Like most people in the free world, I use the Internet a lot. Social Networking has become the norm and I spend a good deal of time on Facebook as a result. One of the things that I have noticed happening more and more these days is people either asking for prayers or people offering them of their own accord.

“I’ll Pray for You.”

I understand the good nature of it all. I am just failing to see the point. People offer their prayers for the smallest thing. I understand if someone is dying you, as a Christian might offer your prayers, like I would offer condolences or well wishes, but it has gone to the extreme lately and I find myself wondering where the breaking point is.

People offer to pray for you if you had a bad day, can’t sleep, or got a bad grade on a test. Many people especially like praying for those that they do not agree with because they are certain they are going to need those special prayers. I don’t know if they think the person they are praying for may end up in hell or not, but if so it’s worth mentioning that hell is only a threat to those that believe in it.

I find the whole…”I’ll pray for you” mentality to be very self-serving. What if I don’t want your prayers? Are you going to give them to me anyway? I can see other people of the same religious faith offering prayers or similar offerings, but when you’re going to someone that doesn’t necessarily believe in the power of prayer it seems rude to offer, in my opinion. At the very least, it seems as if it is done for your own benefit, which is pointless unless you are trying to make yourself feel better.

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Before Christianity is proud to be giving away five copies of The Book of Calamities by Peter Trachtenberg. To enter all you need to do is leave us a comment. Please be sure to only leave one. Comments are moderated to avoid spam, so it will not show up right away. People who leave multiple comments will be deleted from the contest altogether. If you do not see your comment within a day then by all means leave another one. Otherwise, do not worry as we accept comments several times a day.

To enter you need to be at least 18 years of age and a resident of the US. If you have won a contest within the last 30 days you are not eligible. Winners will be sent an email shortly after the end of the contest. To claim your prize all you will need to do is send us your address in a reply to the congratulation email that you will receive. If we do not receive a reply from you within three weeks, your winnings will be forfeited and your prize will be offered to another contestant.

We will begin emailing winners for this the week of September 9, 2008, which means you have until September 8, 2008 at 11:59 to enter.

About the Book:

THE BOOK OF CALAMITIES – Touching and real

What does it mean to suffer? What enables some people to emerge from tragedy while others are spiritually crushed by it? Why do so many Americans think of suffering as something that happens to other people—who usually deserve it? These are some of the questions at the heart of this powerful book.

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When you are a polytheist who follows the beliefs and practices of the Ancient Greeks, you must have a profound knowledge of the Ancient Gods, Goddesses, myths, other important figures, rituals and the way all of these things fit together. While most regions of Greece and the rest of the polytheistic world worshipped specific Gods, Goddesses, Heroes, and other important immortal figures, the knowledge of those not as heavily worshipped was nonetheless known.

One of the most worshipped Gods in the Ancient World was Zeus. Zeus was known by the name Jupiter by the Ancient Romans. He was also considered the King of the Gods and the Chief God of Mount Olympus. In all honesty, for those of us who worship Zeus, he still is. Zeus is the God of law, weather, fate, the sky and order. The symbols for Zeus are the lightning bolt, the eagle, the bull, and the royal scepter.

Zeus was born to the leader of the twelve Titans, Cronus and his wife/sister Rhea. The story of Zeus begins long before he is born, with the birth of his father Cronus, God of Time and Ages. Also known as Saturn (Roman), Cronus was born to Ouranos (Uranus) the God of the Sky and Gaia (Terra), the Goddess of the Earth. Gaia and Ouranos had six boys and six girls, known as the twelve Titans. Gaia also gave birth to three giant children known as the Kyklopes (Cyclops) and three giant children known as the Hekatonkeires. The latter three are the Gods of violent storms.

When the six giant children were born, Ouranos was disgusted with them. He banished the Hekatonkeires and the Kyklopes to Tartarus. This is the stormy pit that is located beneath the Earth and is ruled by Tartaros. Tartaros is a protogenos (primordial) God. This means that he was one of the first Gods in existence. He is also the brother of Gaia. It should be noted that while the primordial Gods have been described in human form, the primary belief is that each is a representation of their elemental form (i.e. Gaia is the Earth, Ouranos is the sky, Tartaros is Tartarus). Ouranos left the care of his six children in the capable hands of Tartaros not realizing that his wife Gaia’s discontent would lead to his downfall.

With Gaia guiding Cronus on the path towards overthrowing his father in order to free his six, giant brothers, Ouranos was first castrated and then deposed of by his son, who became the ruler of the Titans in what was known as the “Golden Age”. Unfortunately for Cronus, he feared his brothers, the Kyklopes and the Hekatonkeires so much that he kept them in Tartarus, much to the displeasure of his mother, Gaia.

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I am a follower of Hellenismos. This means that I try to live my life as close to that of the Ancient Greeks. Religiously, culturally, and historically, I try to honor the beliefs of the Ancients and adapt them to a present day environment. While this may not always be easy, I feel great comfort in knowing that I live my life attempting to honor the Gods and the people who created one of the greatest (and first) democracies in all of history.

I first heard the word Hellenismos from a member of the YSEE (the Supreme Council of Ethnikoi Hellenes) and felt that it was the most accurate term for describing all that encompasses Hellenic polytheism. Some may call it Hellenic Reconstructionism. Others may call it Hellenes or the Hellenic religion. Hellenismos includes the culture, religion, language, and every day life of the Ancients. In order to fully understand their ways, it is necessary to use literature from the time period. There is no Bible or guide book, though there is much speculation that many of the books used by the Ancients for religious purposes were destroyed during the conversion in Greece to Byzantine religions.

It was this conversion that destroyed all public displays of Hellenismos. However, some of the ideals of the religion have been passed down from those who truly never gave up their Hellenic polytheistic beliefs. These beliefs had to be kept hidden for centuries because even as recent as just a few years ago, a person could be arrested or harassed for believing in polytheism. It is through the efforts of groups such as the YSSE that Hellenismos is slowly becoming a recognized religion again in Greece, where it was originally founded.

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