Reply
Thu 31 Mar, 2016 03:49 pm
Is it possible for all gods and goddesses to die--mostly from indifference or knowledge--and still have the divine?
That's really getting down to the nitty-gritty, isn't it. Everybody asks this question sometime in their lives, or avoids it.
@coluber2001,
What do you mean by 'god'? 'goddess'?
@neologist,
He's plagiarizing the plot of Neil Gaimon's American Gods.
@tsarstepan,
Sorry, haven't read it or even heard of it.
@coluber2001,
Well yes, in some form or another, everybody asks it.
Avoidance too, is a a way of acknowledging the question.
@neologist,
Any historical god or goddess, such as Zeus, Inanna, or the Christian "God" or jewish, Zoroastrian etc.
@coluber2001,
I think that since they only exist in our minds, they "die" when nobody pays them attention any longer.
@coluber2001,
Interesting question in a number of ways.
Do they die off quickly, slowly, not at all? what remains of them when they're no longer part of public interest/knowlege/awareness? what causes them to die off - better options? other options with better advertising?
@ehBeth,
Yes, they die, but the question is: Can the divine still exist without the gods and goddesses.
@coluber2001,
The Gods we were sold by society, our parents and churches frequently die, and good riddance to them. If they didn't we'd never find out what was divine about the one that remains.
@coluber2001,
I would submit that all but one of the 'gods' to which you refer are either fabrications of some priesthood or otherwise related to the 'sons of the true God related in Genesis, chapter 6.
@coluber2001,
Is there one god who contains all the divine carried in the temporary gods / goddesses?
Is there a human need for the divine that transcends any god/s?
@ehBeth,
Not without some scriptural backing, though.
@neologist,
That's part of the big ass assumption.
I think of the gods and goddesses as having an objective reality to believers. Therefore, science busts or breaks down the myths. Still believing the myths denies science. The believer then has the choice of erecting barriers to defend the busted myth or interpreting the myth metaphorically.
However, the divine is a wholly subjective experience and outside the field of logic and science and expressed only through poetry, music, art, and zen koans, I suppose.
Is this a ridiculous statement?
@coluber2001,
Yeah, pretty much. Science has nothing to say about whether God exists or not.
In the novel Jitterbug Perfume, which takes place over the course of centuries, the ancient Greek god Pan is strong and robust, as there are many that believe in him at the time that the novel begins, but becomes feeble and weak, and fades away as Christianity begins to dominate the world.
@coluber2001,
coluber2001 wrote:Is it possible for all gods and goddesses to die--mostly from indifference or knowledge--and still have the divine?
That's really getting down to the nitty-gritty, isn't it. Everybody asks this question sometime in their lives, or avoids it.
Nonsense--i've never considered this question either way.
@Leadfoot,
Leadfoot wrote:Well yes, in some form or another, everybody asks it.
Avoidance too, is a a way of acknowledging the question.
Utter bullsh*t. Had coluber not asked this,it would never have occurred to me. In all of my life, it never had.
Stumble It!
Tweet This
Bookmark on Delicious
Share on Facebook
Share on MySpace