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Do we even have the power to play God?

We make up thousands of gods.


“Where is the graveyard of dead gods? What lingering mourner waters their mounds? There was a time when Jupiter was the king of the gods, and any man who doubted his puissance was ipso facto a barbarian and an ignoramus. But where in all the world is there a man who worships Jupiter today? And who of Huitzilopochtli? In one year - and it is no more than five hundred years ago - 50,000 youths and maidens were slain in sacrifice to him. Today, if he is remembered at all, it is only by some vagrant savage in the depths of the Mexican forest. Huitzilopochtli, like many other gods, had no human father; his mother was a virtuous widow; he was born of an apparently innocent flirtation that she carried out with the sun.

When he frowned, his father, the sun, stood still. When he roared with rage, earthquakes engulfed whole cities. When he thirsted he was watered with 10,000 gallons of human blood. But today Huitzilopochtli is as magnificently forgotten as Allen G. Thurman. Once the peer of Allah, Buddha and Wotan, he is now the peer of Richmond P. Hobson, Alton B. Parker, Adelina Patti, General Weyler and Tom Sharkey.

Speaking of Huitzilopochtli recalls his brother Tezcatlipoca. Tezcatlipoca was almost as powerful; he consumed 25,000 virgins a year.

Lead me to his tomb: I would weep, and hang a couronne des perles. But who knows where it is? Or where the grave of Quetzalcoatl is? Or Xiuhtecuhtli? Or Centeotl, that sweet one? Or Tlazolteotl, the goddess of love? Of Mictlan? Or Xipe? Or all the host of Tzitzimitl? Where are their bones? Where is the willow on which they hung their harps? In what forlorn and unheard-of Hell do they await their resurrection morn? Who enjoys their residuary estates? Or that of Dis, whom Caesar found to be the chief god of the Celts? Of that of Tarves, the bull? Or that of Moccos, the pig? Or that of Epona, the mare? Or that of Mullo, the celestial jackass? There was a time when the Irish revered all these gods, but today even the drunkest Irishman laughs at them.

But they have company in oblivion: the Hell of dead gods is as crowded
as the Presbyterian Hell for babies. Damona is there, and Esus, and
Drunemeton, and Silvana, and Dervones, and Adsullata, and Deva, and
Bellisima, and Uxellimus, and Borvo, and Grannos, and Mogons. All mighty gods in their day, worshipped by millions, full of demands and impositions, able to bind and loose - all gods of the first class. Men labored for generations to build vast temples to them - temples with stones as large as hay-wagons.

The business of interpreting their whims occupied thousands of priests,
bishops, archbishops. To doubt them was to die, usually at the stake.
Armies took to the field to defend them against infidels; villages were burned, women and children butchered, cattle were driven off. Yet in the end they all withered and died, and today there is none so poor to do them reverence.

What has become of Sutekh, once the high god of the whole Nile Valley? What has become of:
Resheph
Anath
Ashtoreth
El
Nergal
Nebo
Ninib
Melek
Ahijah
Isis
Ptah
Anubis
Baal
Astarte
Hadad
Addu
Shalem
Dagon
Sharaab
Yau
Amon-Re
Osiris
Sebek
Molech?

All there were gods of the highest eminence. Many of them are mentioned with fear and trembling in the Old Testament. They ranked, five or six thousand years ago, with Yahweh Himself; the worst of them stood far higher than Thor. Yet they have all gone down the chute, and with them the following:
Bilé
Ler
Arianrhod
Morrigu
Govannon
Gunfled
Sokk-mimi
Nemetona
Dagda
Robigus
Pluto
Ops
Meditrina
Vesta

You may think I spoof. That I invent the names. I do not. Ask the rector to lend you any good treatise on comparative religion: You will find them all listed. They were gods of the highest standing and dignity-gods of civilized peoples-worshiped and believed in by millions. All were omnipotent, omniscient and immortal.

And all are dead.”

― H.L. Mencken, A Mencken Chrestomathy
FreestyleArt · 31-35, M
I don't want to play God. I'm a sinner. As a sinner....it's way too stressful to control everything.
DownTheStreet · 56-60, M
In what ways do you see or hear of people playing God? I’m interested.
Jstbanannas1991 · 31-35, F
@DownTheStreet mainly when speaking of IVF or cloning.
bugeye · 26-30, F
yes. it's called The Sims
Jstbanannas1991 · 31-35, F
@bugeye ha! Is that why I have fun with that game?
DocSavage · M
@bugeye
I “Civilization” you control a lot more
Carazaa · F
No we are to serve Jesus our Lord!
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SW-User
when people talk about playing god, they often mean taking a life. anyone can take a life, so in that sense, yes, people can "play" god.

but it's women who gave birth to that life - a far nobler pursuit, even described as a blessing regularly or even a miracle, yet they aren't called god for that ability.

when a young, healthy person is dying from a sudden horrific accident, the person knelt by their side praying to a god cannot control the ultimate outcome, though they try in that moment to sway their god... and neither, apparently, can their god save them if the accident is grave enough.

some will call this god's will and encourage using faith to accept the outcome.

the power to "play" god is a weird concept to me
ninalanyon · 61-69, T
You'd have to define what the word god means before attempting to answer that.

