It is no secret that Zeus was not as righteous as Jesus. At this point, everyone who is even remotely aware of either religion would say that Jesus is morally superior. This is according to our modern and humane standards. Some would disagree with this statement. The issue is, we must decide to whose morals we are comparing them. According to the widely held American morals, Jesus could do no wrong. However, according to Judaism, Jesus committed multiple minor sins. That was going against his own religion, which is the major disconnect between the old and new testament. The Christian and Jewish God provided clear and concise rules (and laws) for their followers to adhere. Zeus did not. Of course, there are many instances where someone did something Zeus did not like, and he punished them for those reasons. These instances of supposed “justice” are not posed as all-mighty laws, but rather retribution for some act.
When looking at it from a Greek mythological perspective, Zeus was actually morally superior to Jesus. This sounds foolish at first, considering all the awful things Zeus reportedly did, but it really is all about perspective. For instance, male guppies frequently eat their newborn young as they pop out of the female guppy. If a human man today were to eat his child as it came out of his partner, we would all believe him to be a cannibalic loon. As we should, because humans have evolved with a different sense of humane morals, what is right and what is wrong. The point of this analogy is that humans have simply evolved since the days of Zeus’ worship. Therefore perspectives and acceptable behaviors have also evolved.
From the dawn of man to today, humans have progressed exceptionally far. Some examples are technologically, physically, mentally, and morally. Greek mythology is an older religion, and it formed in a place and era with a different pre-existing culture than Christianity. Greek mythology did not have the time to develop as Christianity did. Though it existed far longer than Christianity, it was not as prevalent for as long, it likely lasted around 1,000 years. Thus, was not able to evolve as much. Christianity has been a dominant religion for almost 2,000 years. Giving it the opportunity to become the religion which laid the foundation for our society’s standards today.
The moral standard to which we hold ourselves is simply the foundation and structure of our society. If it was okay for people to go around raping, murdering, and torturing people the way Zeus did, our society would certainly collapse. Because these actions only produce chaos and demean others. What Jesus taught was morally right from the start. He taught that treating others respectfully and with kindness, will be given a better result than insulting, or using them. Jesus and Zeus were both prominent religious figures in their respective religions. They were both leaders in their faiths, and both frequently taught lessons to their followers. Their differences arise in the lessons they taught and how they taught them. Zeus emphasized his own vendettas, while Jesus converted and preached. Zeus is a faulted god figure, while Jesus is a faultless god figure.
Lesson 105, Western Literature @zbelles
Z World 