Philosophy Now Forum

promethean75 wrote: ↑Sat Apr 12, 2025 6:02 pm "The fundamental reason why God has never become a human and will never do so, is to prevent the emperor of Japan to claim that he is God incarnate."

God: Hey, you guys... should i go to earth as a man to straighten all this shit out?

Michael: nah boss don't do it. Naruhito is still down there, and if you go claiming to be a man, he's gonna go claiming to be you. I'm sure of it. Happens every time you go down there.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imperial_cult

Some examples of historic leaders considered to have been divine kings are:

Africa

Pharaohs of Ancient Egypt.
The Shilluk Kingdom was ruled by a divine monarchy.
Ghanas ("Kings") of the Empire of Ghana.

Asia

God Worshipping Society leader Hong Xiuquan, leader of the Taiping Rebellion, claimed to be the younger brother of Jesus and attempted to establish rule as a divine king.
Korean Buddhist monk Gung-ye, King of Taebong.
The Japanese emperors up to the end of World War II.
Javanese kings during the Hindu-Buddhist era (4th–15th centuries AD), such as the Sailendra dynasty, Kediri, Singhasari and Majapahit.
Kings of the Khmer Empire in Cambodia.
Srivijaya kings.

Americas

Kings of the Maya city-states of the Classical period.[4]
Sapa Incas in pre-Hispanic South America; considered descendants of the sun god Inti.[5]

Oceania

Kings or Akua Aliʻi of the Hawaiian Islands before 1839.

Europe

Many Roman emperors were declared gods by the Roman Senate (generally after their death; see Roman imperial cult).

Immanuel Can wrote: ↑Sat Apr 12, 2025 5:45 pm

Alexiev wrote: ↑Sat Apr 12, 2025 5:39 pm

Immanuel Can wrote: ↑Fri Apr 11, 2025 8:14 pm
No, just using it in a standard way. There's a reason that the Greek and Norse "gods" get a small "g," and the Supreme Being gets a big "G": that is, that everybody who deals with these concepts realizes that they're not exactly the same concept...and hence, Standard English deals with it this way.

Or, As AI puts it:

"In general, "small g" god refers to deities or beings worshipped in various religions, while "Big G" God refers specifically to the supreme being in Abrahamic religions like Christianity, Judaism, and Islam. The "small g" is used when referring to multiple deities, or a general concept of a god, while the "Big G" is reserved for the singular, supreme being in these monotheistic faiths."

That seems like ethnicentric bigotry.

It's called "Standard English usage." But it also marks an important difference between two quite-different concepts: that of the fictional, superman-type god-being, such as Odin, Aphrodite or Hermes, which legend tells us had an origin and a termination, and were never said to be all-powerful in the first place, and that no sane person today believes actually exists, on the one hand, and the concept of the eternal Supreme Being on the other.

Alexiev wrote: ↑Mon Apr 14, 2025 12:13 pm

Immanuel Can wrote: ↑Sat Apr 12, 2025 5:45 pm

Alexiev wrote: ↑Sat Apr 12, 2025 5:39 pm

That seems like ethnicentric bigotry.

It's called "Standard English usage." But it also marks an important difference between two quite-different concepts: that of the fictional, superman-type god-being, such as Odin, Aphrodite or Hermes, which legend tells us had an origin and a termination, and were never said to be all-powerful in the first place, and that no sane person today believes actually exists, on the one hand, and the concept of the eternal Supreme Being on the other.

Calling people of sub Saharan African descent the "N" word is "standard English usage" too.

Immanuel Can wrote: ↑Mon Apr 14, 2025 4:09 pm

Alexiev wrote: ↑Mon Apr 14, 2025 12:13 pm

Immanuel Can wrote: ↑Sat Apr 12, 2025 5:45 pm
It's called "Standard English usage." But it also marks an important difference between two quite-different concepts: that of the fictional, superman-type god-being, such as Odin, Aphrodite or Hermes, which legend tells us had an origin and a termination, and were never said to be all-powerful in the first place, and that no sane person today believes actually exists, on the one hand, and the concept of the eternal Supreme Being on the other.