The old gods were quite different from the current crop for instance.
FreestyleArt · 31-35, M
@ninalanyon which means God is more defined than humans He created. He also created challenges for us and the weakling's consciousness depending on this pathetic world we live in.....it's too much for humans...
ninalanyon · 61-69, T
@FreestyleArt If your god is so well defined then how come there are so many arguments about it among people who claim to believe in the same entity.

And what is pathetic about this world? It will continue in all its majesty long after we are but dust and not even a memory.
riseofthemachine · 41-45, M
No one has power to play God .
You let God by God and don’t analyse God and accept the good times and the hardships without analysing God .
You start analysing God especially with what’s going on in your life you’ll end up clinging to something which will cause you a lot of pain .
Leave life happen and try not talk about people in a bad way , deal with your past the best way you can . Accept your past the good times and not so good times and your life with simpler without analysing God .
If only this didn’t happen to me cause that thinking will bring you into another disease of its own called self pity .
That’s another pain crusher.
You’ll never get it right 100% 😂😂😂.
Why ? Cause we’re not God
I don't think humanity will ever have that kind of power, even though it sometimes behaves as if it thinks it does.
But then, it probably depends on the definition of God or which kind of god.
SW-User
Money is power and power is glory so if you’re rich you’re basically God
Jstbanannas1991 · 31-35, F
@SW-User how much you think you need to be that power?
SW-User
@Jstbanannas1991 100 mn +
@SW-User
RopinTexan · 31-35, M
“Play” God? Sure. We can play whatever we want…that’s why it’s called playing. But that doesn’t mean we actually are that thing.
kodiac · 22-25, M
No and neither do we have the power to speak for god.
Carazaa · F
@kodiac Very true, but we can quote him!
kodiac · 22-25, M
@Carazaa Yes you can ,but you can't say what god wants as in god wants Americans to stop playing video games
Jstbanannas1991 · 31-35, F
I hear people say that we shouldn’t be playing God but I sometimes think is that possible? Maybe there’s something I’m missing though…
Theyitis · 36-40, M
@Jstbanannas1991 Yeah, but I mean what are they talking about? Like capital punishment?
Jstbanannas1991 · 31-35, F
@Theyitis for example: IVF
Theyitis · 36-40, M
@Jstbanannas1991 I don’t think that’s playing God, it’s just using technology to try to improve people’s lives.
OnePatheticClown · 51-55, M
🤔 psychotics and shamans seem to think so...
Howudoin · 41-45, M
Hmmm, you must be an alien... you're married, straight, have babies, love your hubs, have doubts about normal things to have doubts about, and you're questioning the universe a little bit. Yep, you're an alien
Jstbanannas1991 · 31-35, F
@Howudoin how’d you guess?
Howudoin · 41-45, M
@Jstbanannas1991 you gave yourself away by trying to be "normal"
CynthiTheQueen · 26-30, F
Fortunately we have genetic researchers and terrifying bio-hacking technology bros. They play God so we don't have to!
4meAndyou · F
Our problem is that SOME people believe they have enough power. Let me tell you...God's gonna get 'em! 🤭
WanderlustCat · 36-40, M
Given its a fictitious thing yeah we do. We have great powers of imagination.
smiler2012 · 56-60
@Jstbanannas1991 whether wehave or night we have no right to shape destiny
RedBaron · M
Abortion and capital punishment say we do.
SW-User
"God is a shout in the street"

James Joyce


Ceinwyn · 26-30, F
The gods have their own game. I just go about my way.
AmericanBroad · 31-35, FVIP
No or at least we shouldn’t
SW-User
We did in the 90's
[media=https://youtu.be/nm6DO_7px1I]
XDHyperGirlXD1 · 31-35, F
Yes i am God 👀
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Carazaa · F
@SandWitch With all the haters here who bully and threaten me do you think I want to disclose where I worship? I just read my Bible. Many churches have been led away by Satan. They are now so political and live mostly for this world instead of the next. They are not even preaching Jesus return this generation which is going to surprise many christians when he comes.
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