so I apologize if I'm off-base, but didn't they just pretty much yank the gods they liked from other cultures around them and have fun with them?  

[TeaDidikai]

TatteredAngel

TeaDidikai

TatteredAngel

I have to wonder how far that stretches, though. Aren't there cases of outright historical theft?

YHVH and Christian v. Jewish theology. But then, you have to take into account that the NT doesn't mention the name of their god.

What about the Hittites? I am going from memory off a class I took three years back and don't have my textbook with me, so I apologize if I'm off-base, but didn't they just pretty much yank the gods they liked from other cultures around them and have fun with them?

Anatolian Hittites or Biblical Hittites?

Also- would the assertion be that because their god slays a serpent it is the same deity?

I am beginning to think that gods who deal with Thunder just plain don't like snakes.

I blame Thor. 3nodding  

[TatteredAngel]

TeaDidikai

TatteredAngel

TeaDidikai

TatteredAngel

I have to wonder how far that stretches, though. Aren't there cases of outright historical theft?

YHVH and Christian v. Jewish theology. But then, you have to take into account that the NT doesn't mention the name of their god.

What about the Hittites? I am going from memory off a class I took three years back and don't have my textbook with me, so I apologize if I'm off-base, but didn't they just pretty much yank the gods they liked from other cultures around them and have fun with them?

Anatolian Hittites or Biblical Hittites?

Also- would the assertion be that because their god slays a serpent it is the same deity?

I am beginning to think that gods who deal with Thunder just plain don't like snakes.

I blame Thor. 3nodding

Anatolian Hittites. It was an Indo-European linguistics class. And the assertion (if I am remembering my class correctly) is that their gods are likely pilfered dieties because most of their language is a mishmash of stuff they liked from surrounding cultures and just sort of co-opted for themselves and that their surviving writing suggests that they syncretized a whole lot of religious elements of the cultures around them without paying a whole lot of attention to the overall cultures themselves.  

[TeaDidikai]

TatteredAngel

Anatolian Hittites. It was an Indo-European linguistics class. And the assertion (if I am remembering my class correctly) is that their gods are likely pilfered dieties because most of their language is a mishmash of stuff they liked from surrounding cultures and just sort of co-opted for themselves and that their surviving writing suggests that they syncretized a whole lot of religious elements of the cultures around them without paying a whole lot of attention to the overall cultures themselves.

Hmmm... not sure how comfortable I am justifing theology via lingustics. I mean, by that measure, it doesn't matter that my gods have almost nothing in common with Christendom- Domari language has a great deal of Middle Eastern loan words- thus we're worshipping YHVH? confused  

[TatteredAngel]

TeaDidikai

Hmmm... not sure how comfortable I am justifing theology via lingustics. I mean, by that measure, it doesn't matter that my gods have almost nothing in common with Christendom- Domari language has a great deal of Middle Eastern loan words- thus we're worshipping YHVH? confused

I actually put more stock in what was said about the rituals they've deciphered-- that it's a hodgepodge, and that it indicates not so much cultural blending as the Hittites going "ooh, this is nifty, we'll take this!" I would agree with you that doing it by linguistics alone is dicey. It's just that most of this stuff, to the best of my knowledge, has been largely focused on by linguistic nerds, so that's where the sources are.  

[TeaDidikai]

TatteredAngel

I actually put more stock in what was said about the rituals they've deciphered-- that it's a hodgepodge, and that it indicates not so much cultural blending as the Hittites going "ooh, this is nifty, we'll take this!" I would agree with you that doing it by linguistics alone is dicey. It's just that most of this stuff, to the best of my knowledge, has been largely focused on by linguistic nerds, so that's where the sources are.

I need more information.

As for the rituals themselves, I'd personally need both the mythos that addressed the ritual and the historical doctumentation from their neighbors.  

[TatteredAngel]

TeaDidikai

TatteredAngel

I actually put more stock in what was said about the rituals they've deciphered-- that it's a hodgepodge, and that it indicates not so much cultural blending as the Hittites going "ooh, this is nifty, we'll take this!" I would agree with you that doing it by linguistics alone is dicey. It's just that most of this stuff, to the best of my knowledge, has been largely focused on by linguistic nerds, so that's where the sources are.

I need more information.

As for the rituals themselves, I'd personally need both the mythos that addressed the ritual and the historical doctumentation from their neighbors.

Tell you what-- I'll try and dig up the books I used for that class the next time I'm at my other home and see what I can put together. ((And someday, I'll be living somewhere with all my books in one place and not packed sadly away in boxes. *sigh*))  

[TeaDidikai]

TatteredAngel

TeaDidikai

TatteredAngel

I actually put more stock in what was said about the rituals they've deciphered-- that it's a hodgepodge, and that it indicates not so much cultural blending as the Hittites going "ooh, this is nifty, we'll take this!" I would agree with you that doing it by linguistics alone is dicey. It's just that most of this stuff, to the best of my knowledge, has been largely focused on by linguistic nerds, so that's where the sources are.

I need more information.

As for the rituals themselves, I'd personally need both the mythos that addressed the ritual and the historical doctumentation from their neighbors.

Tell you what-- I'll try and dig up the books I used for that class the next time I'm at my other home and see what I can put together. ((And someday, I'll be living somewhere with all my books in one place and not packed sadly away in boxes. *sigh*))

Sounds good. When I have time, I'll do some of my own research as well.