There was recently someone who clumped me in to being like other “godkin” (I use the term with caution due to some religious protest) but the biggest complain they have is that gods are higher than people, as though monism and impersonal universal forces aren’t legitimate. I’m nervous to come off anon, but what are your personal (and/or analytical) thoughts on those who identify as deities from human history and/or deities from works of fiction?
As a pagan, and a spiritual person, I have mixed feeling about people who identify as deities.
Firstly, I respect anyone who sincerely believes that they are a physical, human incarnation of a real spiritual entity (god or goddess), whether that entity is/was worshiped on this earth, or in some fictional world.
Stuff happens. Gods and goddesses incarnate as humans for various reasons, sometimes deliberate, sometimes accidental. I think its a mistake to believe that the spirits of gods and goddesses could not be walking among us, and even posting on tumblr.
That said, all of us, gods and goddesses alike, are humans now. and I think human beings should treat one another respectfully as peers. I won’t treat someone as higher than me, just because they claim to be a god or goddess. I may however, treat them that way if they come to earn it.
On the other hand:
While I understand that some people need ways to cope, and can not always control themselves, I find people who claim to be, or identify as gods without believing that these entities are spiritually real to be very disrespectful, and even appropriative. This goes double for gods who are from this earth, but also applies to ‘fictional’ gods.
I would never shut down someone’s personal identity or coping mechanism, but I do not want to interact with anyone who takes the identity of a god without believing that gods are real, and exist as more than the mental and social constructs of humans.
As far as I believe, the best way to call upon a god or goddess to protect and comfort you, is to pray for their strength and guidance.