Calling people of sub Saharan African descent the "N" word is "standard English usage" too.

You think that's the same thing? And you think that word is "Standard English"? It's not. It's a slang corruption of the Spanish word for "black." Check your etymology.

Alexiev wrote: ↑Mon Apr 14, 2025 9:43 pm

Immanuel Can wrote: ↑Mon Apr 14, 2025 4:09 pm

Alexiev wrote: ↑Mon Apr 14, 2025 12:13 pm

Calling people of sub Saharan African descent the "N" word is "standard English usage" too.

You think that's the same thing? And you think that word is "Standard English"? It's not. It's a slang corruption of the Spanish word for "black." Check your etymology.

The "n" word is no longer standard.

Martin Peter Clarke wrote: ↑Mon Jun 23, 2025 9:40 am To the OP. A practice as old as Bronze Age religion. And therefore human for 4,000 years and more. Who are we to reprehend? How? Is it as reprehensible as the practice of designating particular humans as being divine spokesmen is utmost (sic) reprehensible?

Alexiev wrote: ↑Mon Jun 23, 2025 10:29 am

Martin Peter Clarke wrote: ↑Mon Jun 23, 2025 9:40 am To the OP. A practice as old as Bronze Age religion. And therefore human for 4,000 years and more. Who are we to reprehend? How? Is it as reprehensible as the practice of designating particular humans as being divine spokesmen is utmost (sic) reprehensible?

To the OP: What if you are half human, half God, like Herakles. Perseus, or Helen? Or Aeneus, for that matter.

Alexiev wrote: ↑Mon Jun 23, 2025 10:29 am To the OP: What if you are half human, half God, like Herakles. Perseus, or Helen? Or Aeneus, for that matter.

godelian wrote: ↑Wed Jun 25, 2025 3:24 am

Alexiev wrote: ↑Mon Jun 23, 2025 10:29 am To the OP: What if you are half human, half God, like Herakles. Perseus, or Helen? Or Aeneus, for that matter.

Paganism is as despicable as Christianity, for pretty much the same reasons. There is no holy baboon, no holy chimp, and no holy hominid. All these things are just one more attempt at setting up a spectacular scam fest.

Alexiev wrote: ↑Wed Jun 25, 2025 3:59 am

godelian wrote: ↑Wed Jun 25, 2025 3:24 am

Alexiev wrote: ↑Mon Jun 23, 2025 10:29 am To the OP: What if you are half human, half God, like Herakles. Perseus, or Helen? Or Aeneus, for that matter.

Paganism is as despicable as Christianity, for pretty much the same reasons. There is no holy baboon, no holy chimp, and no holy hominid. All these things are just one more attempt at setting up a spectacular scam fest.

How diminished human life would be without Greek Mythology, Egyptian Mythology, Christian Mythology, and even (though it pains me to so admit) Muslim mythology. Literature -- that greatest of cultural achievements -- developed out of mythology (oral literature). To despise Paganism and mythology is to despise humanity and its achievements. To despise one's religious heritage is (even for atheists) a form of self-hatred. As GK Chesterton once quipped: "I didn't develop my belief system; it developed me."

godelian wrote: ↑Wed Jun 25, 2025 4:26 am
I don't have anything against fairy tales. I am actually fine with them, as long as they don't end up costing half my assets.

Alexiev wrote: ↑Wed Jun 25, 2025 4:31 am

godelian wrote: ↑Wed Jun 25, 2025 4:26 am
I don't have anything against fairy tales. I am actually fine with them, as long as they don't end up costing half my assets.

Gee! "Fine"? Don't damn fairy tales with faint praise!

Gemini

A pyramid scheme is a fraudulent business model that primarily focuses on recruiting new members rather than selling actual products or services.

Impenitent wrote: ↑Tue Apr 08, 2025 12:55 pm The practice of designating particular humans as being divine is utmost reprehensible

is not as reprehensible as

The practice of designating particular humans as being vermin is utmost reprehensible

which is much more common

-Imp