A couple of years ago I got into a major dispute with a devotee of one of my patrons. He (the god) told me to shut up talking about the other person for a year or so, and I did so. Then, a while later, he chose to tell me what he thought of that person's behaviour towards him. It was the merest opening of a door, but it was a powerful blast. And he lifted the embargo he'd put on me.

More recently, I came across a similar situation, though one in which I'm only slightly involved, in which one person involved in a dispute is convinced that the god is purely on their side, regardless of others 'on the other side' the same god might have a relationship with.

Has anyone else experienced this? If so, how, in your experience, did the god act?

To be honest, I am sure it's a form of entertainment for some of the gods, watching humans arguing about who has the 'favour' of a god. If you read some of the sagas, Frigga would favour one side and Odin the other...so having the 'favour' of a deity is not always automatically a good thing.

I also think that it's a form of psychological warfare on the part of folks that claim that they have a deity on their side. Obviously if they have a god on their side then they are going to win, right? This is something that has happened all the way through history and as history has often demonstrated, those who claim to have divine forces on their side lose just as well as those that don't. Favour often comes with a price.

One thing that I think is important to ask when it comes to situations like this is 'just what would the deity get out of being involved in this situation'. I don't care who a deity is or how much favour that deity has for that person - unless the price is right or it serves the interests of the deity in question, they aren't going to give one crap about squabbling pagans.

In fact, I'd be willing to bet that if whoever it is that is claiming favour from whatever deity keeps on pestering that deity then they will probs give whoever it is a kick up the bum! Or just ignore them.

Heh, it doesn't worry me - I just find it an intriguing subject.

I agree with your own thoughts about "what's in it for the deity" - or that's my experience. One interesting thing I've observed, is when a person with a really good relationship with a god slides over from talking about what the god is like to saying with confidence what the god might do in a specific human situation which is not purely their own relationship with that god. Yeah, I know that sounds complicated, but what I'm talking about is the transition from "Hey, this is my experience, does it match yours?" to "This is what s/he's like and you need to listen to what I tell you because I know this god/dess inside out." That latter attitude comes (for me) with the klaxons and red warning lights of hubris.

Sometimes the slide from one side to the other is more subtle, but there's something there which still stops me in my tracks and makes me want to get out fast before the inevitable happens. It begins to smack far too much for me of the human claiming the ownership.

gods, I hope I never do that...

I completely agree, it does always amuse me when people go from sharing experience to pretty much acting like the pagan pope!!! (Idiots...don't they know that Steve MacNallan from the AFA has already taken the job of Asapope?! )

We have no bloody ex cathedra and yes it is complete hubris.

As people that work with deities, after a while we can sort of guess what that deity would do or what the response would be but what would be a guess based on experience and a hell of a lot different from claiming to actually know.

I think too many folks that work with deities think that they are the ones calling the shots as opposed to the deities. I also do think that some of it comes from the correspondence chart mentality that every newbie book seems to espouse.

Oh well, dommage pour eux...they'll learn!

I have to say that the aspect of this that I find interesting is the lying to self and therefore lying to gods.

I mean lets say someone does something wrong. Then lies about it and then in that indignant tone does the whole "me and my gods will smite you for saying/doing X Y Z" How does that work? Do the gods say.. "well its one of my followers and they are asking for assistance, so I will" or do they say " are you nuts?" Especially if it comes to people fighting who have the same god/s.

I dont get it... suppose it comes down to that whole "I dont get gods" thing

Hmm...My own UPG on this is that they're generally far more interested in how their devotee (so to speak) deals with the situation. If they're interested at all. They don't go in for explanations about how they deal with other people. A bit like moderation, when you think about it.

The occasion when I got told to keep my head down for a while was a tad unusual, as there were three other people around at the time, and they all got the message as well. Plus there was a physical manifestation (that's not counting the shaman's collapse!) It was all a trifle...odd. But we've sorted that out, long since. Me and the god, I mean.

I just wondered if anyone else had had experiences along those lines. or anything vaguely related.

It's not an experience I've had, but I have a feeling it's similar to young siblings fighting and one saying 'Mum said!' or 'Daaaaaaaaad!'

More often than not, Mum and Dad are perfectly aware of who's taking the piss and deal accordingly. Also they mostly wish they'd both pack it in or sort it out themselves

Aaaahhh... So Moonhunters experience was a case of the gods doing that other parental gem of "you are the eldest you should know better!"

Xalle, hun - do warn me the next time you say something like that. It was almost a keyboard-ruination moment. and would have been the waste of a perfectly decent glass of pinot grigio.

Hmmmm pinot grigio....

I is sorry. I did not be meanin to ruin your nice wine!

All sorts of people are guilty of showing favouritism - so why should the Gods be any different?

I'm finding this really interesting to follow, because it's not something I've ever considered before.

I serve a goddess (Sabrina) who seems to be comparatively 'unpopular', so the issue has never before come up, nor is likely to. I can't see her caring much if I did have a bust-up with a fellow devotee. I've had help from her before, but she doesn;t seem to have a sense of human justice, rather an attitude of 'them's the breaks' (there is, after all, nothing fair about having ones house flooded out two years in a row when she breaks her banks)

I think that's a really good point- their perspective on a situation does not necessarily match ours. This is IMO where it becomes dangerous to put words in a deity's mouth or assume that they will act a certain way.