The phrase small gods comes in various shapes and sizes.
Terry Prattchet wrote a book called “Small gods”, one of the installments from the “Discworld” series. Vlado Kreslin, one of our most prominent singers from our country did, once upon a time, play with a band called Small gods (well, the correct name is Little gods but I am trying to make a point here). And in my last poll, more than 30% of all people who took the poll (if I say two people, it sounds so…miniscule) wanted to be a small deity.
There is something about gods that amuses us. I guess we are attracted to something we can never have, at least not by definition. If we actually were gods, we would not wish for it. Does not make sense, right? Wishing for something you already have or are?
Mythology and religion and gods are a thing invented by humans. We felt that we are not good enough to be in charge, so we invented gods to guide us. We could not explain certain things, so we invented gods to do that for us. We needed something to believe in, something constant and never-changing, so we invented gods to hold our cup of belief for us.
Rationale component of the human mind does not allow gods into the equation. Gods and faith are something untangible, something that is not really there, according to the rational portion of our mind that hinges heavily on sight, hear and touch. What we cannot see, hear or feel, it does not exists.
And yet, gods play an important roll in every days life. They play an important role in culture, politics and other aspects of the human society. And they divide it as much as they bring it together. The believers and the unbelievers.
Gods are actually a weapon of choice, something we pick up from the surroundings and ride with it. Even if we don`t pick it up, if we, shall we say, do not believe, we are actually believing in the non-existence of them. Same coin, different face.
Believing in something or somebody means that we exclude that thing/person from the field of the rational. We set up an entire different set of rules that apply only for the thing/person we believe in. And we ride with it.
How long does the ride last?
The religion constantly battles with the reality. Two sides of the coin, desperately seeking to overcome one another. And we are the judges in the battle, holding out our thumb, getting ready to flip it up or down, depending on our current state of mind. Since religion has almost nothing to do with reality, it is possible that the layer of it slowly creeps in every corner of reality, rendering it into something completely else. And on the other hand, reality can too intrude on the field of religion, changing it and bringing down the prophets, gods and idols.
Results are of course devastating. We sudden face with a hole where just seconds ago there was the whole world. Feel free to compare it with the tsunami aftermath.
And yet on the other hand, having absolutely no faith and thinking that it will save us from being disappointed is wrong too. Thinking rational thinking is a way to go if you want to see the world and not feel sad or blue is wrong.
