(no subject)

[benlehman]

If I could eliminate one meme from the collective conscious, it would be "god of ______"

It is dumb, ahistorical, amystical, and dumb.

(Okay, fine, I could eliminate hate or racism or homophobia or child rape or some shit. Yeah, I'd probably do that instead. Nonetheless, it is a pretty annoying one.)

Comments

[marcus-sez-vote.livejournal.com]

"God of Death? Ha! God of Dumb more like it!"

Be well.

Well, yes.

[redcrosse.livejournal.com]

In fantasy worlds, there's likely less problem with the formulation, as there's just less going on with the gods in question. I mean, sorry, David, but you just can't generate as much mythology as an entire culture of people. Nothing personal.

Naturally, there IS a problem with people encountering fantasy gods and then assuming that the degree of depth they see in those characters is even vaguely comparable to what's going on with actual polytheistic figures. (Hint: it's not.)

Re: Well, yes.

[marcus-sez-vote.livejournal.com]

is even vaguely comparable to...

I don't know about that. I think there are plenty of settings, not just Aralis, where entities described as "Gods" are just as petty, whimsical, and humanized as gods in many "actual" pantheons. I agree that the symbology and depth of these creations may not be at the same level as those that were spawned from actual cultures, but they have some comparison...especially since the "actual" mythos often helps spawn the "fantasy" one.

Be well.

Re: Well, yes.

[russiandude.livejournal.com]

I think what he means is that the actual gods have been formed through years of beliefs and associations getting tied together in one form. You can have people worship the same god, but in different ways, or worship different aspects of the same god, or worship an "older" version of the deity and so on. You just don't usually get that kind of detail in games, because that kind of detail takes decades/centuries to come together and about as long to document.

Re: Well, yes.

[redcrosse.livejournal.com]

Yup. That's pretty much what I mean.

Re: Well, yes.

[wirednavi.livejournal.com]

Synchretism, yo.