Wednesday, July 23, 2008

Pantheon

"In their most extreme forms, monotheistic religions are deeply intolerant. If there is only one right way of doing things, every other way is wrong. If we are good, others are evil. By contrast, the ancient Greeks and Romans welcomed new gods into their pantheon and worshipped them alongside the old. They had no crusades or jihads. The Roman authorities threw Christians to the lions because they mistook the early Christians' intolerance for seditiousness. They did not seek to kill them because they rejected the Christians' God."
- Mary Lefkowitz, author of "Greek Gods, Human Lives: What We Can Learn From Myths" reviewed here.