Wednesday, October 26, 2011

We create our gods, not the other way around. In a very real way, we construct them and define them—and they, in turn, guide and define us. We are a world of storytellers. If aliens really were studying our various cultures on this planet, they might be quite perplexed about our obsession with fiction. We read novels, we go to movies, we watch fictions on television, we’ve carved them on walls for centuries—even our history is filtered through dramatic storylines. Why? We use stories about our heroes, our gods, our demons, our successes, failures, dreams and nightmares in order to preserve what has happened, to communicate our common values, to work through our common fears, to ritualize, instruct and have fun. Humans shine when events become unconventional. That’s the basis for all good tales. What do you do when you’re the underdog, fighting for survival? What do you do when God is dead and there are no rules? What kind of character or honor or sense of justice do you really have when there’s no God to judge you, no threat of eternity in the fiery furnace?

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