I was listening to a sermon at church about a week ago, and the pastor was talking about early man in Genesis. He was discussing how God had to make Himself known to people b/c they were forgetting Him and worshipping other gods. Anyway...I started to think about something.
Fertility gods make a lot of human sense. I can see why people created them. I mean if I had been a pagan nation leader, this would be my reasoning:
1.) Pleasure: Sex is debatably the greatest human pleasure on earth...To some, it seems like the highest divine ecstasy.
2.) Proof of Higher Power: Procreation is the luck of the draw. Sometimes, even with protection, people still get pregnant. Some people can't get pregnant no matter how hard they try. There must be some greater force at work. I mean Mr. and Mrs. Jones had a little idol in their boudoir...and it worked for them...
3.) Power: Procreation is how civilization is made. The larger the civilization, the more "worker bees" you have. The more "worker bees" you have, the more industry and greater economy you have.
4.) Respect: The greater your economy, the more fear you can put in the hearts of other countries. The less you have to actually worry about wars and losing your "worker bees" (Except wars can sometimes boost your economy...so...make sure you can rally your "w.b.'s" over an issue the majority will be willing to die for.)
5.) Food: Without fertile soil, your plants don't grow. Without a good harvest, your civilization can't eat, and you all die. So...rain dance...obviously.
6.) Money: Without crops you can't export anything either. The more fertile your soil the more you can grow on it and make other dependent countries give you money for your crops. If you don't have money, you can't buy from other countries the stuff you can't produce, and you'll have to come up with a plan "B"...And let's be honest. When it comes to economy, plan "B's" just prolong the inevitable.
7.) Classes: If dependant countries can't pay you for your exports, you keep them as slaves. See "worker bees"....
8.) Does anyone else wanna play that caveman version of "Sim City" right now?
9.) Life: Procreation is the power of life. Not just all that economy stuff. It's life itself. No one fully understands life. Life is...like...the highest magic ever! *Note* you can't control or plan for death at all, so...if you keep your people happy they will have a lot of kids, and you can compensate for deaths.
10.) Military: The more procreation, the more man power, the bigger your military. Then...the more land you can conquer, the more fertile soil you get, the more women you capture, the more babies they have to be your slaves and do your work while your patriotic "worker bees" (I'm sufficiently sick of that word now... ) are out fighting more conquests for you.
11.) Love: Sex is not only pleasurable, but it gives people a feeling of closeness and love. It is such a strong force that people will do it nearly every time the feeling of love comes on and they can't control themselves anymore. It's like a drug that's totally free. Just don't let your people realize how irreversible irresponsibility is.
11.) Caution: You have to have a healthy respect for fertility. B/c if you focus on lust and pride all the time, and you start taking it all for granted and don't cover your bases--like...say...from internal uprisings and stuff...the outcome will be less than pleasant. (see "Rome").
Yeah...I can totally see why people created fertility gods...you can wrap your head around them...However, there is no answer for the ultimate questions: "Why is serving myself so fun at first and then ultimately unfulfilling?" and "Why am I worshipping a god that is no different than me?"...among others...
Fertility is pretty powerful, but...what about a God of Everything? Obviously, if scientists are finding out new things about me and the world around me every day, and there is no chance of that information ever being tapped dry by human minds, then there must be Somebody who transcends it all, otherwise nothing would make any sense, and there would be no point in even being a scientist who finds out new things about me and the world around me. Wow. I have no idea how to begin making that up....I wonder if He's interested in me. I wonder if He has some way of communicating with me about who He is and why I'm here...oh wait...
Fertility gods make a lot of human sense. I can see why people created them. I mean if I had been a pagan nation leader, this would be my reasoning:
1.) Pleasure: Sex is debatably the greatest human pleasure on earth...To some, it seems like the highest divine ecstasy.
2.) Proof of Higher Power: Procreation is the luck of the draw. Sometimes, even with protection, people still get pregnant. Some people can't get pregnant no matter how hard they try. There must be some greater force at work. I mean Mr. and Mrs. Jones had a little idol in their boudoir...and it worked for them...
3.) Power: Procreation is how civilization is made. The larger the civilization, the more "worker bees" you have. The more "worker bees" you have, the more industry and greater economy you have.
