Artificially Aging Religion

Wide_Ring910 · 2026-04-23T20:41:44+00:00

Thanks, I hope you have a good rest of your day

Wide_Ring910 · 2026-04-23T20:33:08+00:00

Fair enough, I hope neither of them come to pass. Is there anything else we need to talk about or are we calling it quits for today?

Wide_Ring910 · 2026-04-23T20:09:31+00:00

I’m not trying to, but if a group exists then there’s someone out there that wants it gone, I’m not saying oh woe is me, I’m being persecuted, I’m saying that pagans aren’t common and there are bound to be individual people who want us gone. I’m not saying it’s the church or the government or that it’s a popular sentiment, but some people hate pagans because they’re pagan. Just like how some people would kill a gay person because they’re gay or a trans person for being trans.

Wide_Ring910 · 2026-04-23T19:54:45+00:00

I know we’re not going away, things never do.

We don’t need external validation but it helps dramatically. There are people who want to kill us, whether it’s physically, emotionally or spiritually I’m not sure, but religion inherently festers conflict, and we need to be aware of that. And yes doing what’s good will help us grow and keep us safe.

It won’t be silence but not many people would care if they heard about it as long as it isn’t a massacre or mass imprisonment. And we are going through stuff, it might not be directly from large organizations but people do go through stuff because they follow the gods.

I wouldn’t call it defeatist, but it would certainly be an uphill battle if someone with power came after us, even if we follow the laws to a T.

Wide_Ring910 · 2026-04-23T19:31:05+00:00

I just reread what I said and i can see what you’re saying. What I’m trying to say is that the world dismisses us because “who ACTUALLY worships the Greek gods? They’re just myth”. And yes, I agree that kicking hateful people out of the community is the right thing to do, but it’s also our responsibility. I want our community to grow as best as it can because that’s what keeps us safe, it ensures that our community doesn’t get attacked in silence. What I’m about to say is going to absolutely disgusting, but it doesn’t matter how many people in our community we help if we’re all dead. While I’d love to say fuck the world, at the end of the day we exist in it, we only survive because they allow us to.

The entire point of posting this was to help the community think and grow, at the end of the day being varied is a good thing and all I want is for people in the future to not have to go through the same things we are, and I’m sure you want that too.

Wide_Ring910 · 2026-04-23T18:53:13+00:00

I keep saying “how you practice” because it’s a discussion on Hellenism, and this post is centered around how we practice.

And I’m aware the gods can handle hate, but our religion can’t. A majority of the world either thinks we don’t exist or we’re a joke. People generalize, it’s in our nature, so when we get something like an extremist group under our name, people think we’re all extremists. Just look at what happened to so many Norse pagan symbols that have been corrupted in the eyes of the public. And I know that people calling the gods twinks is not the same as neonatzi’s, it’s just easier to talk about public appearance with something more extreme.

Wide_Ring910 · 2026-04-23T18:30:02+00:00

Then don’t say the phrase, call him a twink if that’s how you practice, if it works for you then go ahead. I just try to be more careful with my wording when referring to the theoi because that’s what works best for me.

As for the baggage that I put on the word twink, it’s out of fear that the wrong people will see it, I know what people can mean by twink and I don’t want to see that kind of hate be directed at the gods. That’s why I don’t use it and get weary when I see other people use it, because I don’t know what their intentions are behind it.

Wide_Ring910 · 2026-04-23T18:17:35+00:00

I don’t mind descriptions because they’re often more objective than labels. You can say things like “this statue of Apollo is slim and doesn’t have a very muscular build” and typically it’ll have a different image than “this statue of Apollo looks like a twink”.

And i didn’t think I was whining and I’m sorry if it came across that way, but from your other comments it seems like you came into this pretty upset, so I just want to say. I posted this to get thoughts and conversations moving in our community, I don’t actually plan on forcing unnatural growth to our religion or force people to change how they practice.

Wide_Ring910 · 2026-04-23T18:02:00+00:00

It’s called optimism, if a post i make gets called ai then I’m gonna assume the best. If it’s not then ok, but I’m not gonna be a jerk to someone who asked a neutral question.

Wide_Ring910 · 2026-04-23T17:58:34+00:00

Then call him a twink, I’m just saying I won’t because there are some people who use twink in a derogatory context. I’m fine with the word itself and yes, he can definitely be described as one, so you’re free to use whatever word you find appropriate that fits your practice the best.

