At one time, Sarah Palin made reference to the Statue of Liberty (see here). By doing so, Ms. Palin gave her tacit support to the notion of the goddess Liberty, a deity from times of old whom the American people have now fully adopted. Fair and gracious Liberty is not the only deity whom we praise, however – the goddess of Justice, or Iusticia, graces our city seals (see the seal of the borough of Hanover, PA), and we etch her likeness into the stonework of our highest halls of justice (see here). Every time a person wears running shoes with a certain swoosh on them, he sings praises to the Greek goddess of victory, fair and swift Nike. Our connection to ancient gods runs so deep in this country that even our Declaration of Independence makes the right to Happiness unalienable, a right as often as not personified by brightly-shining Felicitas (or Tyche), goddess of joy and good fortune.
To utter the name of a god is to give that god power in our minds and in our lives, such as in Jewish and in Muslim rituals. For example, every time we say the word Wednesday, we pay homage to the god Wotan (deity of wisdom and poetry) for whom the day was named; on Thursday and Saturday we pay homage to Thor and Saturn (the gods of fertility and of the harvest, respectively), deities that hail from separate realms and distant times, gods who still inspire us today. It is good to have as many gods as one can have on one's side; when going to a place of worship and saying prayers to a particular god, remember that at many times throughout the day one is also sending up praises to the other gods whose names one often utter (though one might not realize that one is praising them with one's choice of shoes or words). Similar to the concept of polyamory (the capacity to be in love with multiple people), we speak of a capacity to love and worship many different gods, calling it polytheism. For an example of polytheism, see the practices of Roman Catholics, who pray to one god when traveling (Christopherus), to a different god when competing athletically (Sebastian), and to a third deity (Gabriel) when working in the postal trades.
There is no limit to the number of gods you can have working for you, or looking out for you, just as there is no limit to the amount of goodness and virtuous action you can perform during your lifetime. Consider maximizing your coverage by increasing the spectrum of gods to whom you pray; you will be surprised at the results.
mentiri factorem fecit – 場黑麥
To utter the name of a god is to give that god power in our minds and in our lives, such as in Jewish and in Muslim rituals. For example, every time we say the word Wednesday, we pay homage to the god Wotan (deity of wisdom and poetry) for whom the day was named; on Thursday and Saturday we pay homage to Thor and Saturn (the gods of fertility and of the harvest, respectively), deities that hail from separate realms and distant times, gods who still inspire us today. It is good to have as many gods as one can have on one's side; when going to a place of worship and saying prayers to a particular god, remember that at many times throughout the day one is also sending up praises to the other gods whose names one often utter (though one might not realize that one is praising them with one's choice of shoes or words). Similar to the concept of polyamory (the capacity to be in love with multiple people), we speak of a capacity to love and worship many different gods, calling it polytheism. For an example of polytheism, see the practices of Roman Catholics, who pray to one god when traveling (Christopherus), to a different god when competing athletically (Sebastian), and to a third deity (Gabriel) when working in the postal trades.
There is no limit to the number of gods you can have working for you, or looking out for you, just as there is no limit to the amount of goodness and virtuous action you can perform during your lifetime. Consider maximizing your coverage by increasing the spectrum of gods to whom you pray; you will be surprised at the results.
mentiri factorem fecit – 場黑麥
RSS Feed
