The emergent memetic phenomena known as "gods", "characters", and "people" exist as a collection of thoughts, motives, and identifiers, distributed through one or more brains and the communication media that connect them. It is useful to think of these consciousnesses as non-discrete sets, like a blurry complicated Venn diagram, as any one can consist of parts or wholes of others. Differentiating which specifically count as "gods" is like deciding how big a rock must be to be called a boulder, or how many grains of sand are needed for a heap. A god has far-reaching influence on the world, and has followers dedicated to strengthening its presence and influence.
The bigger gods can lose their sanity as they break up into too many disparate representations. Hippie Jesus struggles with Hateful Jesus; Kindly Generous Santa battles with Cynical Commercial Santa. This also happens to celebrities; the entity with a celebrity's name is bigger than the person at its center.
Granny Weatherwax said, "I don't go around believing in gods. It gives them airs." This sly semblance of self-contradiction is meant to point out that acknowledging something's existence and believing in it is not necessarily the same thing. To "believe in" a god, or a person, is to be dedicated to its growth and success. Accepting as fact the creation myths associated with them is a whole other kettle of worms.
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timeasmymeasure
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The bigger gods can lose their sanity as they break up into too many disparate representations. Hippie Jesus struggles with Hateful Jesus; Kindly Generous Santa battles with Cynical Commercial Santa. This also happens to celebrities; the entity with a celebrity's name is bigger than the person at its center.
Granny Weatherwax said, "I don't go around believing in gods. It gives them airs." This sly semblance of self-contradiction is meant to point out that acknowledging something's existence and believing in it is not necessarily the same thing. To "believe in" a god, or a person, is to be dedicated to its growth and success. Accepting as fact the creation myths associated with them is a whole other kettle of worms.