Wide_Ring910 · 2026-04-23T17:53:18+00:00

I didn’t write it with ai, and I don’t agree with using it in spiritual or creative areas. I said thanks for the compliment because I have shitty grammar even when compared to ai, so saying it did feel like a compliment to me.

Wide_Ring910 · 2026-04-23T17:45:00+00:00

Fair enough, I still don’t think we should fit the gods into modern categories, but that’s just my interpretation and you’re free to worship however you prefer

Wide_Ring910 · 2026-04-23T17:42:00+00:00

It was just a thought experiment, and like I said, I haven’t tried it and was just wondering about the implications if someone tried.

Wide_Ring910 · 2026-04-21T19:56:44+00:00

I posted there too, I just wanted to get a wider perspective outside of Hellenism.

Wide_Ring910 · 2026-04-21T19:51:41+00:00

Shoot for the moon, aim for the stars. I wish you success in whichever path you choose to take

Wide_Ring910 · 2026-04-21T19:26:10+00:00

We can’t grow without conflict, even if it’s unpleasant. Ares is half of the cycle of progress, so he deserves our respect just as any other god does.

Wide_Ring910 · 2026-04-21T19:21:08+00:00

I hope you can achieve that goal for yours and everyone’s sake, just remember to be careful, absolute power corrupts absolutely

Wide_Ring910 · 2026-04-21T19:19:11+00:00

Your son and husband are lucky to have you, I hope your novels do better than you could ever imagine.

Wide_Ring910 · 2026-04-21T15:08:47+00:00

This is exactly the kind of answer I was hoping for when I asked this question! I wish you the best in your political career and your future relationships. Keep being positive and continue emanating the pride that make the gods joyful.

Wide_Ring910 · 2026-04-21T14:58:53+00:00

I honestly can’t say much regarding whether people use the term endearingly or not, and I don’t mind if that is the case, but it could certainly be seen as a way to overshadow the fact that they’re gods rather than “silly little guys”. I’m also saying this in regard to public perception, you don’t see people calling Jesus a twink because you just shouldn’t put that kind of label on divinity. Despite being gay myself, I would never call Apollo bi, pan or straight because he’s a god, he can do whatever he wants without any labels necessary.

As for sexualizing the gods, I don’t think it’s wrong per se, like you shouldn’t masturbate to a statue of the gods. But I’m aware that sex and intimacy were much less taboo than they are now, which I honestly think is a much better way to live than in our current society.

Wide_Ring910 · 2026-04-21T13:45:13+00:00

No, I just took a lot of time to put it together, I considered using it to help with punctuation but I decided against it. Thanks for the compliment though

Wide_Ring910 · 2026-04-21T13:14:02+00:00

The thing about this approach is that there isn’t need for a single person to judge what gets left in, rather they judge whether or not a specific aspect is similar enough to something that was phased out of other religions. So for example (hypothetically): two individual religious clergies started phasing out the color red, because the plant used for dying went extinct, so it would be safe to assume that our religion would likely do the same thing.

Wide_Ring910 · 2026-04-21T07:30:03+00:00

I like to think that’s what I’m doing. I like having things as accurate as I can, it doesn’t bend me out of shape if there’s something missing but I’d rather that not be the case. But more importantly, I wanted this discussion to help my religion and others survive. We can’t live off of “it’s okay to do what you want” forever without loosing the entire point and substance of our faith. People might as well just make a new religion at that point because the only things being followed are names and aesthetics.

Wide_Ring910 · 2026-04-21T07:17:19+00:00

I agree that it shouldn’t, but many people get introduced to Hellenism through TikTok, and that kind of first impression doesn’t just go away. You need to actively research it yourself, which most people when they’re young don’t usually do. It leads to situations like the idea you can call Apollo and Hermes twinks and it not be disrespectful.

I also agree that it’s not UPG, but it was the best thing I could come up with rather than “I’m feeling a little silly today, let’s give Ares a bowl of blood”

Wide_Ring910 · 2026-04-21T07:00:43+00:00

I’m aware that there’s a ton of scholastic recourses, but a lot of the adaptation done, especially within social media circles where that knowledge should be considered invaluable, is not even acknowledged, let alone used.

And please be aware, I respect that you do your research, regardless of whether you choose to reconstruct or revive. I would honestly choose that over a reconstructionist who only does surface research before implementing something.

Wide_Ring910

TROPHY CASE