The Relevance of God

Or the irrelevance of humans

Image created by Author on Dall-E

Let us set aside arguments regarding the existence of God. Nobody is ever going to change anyones’ mind on that, for one thing. For another, I don’t actually think it matters!

That said, there are such a lot of ideas about, and definitions of, God and gods that it’s worth taking a look at a few.

Pagan Pantheons: The Graeco-Roman, Egyptian, Norse and other ancient cultures frequently featured varying numbers of gods. Quite generally, these gods all had a specific area of expertise and, occasionally, responsibility. Their relations with each other are usually hierarchical and often familial. Details differ, but they are mostly humanoid (the Egyptians had a habit of giving them animals’ heads) and all-too-human in their attitudes and emotions. Basically, they come across as humans, but with a variety of powers and skills ordinary folk didn’t have. They are supposed to have, in the past, directly intervened in human affairs — taking sides in wars and so on. Some of them (especially the male Olympians) had a penchant for sex with humans, the resulting offspring being assorted heroes.

Transcendent Divinities: These feature more prominently in Eastern faiths. Unlike the more human gods, the Hindu Deities, and the assorted ranks of Buddhist figures at various levels of enlightenment, are not…