From time to time in this blog and
the conversations it spawns, I compare gods to fictional characters. I have, at
various times, explicitly compared gods to Voldemort, Emperor Palpatine, Frodo
Baggins, Nurse Ratched, and probably any of a number of other characters from
literary and cinematic fiction. Well, a little while back, one of my friends
mentioned to me that this is the one aspect of my blog that they find utterly
offensive. This person did go on to say that they understand why I do it, but
that it sets their teeth on edge every time anyway.
That got me wondering whether the
practice is similarly offensive to any of my other readers, and whether
everyone understands why I do it. Because, I assure, you, it is not done for
the sake of being offensive. So I figured I’d dedicate an article to explaining
why I compare God to fictional characters, and why I will almost certainly
continue to do so.
Of course, the first and most
obvious reason is that, as far as I can tell, gods are fictional characters. From my perspective, speaking of them in
the same vein as Simba the Lion King, Spock, or Maleficent is just a matter of addressing
them in their appropriate context. Yahweh, Freddy Krueger, Odin, Cruella De
Vil, Ra, Spiderman, Llugh, Pinocchio, Allah, Gandalf; they relate to each other
in the same way that bananas, apples, grapes, and kiwis relate to each other.
They’re just individual members of the same category. So in one sense, in my
mind I’m not making a comparison at all.
But it goes further than that. I’m
not merely categorizing things in this blog; I’m trying to communicate a
perspective. I know that all of you reading this, religious and nonreligious
alike, understand why, when Obi Wan Kenobi advises another character to “use
the Force,” none of us in the real world should take that as serious life
advice. You get that. I don’t even need to explain that. What I’m trying to get
across is that when you tell me I should pray or practice some ritual or do
anything else solely because your god has spoken out on the subject in your
holy book, that means exactly as much to me as Kenobi’s observations on the
nature of the Force.
When someone says we need to have
“In God We Trust,” on our courthouses, that carries as much weight for me as
saying we need to inscribe “Harry Potter Rules,” on our courthouses (which
would be a colossal waste of time and money in addition to alienating non-fans.
Get it?). Claiming America is a Christian nation is like saying America is a
Star Wars Fandom nation. If you tell me I’m going to hell, that’s just as
frightening as telling me Jareth the Goblin King is going to kidnap me in my
sleep. Saying that the purpose of our lives is to serve and worship God because
Jesus said so in the Bible is exactly as meaningful to me as if you said that
the answer to life, the universe, and everything really is forty-two because
Deep Thought said so in the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy.
Or, to paraphrase Russell Glasser’s
Star Trek Rule: “Think about what you’re saying to me. If it wouldn’t sound
just as compelling coming from Captain Kirk as it does coming from your god,
you probably need to take a different tack because it’s not going to convince
me.”
I’m not saying this to be offensive,
and I’m not saying it to be mocking. I get that people are heavily invested in
their religious beliefs. I get that religious people don’t see it anywhere near
the same way I do. But I’m not here to tell you how you feel about your
religion, or even how you should
feel. I’m here to give my perspective
in a way that I hope you can understand. I make the comparison because I
believe you understand why the mere fact that Voldemort gives an order in the Harry
Potter books is no reason for you to follow it in the real world. I make the
comparison to help you understand that these are the exact same reasons I feel
no compulsion to do anything simply because Yahweh says to in the Bible. Or
because Allah says to in the Koran. Or because Krishna says to in the Vedas.
I make the comparison to help you
understand that when atheists say we do not believe gods are real, we’re really
not kidding. And I do it to help you to understand what that really implies about
how we view religious dictates. I do it, not to offend, but because I want us
to understand each other.
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