After reading Oedipus, Mrs. Makovsky posed a question to the class about whether the gods in Oedipus were benign or vicious. While I came to the conclusion that they were a compromise between the two, a more fateful influence. Some character's actions appeared to be dictated by the gods, for instance the blind seer, while Oedipus spent his time running from the actions of the gods, or so it seemed. I am interested in how the presence of God and religion play into society today. Did anything within Oedipus' religious beliefs motivate his actions or was it all cause by fate?
The people in Oedipus' society were horrified that he would marry his mother and murder his father, as anyone would be, but was this caused by their strong religious basis? Did religion influence society's views of individuals and their actions? Does religion make people moral and good? Do we do this by nature?
Do we count on religion to teach young people morals? Is this because we cannot count on our own actions to show youth the right way to go? While Oedipus was unaware that he murdered his father and married his mother, is it religion that makes this wrong? Or rather a standard social contract?
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