May I ask why “the gods would never be your (x)” is bad? I know it is but I just don’t know *why* I’ve always been told “the gods are not your friends” but I hate viewing it like that
Of course!
For one it makes a habit of speaking for the gods by individuals who have no business or right speaking for the gods. You are not a priest, you are not an oracle, you are not a trained godphone. (And even if they are, always question them and their legitimacy. Saying that as a priestess and oracle in training).
Secondly, this idea that the gods are some mysterious figures that are far off and can't really be bothered with us and our feelings and so we can't have personal relationships (platonic/familial/romantic/sexual/etc) with them comes from (colonized) evangelical Christianity where Yahweh is this distant father figure and he cares about us, of course of course, but we should also feel lucky that he even spares us a glance! (🙄)
It often turns abusive behaviors into loving gestures as well, which we often see in the church. This attitude is often due to the fact that we have many pagans that still have Christian attitudes. And that's not shaming them! Deconstruction and healing religious trauma is a lengthy process and can take YEARS to do so. But it's still harmful rhetoric.
If YOU PERSONALLY have a strictly devotional and/or professional relationship with the divine then that's perfectly fine and valid. But not everyone will have a relationship with the divine like that. Some will have friendships with the divine, some will build themselves a family with the divine, some bang gods and angels and demons too, some have deep and loving romantic relationships with the divine, some have queerplatonic relationships with the divine, some even have alterous relationships with them.
And that's also okay and valid.
Also this take also just blatantly disregards so much mythology. "Don't be a myth literalist" doesn't mean completely disregard mythology. Another problem is that many people I've seen with this take (often white Hellenists) are speaking across the board and talking on/for practices that they have absolutely no fucking business talking about.
Bethany you're a white woman, stop speaking about how "the gods aren't your friends/lovers" as if it's a universal rule because you're also talking about closed practices, indigenous practices, and religions founded and primarily practiced by BIPOC people and you have no fucking business talking about shit you have no business talking about.