Reconstructionism

I realize that I have some very strong views about this topic, and that I may have said some things that could be construed as harsh or even rude towards others working in the Egyptian pantheon.

So I figure I'll explain what I mean when I'm bashing "reconstruction-ism"
There are people who take what we know of ancient faiths, and act like they have reconstructed the religion, and that it's as pure as it was several thousand years ago. Reconstructing an ancient religion in its entirety isn't possible, as we lack cultural knowledge from that time period, and other things have certainly been lost to time. It is those people who arrogantly stand and say that they have recovered the old ways, and that their practice is the same as the ancients who I am bashing.

I take bits of knowledge of what the ancients did, and do try to reconstruct some of it. I use titles such as "Lady of the Flame" for Sekhmet, or "Opener of Ways" for Anubis. I try to understand how they were viewed and revered, so that I have a better idea of the nature of these gods. I try to look at the history and what was going on at the time periods that they were worshiped, so that I can gain an understanding of the culture of the time and how this reflected onto the views of their gods.

To those who do the same, you have my respect. To those who take ideas and and bits and pieces and say that you have the religion of the ancients, I consider you foolish at best, blasphemous at worst. I practice a modern religion based on ancient gods, not an ancient religion in modern times. I think it's important to make this distinction, as it's something that isn't focused on much in the pagan community. There is a disturbing lack of academic scholarship and knowledge in the pagan community when it comes to understanding the gods and the times that they came from. Because of this, we run the risk of whitewashing the very gods we claim to worship, and do them wrong by not bothering to learn their history. The ancient world was a bloody place, and people died a lot. Most people died before the age of 5. It was ravaged by disease, poor harvests, and "barbarians" We can't begin to understand what this was like unless we live it. We can't begin to understand the religion or the gods as they were then. Even reconstruction-ism is a modern creation, no matter how hard we try for this reason.

 I understand the reasons for trying to reconstruct what we know of a religion, but saying that it's pure is misleading and foolish. That's my take on the matter.