Amos said " Maybe we'd be better off maturing somewhat and deciding to take responsibility for and make our own justice, virtue, luck, and magic personally instead of running around like minicephalic neanderthals trying to pin such things on the cosmos. Sheeshe!"

I don't think that focusing on the ancient God/desses appeals to only "minicephalic neanderthals" who try to "pin such things on the cosmos".
On the contrary, the timeless divine archetypes provide valuable insight into the mysteries of human nature, and the nature of life itself. They often serve to personify the very character traits that are most difficult to recognize in oneself and in one's culture (ie. rage, destructiveness, greed).

By "exteriorizing" those traits in the form of 'gods' and 'goddesses', a measure of objectivity and emotional detachment is created, enabling one to 'step aside" and look at those aspects of human nature more 'logically', understand them more deeply, recognize them more honestly.

I think that this is the reason for the creation of the myths and god/dess-forms in the first place! Not to "blame" the divine archetypes/personifications for all one's ills (that IS minicephalic!)
but to provide a colorful, often exaggerated image of those very tendencies which prove most difficult to understand, recognize and deal with in oneself. So that we can learn to control them, to use them more beneficially and constructively.

I think that's why Joseph Campbell made it his life's work to study the myths of the world and deepen understanding of them today.

I don't feel I did justice to the great Hindu Goddess of death, the Kali Ma, with the rather frivolous story about her I linked you to above. This one offers a much better image and explanation of who She was (is).

And I say "is" because "Her" influence is still very much alive and most important in India today. Did you know that Mother Theresa, who is due to be beatified by the Pope next year, built her Home for the Dying on the grounds of the ancient Hindu Temple to the Kali-Ma, the Kalighut Temple in Calcutta? Information here.

The animal sacrifices are still made to the Goddess of Death in that Temple daily, and are used to feed Calcutta's starving. Mother Theresa's mission of hope, love, and dignity to the dying continues there today as well. So the "Goddess of Death" is the very same as the "Goddess of Love and Charity", and "She" knows no religious bounds or restrictions. Imagine, a Catholic, Christian mission being established on the very 'grounds' of the Hindu Goddess!

Facts like these give me hope that Justice is not just "Discovered", but truly manifest even in the midst of the darkest, most horrific of human experiences today. And that the ancient divine "personifications" of human nature still have a most vital role to play in the making of a better world, and thus in the process of human evolution itself.

daylia