4.) Respect: The greater your economy, the more fear you can put in the hearts of other countries. The less you have to actually worry about wars and losing your "worker bees" (Except wars can sometimes boost your economy...so...make sure you can rally your "w.b.'s" over an issue the majority will be willing to die for.)
5.) Food: Without fertile soil, your plants don't grow. Without a good harvest, your civilization can't eat, and you all die. So...rain dance...obviously.
6.) Money: Without crops you can't export anything either. The more fertile your soil the more you can grow on it and make other dependent countries give you money for your crops. If you don't have money, you can't buy from other countries the stuff you can't produce, and you'll have to come up with a plan "B"...And let's be honest. When it comes to economy, plan "B's" just prolong the inevitable.
7.) Classes: If dependant countries can't pay you for your exports, you keep them as slaves. See "worker bees"....
8.) Does anyone else wanna play that caveman version of "Sim City" right now?
9.) Life: Procreation is the power of life. Not just all that economy stuff. It's life itself. No one fully understands life. Life is...like...the highest magic ever! *Note* you can't control or plan for death at all, so...if you keep your people happy they will have a lot of kids, and you can compensate for deaths.
10.) Military: The more procreation, the more man power, the bigger your military. Then...the more land you can conquer, the more fertile soil you get, the more women you capture, the more babies they have to be your slaves and do your work while your patriotic "worker bees" (I'm sufficiently sick of that word now... ) are out fighting more conquests for you.
11.) Love: Sex is not only pleasurable, but it gives people a feeling of closeness and love. It is such a strong force that people will do it nearly every time the feeling of love comes on and they can't control themselves anymore. It's like a drug that's totally free. Just don't let your people realize how irreversible irresponsibility is.
11.) Caution: You have to have a healthy respect for fertility. B/c if you focus on lust and pride all the time, and you start taking it all for granted and don't cover your bases--like...say...from internal uprisings and stuff...the outcome will be less than pleasant. (see "Rome").
Yeah...I can totally see why people created fertility gods...you can wrap your head around them...However, there is no answer for the ultimate questions: "Why is serving myself so fun at first and then ultimately unfulfilling?" and "Why am I worshipping a god that is no different than me?"...among others...
Fertility is pretty powerful, but...what about a God of Everything? Obviously, if scientists are finding out new things about me and the world around me every day, and there is no chance of that information ever being tapped dry by human minds, then there must be Somebody who transcends it all, otherwise nothing would make any sense, and there would be no point in even being a scientist who finds out new things about me and the world around me. Wow. I have no idea how to begin making that up....I wonder if He's interested in me. I wonder if He has some way of communicating with me about who He is and why I'm here...oh wait...
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2 comments:
Very interesting. I really like the fact that you are addressing other ideas and ways of thinking - it helps me to better understand people we need to witness to. I had a friend in high school whose mom was a witch and her dad was a warlock. I remember she was very much into a menagerie of beliefs and ideas, however she was very confused. Perhaps had I taken the time to discuss with her what she believes instead of closing my ears and telling her she was just wrong - that Jesus is the only answer I may have been able to befriend her and show her the way to the Cross. Too many times we try to bury our heads in the sand because we don't want to admit what's out there.
Another thing that came to mind when reading your post is China. I read a very interesting article today about how China is becoming the next Super Power and will soon overtake the United States. That country has definitely called upon the "Fertility Gods" and is a nation full of Worker Bees. There was this picture accomponying the article. It was a picture of factory workers lining up for roll call - they were all wearing the same identical blue uniform and there were at least 1000 + people in the picture. It is so easy to just see them as a country full of worker bees and ants (from your last post) - there are so many of them. Yet God loves each of them and desires each of them to be saved. I wonder what it would be like to walk a day in their shoes -to be considering nothing but a number. How fulfilling is their life? But more importantly - how can we reach them for Christ? How can I reach China if I can't even reach my neighbor?
i really appreciate your comments b/c they teach me something...and aren't just saying that you agree. that's what this is all about! yes, china is very scarily up and coming. they will take us over and it's b/c they have something that we don't have...(b/c come on...let's not pretend that america in anyway cares about God)...they have motivation. when a nation has refused to follow God and doesn't bother to have even motivation...guess what...bye bye. we're not in revelation anyway...unless we're part of the ten nation thingy...which we might make b/c of china. who knows?
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