Chapter 1866: What is Theology?
The so-called virgin goddesses refer to three goddesses among the Olympian Gods who swore to remain virgins: Hestia, the goddess of the hearth; Athena, the goddess of victory; and Artemis, the goddess of the hunt.
The teachings of these three goddesses encouraged female believers to maintain their virginity. Those who became clergy were even more strictly required to remain virgins, and the priestesses who served the gods were all pure maidens.
Athena, in particular, was the strictest. Believers who lost their virginity might even receive divine punishment from her, being cursed into monsters.
Furthermore, the relationships between these three virgin goddesses and Aphrodite, the goddess of love, were not good. It was said that their believers also often engaged in conflict and friction.
“I didn’t expect you to know so much. While it’s true that believers from Olympus have this restriction, we are not like that. I believe in the Roman Twelve Main Gods, and their restrictions on virgin goddesses are relatively less strict,” Alicia said with a smile.
Oh, there’s no such restriction? I was stunned. Does this mean that Athena, who swore virginity, has something to do with Minerva?
Perhaps this is the reason why Alicia chose Roman goddesses instead of the more traditional Greek goddesses?
I suddenly remembered Amanata, who, unable to favor Older Brother Jayad due to the restrictions of the God of Order and Law, had instead manifested through a non-orderly persona, the Yellow Goddess Ata.
Thinking that even gods can flexibly adjust their moral standards, it’s only natural for humans to actively change their beliefs to their advantage.
“However, you’re not wrong. Losing virginity does indeed have a certain impact on a goddess’s divine power. Among them, Diana, the Moon Goddess, and Vesta, the Hearth Goddess, are the strictest,” Alicia continued.
“Then why did you…” Jayad looked at her with confusion. Such behavior carried immense risks, potentially even inviting divine punishment or mutation.
“But these can be circumvented to a certain extent. For example, Vesta, the goddess of the hearth, also has the divine duty of protecting families, so as long as one is married, she is still protected. Diana, the Moon Goddess, also presides over the divine duty of childbirth, and Artemis has the avatar of the “Mother of a Hundred Breasts” Demeter, who blesses fertility and childbirth.”
Hearing Alicia’s explanation, I was dumbfounded and broadened my horizons. If this were before, I might have been utterly bewildered. But after witnessing the Yellow Goddess Ata not long ago, I could now understand this series of operations.
By changing the avatar of the deity one believes in, or by fulfilling one of its divine duties, the risk of divine punishment could be avoided. It turned out that long before Older Brother Jayad, someone had already understood this way of exploiting loopholes.
This reminded me of lawyers who study the intricacies of the law to interpret it or exploit its loopholes; this behavior felt similar. Although the risk was greater, the difficulty was actually a little lower.
I have been researching what gods are and how they influence this world. Many knowledgeable people told me that gods are supreme beings who have no interest in bothering with insignificant mortals. Although they have preferences and dislikes regarding human behavior, they are more like automatically processing machines.
Therefore, humans worship gods, establish religions, divide divine duties, and set religious rules not because the gods command them to do so, nor because the gods will perform these duties, but because human believers have discovered that these actions align better with the gods’ preferences, and acting according to these rules makes it easier to receive blessings and favor.
I believe this explanation is quite accurate. Human nature is complex, and so is divinity. A god may have multiple preferences, and these tendencies are discovered and summarized through human experience, ultimately leading to the discovery of various avatars.
If gods are hypocritical, then humans will discover a god with two completely opposite sides of good and evil, like Amanata and Ata. He might be strict with others but lenient with himself, thus appearing to have contradictory dual aspects.
The gods might even change. For example, Baal might have genuinely been a loyal and dutiful Main God in the beginning. Later, he found it too tiring and decided to be a glutton instead, so his image began to change gradually.
It’s not that humans blacken his name, just as an ant’s defamation cannot affect a person; the gods themselves changed, and humans could only adapt to their changes. Furthermore, Baal is capricious, which led to so many different sects, each with a different understanding of Baal.
Stripping away the blind worship of gods and treating them as humans makes these changes easy to understand and not strange at all. They might even be more casual. For instance, if a god always liked sweets but suddenly craved something savory today, it might split into a sweet faction and a savory faction.
Trying to understand gods, summarizing experiences, avoiding risks, and finding convenient ways to obtain divine favor is theology. The summarized rules are religious doctrines and divine duties. Therefore, theology is indeed a field of study, and failure to master it can lead to death.
Here lies a typical case: goddesses like virgins, but Hestia also likes families, and Artemis also likes childbirth. How can a virgin simultaneously be married and have children? Mortals can figure that out for themselves.
At this point, Alicia continued, “After circumventing the risk of divine punishment, although the divine power will be somewhat reduced, the goddesses of the hearth and the moon have substitute divine duties. I can also gain the favor of the Queen of Heaven and the Goddess of Love. Overall, I will become stronger.”
Now Alicia had finally explained her plan clearly. Older Brother Jayad, having gone through the same brainstorming process as me, thought it through and asked, “Such a complex method couldn’t have been your own idea, could it?”
“That’s right. This is the accumulated experience passed down through generations in my family. How to gain the favor of gods, reduce contradictions and conflicts to lower the risk of madness, and strategies for passing trials are all recorded,” Alicia admitted directly.
The family she mentioned was naturally the Bourbon family, indeed one of the oldest royal families in Europe. This theological knowledge, passed down through generations, was a priceless treasure.
Even the churches of the Twelve Main Gods likely wouldn’t have this kind of experience. They would certainly not dare to record how to please other gods or how to exploit loopholes in their own gods’ doctrines. Only ancient families that view gods as mere paths to power would collect these theological secrets.
“Miss Alicia, may I tentatively ask if His Highness the Crown Prince is also favored by multiple gods like you?” Jayad asked tentatively.
This question was also prompted by me. I wanted to know if the Crown Prince’s closeness to Rodrigo would have any impact on us.
“No, my elder brother will inherit the throne in the future. An emperor cannot have faith, otherwise, he cannot suppress corruption. Do you know this?” Alicia replied.
We had indeed known this for a long time. It seemed that only she, who had no intention of inheriting the throne, could pursue divine favor.
