Worship
I’m going to worship the sun.
At least it is real.
I can feel it on my face.
I can see it in the sky.
The sun is not imaginary;
Not an invention.
It gives me light.
It gives me heat.
It gives me life.
I do not need to talk to it in a cave,
Or on any mountain top,
Or in any wilderness.
The sun appears before everyone.
It does not make demands on me,
Or gives me lists of things I must not do,
Or lists of things I must do,
Things I have to wear,
Things I must not eat.
The sun is kind it merely gives expecting nothing in return.
I do not have to pray to it to make it shine.
It just shines.
It does not know that I exist.
It does not care.
It does not threaten me with eternal torture,
Or promise me eternal pleasure.
It came from the same place as me.
It made the atoms of my body.
It will die like me.
I am happy with the sun.
It will do very nicely.
Opher – 17.4.2021
Just imagine for one minute that there is no god.
Doesn’t that make a mockery of all the fantastic effort and sacrifices people all over the world have made?
Yet we can’t see this god. He rarely answers our prayers – if ever.
Why is it that only a certain few people have ever claimed to have spoken to god and received instructions from him? And always alone in caves, up mountains or in wildernesses.
Why is god so shy?
Why does this god give different, and very precise, instructions to different people?
Will wearing a veil, eating pork or beef, wearing a turban or devoutly praying really make that difference to him?
I always laugh when some who is saved from disaster thanks god. They never ask why god allowed the disaster in the first place or why he didn’t save the equally worthy people who died in the disaster.
If we have to worship something I’ll settle for the sun. The sun’s good enough for me. It’ll do for now. I might eventually transfer my allegiance to the moon though. She’s more mysterious.
Worship
I’m going to worship the sun.
At least it is real.
I can feel it on my face.
I can see it in the sky.
The sun is not imaginary;
Not an invention.
It gives me light.
It gives me heat.
It gives me life.
I do not need to talk to it in a cave,
Or on any mountain top,
Or in any wilderness.
The sun appears before everyone.
It does not make demands on me,
Or gives me lists of things I must not do,
Or lists of things I must do,
Things I have to wear,
Things I must not eat.
The sun is kind it merely gives expecting nothing in return.
I do not have to pray to it to make it shine.
It just shines.
It does not know that I exist.
It does not care.
It does not threaten me with eternal torture,
Or promise me eternal pleasure.
It came from the same place as me.
It made the atoms of my body.
It will die like me.
I am happy with the sun.
It will do very nicely.
Opher – 17.4.2021
Just imagine for one minute that there is no god.
Doesn’t that make a mockery of all the fantastic effort and sacrifices people all over the world have made?
Yet we can’t see this god. He rarely answers our prayers – if ever.
Why is it that only a certain few people have ever claimed to have spoken to god and received instructions from him? And always alone in caves, up mountains or in wildernesses.
Why is god so shy?
Why does this god give different, and very precise, instructions to different people?
Will wearing a veil, eating pork or beef, wearing a turban or devoutly praying really make that difference to him?
I always laugh when some who is saved from disaster thanks god. They never ask why god allowed the disaster in the first place or why he didn’t save the equally worthy people who died in the disaster.
If we have to worship something I’ll settle for the sun. The sun’s good enough for me. It’ll do for now. I might eventually transfer my allegiance to the moon though. She’s more mysterious.
We used to worship
We used to worship the sun and moon;
We thought they were gods,
But now we understand what they really are –
Only rock and gas –
And the mysticism has dissipated on the solar breeze.
We used to worship trees, rocks and streams
And pray to the spirits that resided within,
But now we understand the molecules
Possess no spiritual qualities
Other than the wonder that resides in our own minds.
We used to worship Zeus, Apollo and Baal;
Make sacrifices, follow rituals
And offer up our prayers.
Now they, and the tens of thousands like them,
Are banished to the past.
Their universal power no longer of consequence.
How many virgins;
How many sheep, goats and cattle,
Had their throats slit
In a futile attempt to curry favours
From an all too human god?
No lessons from the past
Seem to impact upon us now.
Our beliefs in Jesus, Mohamed and Moses,
In Shiva, Rama and Buddha,
Will last for ever.
They will surely not, like all the rest, eventually
Follow the sun.
Will they?
So I will sit in awe and thrill to a sunset,
Lie beneath the stars and absorb the majesty,
Smile with soft eyes at the spectrum of life
And relish the warmth of love and friendship.
It is the closest to worship I can achieve.
It’s enough for me.
Opher 22.6.2016
We used to worship
The lesson of the past is that things come and go. So many gods who were universally worshipped have toppled into oblivion. Gods and Goddesses thought so powerful that they constructed the universe and ruled all things, and either gave or withheld their assistance to humans, have been long forgotten. Where are Hrouda, Rura, Tiwaz, Vercana, Amon, Ash, Hu, Ket, Mut, Ptah, Aife, Blai, Clota, Cred, Ixtab, Mudu and a million others. People put their faith in them. People willingly died for them. Prayers, rituals, costumes and sacrifices were conceived to satisfy these deities. Their assistance was sought and praise was heaped upon them when it worked, and excuses found when it failed (we were not following the instructions were we?). So many forgotten tribes were the ‘chosen’ ones.
So many religions waxed and waned.
Yet the ones we presently subscribe to are the real ones; the only real ones. They will never wane.
For one who does not believe, such as me, the prayers, costumes, rituals and entreaties, of such superstition look interestingly absurd. While I adore the pageant, majesty and colourful creativity I share with Freud the view that I am witnessing a mass hysterical psychosis.
If there is a mystical force it is within all of us, all the fabric of the universe, and not embodied in some human created god. I do not believe there is such a human construct as paradise or hell. I cannot wait for the waning; for an awakening. We have life, an incredible universe and we live in the midst of great wonder and majesty. We are surrounded with astounding wonder. That is surely enough.
