Earth and Discworld Deities

[RathDarkblade]

So ... I'm reading The Folklore Of Discworld, and a thought struck me:

If Discworld can have a god (or goddess, of course!) pop into existence purely because of belief in him/her, does that mean that we on Earth can have this too?

Here are some gods/goddesses that I'd like to exist:

- Goddess of Stupidity Reduction. Her remit means raising the global average IQ. The means by this is achieved include cancelling reality TV shows (a Herculean task), smiting unbelievers (or at least egregiously stupid people, like the kind that insist on paying bills with piles of pennies, or ask a clerk at a hardware store how long an 2-inch-long screw is), etc. Her name might be Smartonnia. She will be wearing the obligatory toga and sandals, plus an expression of long-suffering annoyance.

- Goddess of Violence Reduction. As her name suggests, this goddess's remit means reducing violent conflict. (Not eliminating, because gods get a kick out watching mortals beat the %&*! out of each other - it's their idea of a reality show). Her name could be Pacifica. Like other small gods, she is not yet powerful, because not many mortals believe in her.

There could easily be others, like a God of Pointless Political Demonstrations, God of Political Greed, etc. (Prayers to them would begin with "Oh god, not again"). What do you think?

 

[Tonyblack]

There are so many stupid beliefs in our world today, that there would be gods and goddesses popping into existence all over the place. The God of Moon Landing Denialism, The God of Flat Eartherism and the Goddess of Vaccine Suspicions, to name but a few.

 

[RathDarkblade]

If Discworld gods and imps (like Quezovercoatl) are anything to go by, I'd like to believe that stupid beliefs are created by imps, not gods. Gods want believers so they can grow powerful and join the smart set at Dunmanifestin, whereas imps ... *thinks hard* Aha! Imps want believers so they can spread pain and misery!

All right, it's sometimes (OK, often) hard to tell the difference, given that people start wars in the name of gods. But that's not the god's fault. Look at Om in Small Gods; once he learned about the Quisition, and what people like Vorbis did, he was horrified. Once he learned that people were about to start a war in his name, he was in despair. One of the first things he did when he got his power back, he stopped the so-called "holy war".

Sure, there are also gods that enjoy having "holy wars" - but those are nasty gods like Nuggan, in Monstrous Regiment. He's not representative of the Discworld pantheon as a whole. Most Discworld gods are uncaring, not actively nasty. As Rincewind says in The Last Hero, "they don't realise how easily the arms and legs come off." (But even Rincewind in his darkest moments wasn't as depressed as Shakespeare's King Lear in Act 4 of his eponymous play:

As flies to wanton boys are we to th' gods:
They kill us for their sport.

In the final analysis, if gods exist on Roundworld, I'd prefer them to be smarter and more merciful than at least some of the mortals that worship them. Too many horrifying things are done in a name of any kind of deity. =( On the other hand, people also create beautiful things in the name of a deity, which other people then come around and destroy, which is utterly stupid. "Do you believe in my god? No?" *BAM!* "Dead! My god is better than your god!"

Anyway, I'm just rambling. Sorry if I'm boring everyone.

 

[Tonyblack]

When it comes right down to it - Man made gods in their own image and likeness.

 

[raisindot]

When it comes right down to it - Man made gods in their own image and likeness.

Well, not necessarily. Think of all the religions where gods take the form of elephants, bears, dragons, trees, volcanos and other non-human entities. Maybe it's more accurate to say that humans made gods in the images of the things (humans or otherwise) that either sustained them, enriched them, cured them, ate them, scared them, or killed them.

 

[RathDarkblade]

Well, not necessarily. Think of all the religions where gods take the form of elephants, bears, dragons, trees, volcanos and other non-human entities. Maybe it's more accurate to say that humans made gods in the images of the things (humans or otherwise) that either sustained them, enriched them, cured them, ate them, scared them, or killed them.

Good point. Don't forget Offler the Crocodile God (or on Roundworld, Sobek the Raging One).