Q (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
qcontinuum) wrote2008-02-24 01:04 pm
qcontinuum) wrote2008-02-24 01:04 pm
Entry tags:
Religion.
OOC: Crossposted from ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-community.gif)
theatrical_muse today.
Prompt 186: Religion.
Ah, religion. Words cannot describe how *much* I despise this construct.
You see, mortals are right, to guess that there are entities far more powerful than they are, beings eternal and puissant with the ability to transform their petty little lives. Yes, indeed, what you call "gods" exist. *That* is not my problem with religion.
My problem is with the worship. And more specifically, with the fact that you cannot be bothered to actually *understand* what you worship.
Firstly, of course, while I understand the impulse to fling yourself at my feet in awe at my vast superiority, why are you bothering? Yes, you're lowly and pathetic, and I'm better than you. I get that. I am *far* more aware of the full extent of my vast superiority to you than you are, in fact. So why do you think it would interest me, or that I would be willing to use my powers to help you, for you to point this out? Kneel at my feet and sing about how wonderful I am and how unworthy you are of my aid? *Why* is this supposed to compel me to aid you? You're not making your case.
You imagine that I am like you. If you were like me, you think, if *you* had the powers of a god, *you* would demand that your fellow mortals kneel and pay you obeisance. And that is the difference between me and you. Beyond my power, beyond your weakness, that is *why* you're inferior to me. You cannot grasp that to me, making you worship me is rather like having cockroaches worship you would be to you. What would be the *point*? I am not one of you, to get an emotional thrill out of your subservience to me. I don't need you to tell me about how great I am. I KNOW. What's *valuable* about you that I should care? I know how wonderful *I* am, but what's good about *you* that I should want to do anything for you? And telling me how much you love me also misses the point. Why do I care that *you* love me and worship me? Who the hell are you? Make your case that *you* are an interesting person. And here's a hint: no one is interesting when they're on their knees.
Secondly. If you're going to worship a powerful being, and you believe that being actually exists, why don't you pay attention to what he, she or it has actually *said* you should do, rather than what you imagine? If someone has come to you and said, "Have fun! Be creative! Enjoy parties! Think for yourself!", why, oh why, do you turn this into "Kill the infidel?" Or, worse yet – something that's happened to a few friends of mine – if someone came to you and said, "Love your fellow mortals! Promote peace, love and understanding! Be nice to each other!", *how* did you get "Kill the infidel" out of *that?* I mean, if you're worshipping some imaginary thing you made up, and you *understand* that fact, okay, fine. You're not going to pay any price for totally ignoring what an imaginary thing you made up actually told you to do rather than what you want it to have said you should do. But if your god is *real*, aren't you just a little afraid of pissing him, her or it off when said entity figures out how badly you have screwed up its instructions?
So I have no respect for religion. The mortals who worship powerful beings are pretty universally both insecure idiots *and* totally self-centered – they talk a great game about how inferior they are and how great their god is, but then prove that they don't really believe any of that by simply rewriting whatever their god actually told them into whatever it is they wanted to do anyway. And the *gods* who tolerate this crap are even worse. I mean, I can't blame mortals for wishing that super-powerful beings would look kindly on them or do nice things for them... but the *gods* who let mortals kneel down and sing their praises are TOTALLY PATHETIC.
I don't think you necessarily have to go as far as I go, and show up to torment beings who worshiped you just so they decide you're a demon and stop asking you for stuff... you *could* just benignly tolerate it. A lot of my friends do. But if you actually *go* to some planet and deliberately set yourself up as a god so pathetic tiny little mortals will worship you... there is something seriously wrong with you. I'd recommend a therapist if there were any such thing for omnipotent beings. Maybe you ought to consider why you're not getting enough love from your pantheon, or your feelings of isolation and loneliness and how you could solve them by hanging out with your fellow Beings of Power rather than spending all your time pining for the love of tiny short-lived creatures with the brains of a jumbo shrimp.
theatrical_muse today.Prompt 186: Religion.
Ah, religion. Words cannot describe how *much* I despise this construct.
You see, mortals are right, to guess that there are entities far more powerful than they are, beings eternal and puissant with the ability to transform their petty little lives. Yes, indeed, what you call "gods" exist. *That* is not my problem with religion.
My problem is with the worship. And more specifically, with the fact that you cannot be bothered to actually *understand* what you worship.
Firstly, of course, while I understand the impulse to fling yourself at my feet in awe at my vast superiority, why are you bothering? Yes, you're lowly and pathetic, and I'm better than you. I get that. I am *far* more aware of the full extent of my vast superiority to you than you are, in fact. So why do you think it would interest me, or that I would be willing to use my powers to help you, for you to point this out? Kneel at my feet and sing about how wonderful I am and how unworthy you are of my aid? *Why* is this supposed to compel me to aid you? You're not making your case.
You imagine that I am like you. If you were like me, you think, if *you* had the powers of a god, *you* would demand that your fellow mortals kneel and pay you obeisance. And that is the difference between me and you. Beyond my power, beyond your weakness, that is *why* you're inferior to me. You cannot grasp that to me, making you worship me is rather like having cockroaches worship you would be to you. What would be the *point*? I am not one of you, to get an emotional thrill out of your subservience to me. I don't need you to tell me about how great I am. I KNOW. What's *valuable* about you that I should care? I know how wonderful *I* am, but what's good about *you* that I should want to do anything for you? And telling me how much you love me also misses the point. Why do I care that *you* love me and worship me? Who the hell are you? Make your case that *you* are an interesting person. And here's a hint: no one is interesting when they're on their knees.
Secondly. If you're going to worship a powerful being, and you believe that being actually exists, why don't you pay attention to what he, she or it has actually *said* you should do, rather than what you imagine? If someone has come to you and said, "Have fun! Be creative! Enjoy parties! Think for yourself!", why, oh why, do you turn this into "Kill the infidel?" Or, worse yet – something that's happened to a few friends of mine – if someone came to you and said, "Love your fellow mortals! Promote peace, love and understanding! Be nice to each other!", *how* did you get "Kill the infidel" out of *that?* I mean, if you're worshipping some imaginary thing you made up, and you *understand* that fact, okay, fine. You're not going to pay any price for totally ignoring what an imaginary thing you made up actually told you to do rather than what you want it to have said you should do. But if your god is *real*, aren't you just a little afraid of pissing him, her or it off when said entity figures out how badly you have screwed up its instructions?
So I have no respect for religion. The mortals who worship powerful beings are pretty universally both insecure idiots *and* totally self-centered – they talk a great game about how inferior they are and how great their god is, but then prove that they don't really believe any of that by simply rewriting whatever their god actually told them into whatever it is they wanted to do anyway. And the *gods* who tolerate this crap are even worse. I mean, I can't blame mortals for wishing that super-powerful beings would look kindly on them or do nice things for them... but the *gods* who let mortals kneel down and sing their praises are TOTALLY PATHETIC.
I don't think you necessarily have to go as far as I go, and show up to torment beings who worshiped you just so they decide you're a demon and stop asking you for stuff... you *could* just benignly tolerate it. A lot of my friends do. But if you actually *go* to some planet and deliberately set yourself up as a god so pathetic tiny little mortals will worship you... there is something seriously wrong with you. I'd recommend a therapist if there were any such thing for omnipotent beings. Maybe you ought to consider why you're not getting enough love from your pantheon, or your feelings of isolation and loneliness and how you could solve them by hanging out with your fellow Beings of Power rather than spending all your time pining for the love of tiny short-lived creatures with the brains of a jumbo shrimp.