CONVERSATIONS IN THE PANTHEON - The Truth about God and Religion

Divine Power on Earth

Mary: Throughout history, kings and emperors claimed to be either descendants of the gods, or gods in their own right. It's known as the divine power of rulers. The concept is very simple: governability of large groups goes smoother if the supreme ruler is a divine being. It helps to instill fear in people so they don't step out of line and upset the apple cart, at least not as much or as often.

Thomas: Anthropologists have found 'divine rule' even in large tribal settings. They believe that once people started living together in large numbers, the leaders sought to legitimize their rule by claiming a divine connection. They believe that once a group reaches a certain size it's difficult to maintain discipline, unless there is fear of retribution from a supreme authority – a divine being. The shamans in both north and south America, who claimed to have contact with the spirit world were used by the tribal leaders to concoct supernatural stories that would intimidate people into submission. But in larger groups, the leader would often claim direct descendance from the gods and reign as a god.

Mary: When Rome became an empire, the Roman Emperor became a divinity. The cult started with Augustus Caesar and became a prominent element of roman religion. It continued until the reign of Constantine, who helped to create the Roman Catholic Church. He was ultimately replaced as a Roman deity by the Christian gods (the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit). Being a divinity must have made it easier to rule a big empire.

Thomas: The Mayan kings were also revered as divine beings; and if I remember correctly, the Inca Emperors also ruled as descendants of the Sun God (Inti). The founders of the Incan Empire were a brother and sister, children of Inti, who ruled as husband and wife. Jupiter and Juno were certainly not the only incestuous divine couple. Also in ancient Egypt, the Pharaoh was believed to be the incarnation of the deity Horus. So Pharaohs also ruled as divine beings. The ancient Egyptians had a large pantheon of gods that resembled, or exceeded, those of the Greeks and Romans. But at the time of the Amenhotep IV and queen Nefertiti, the pharaoh decided to downgrade them all, except the sun (Aten or Amun-Re), which became the supreme deity. He also changed his own name to Akhenaten and became a deity himself. Only he and his family were allowed to worship Aten. Everyone else, including the high priests, had to worship him and the royal family. Needless to say, the high priests did not welcome this change and his reign didn't last long. His successor quickly restored the earlier religious practices.

Mary: Even the emperors in imperial China were believed to be sons of heaven and rulers of all under heaven. The Chinese symbol for emperor is two horizontal lines connected in the centre by a vertical line, which represents the emperor connecting heaven (top line) to earth (bottom line). The concept of mandate of heaven began with the Zhou dynasty about three thousand years ago. The belief was that Shangti (the supreme god) ordained the emperor (and his dynasty) to rule until such time as he failed to look after his people responsibly.

And while we're in that part of the world, during medieval times, Southeast Asian kings were revered as divine beings: incarnations of Shiva or Vishnu, two of the gods in the Hindu trinity.

Thomas: Don't forget the Divine Right of Kings, established in the British Isles in medieval times. It asserted that the monarch is subject to no earthly authority, deriving the right to rule directly from the will of God. King James I declared that, the state of monarchy is the supremest thing upon earth. For kings are not only God's lieutenants upon earth, and sit upon God's throne, but even by God himself they are called gods. I suppose that God talked to James directly to give him the good news! One can imagine God waking up James with a thunderous roar followed by a greeting: Good morning James. From this day onward I will call you God. Maybe this way people will respect you more: you poor fellow.

It's inescapable, throughout the ages and throughout the world, gods were needed and called upon to help the powerful rule the masses they exploited without mercy. No wonder they needed help from the gods!

You see, Mathew, how easy it has been for people to have direct conversations with god when they needed to establish their authority over mere mortals?

Mathew: This discussion on divine earthly rulers doesn't prove anything. It just shows that some leaders used extreme means to establish their right to rule. Each to their own. However, it doesn't mean that they did it with god's consent.

Thomas: Of course not. However, if there was a god it would have smitten them for taking its name in vain. Nevertheless, directly, or indirectly, they reinforced the concept of god in the consciousness of the people, to the point where it's no longer questioned. If king James says that god exists, who am I to question? After being drummed into our consciousness day after day, god became an innate part of human existence.

Mathew: I follow the logic. I don't disagree with it. I would even say its flawless. It makes your argument stronger, but it doesn't prove anything.

In any case, the practice of earthly deities was not only true in the ancient past, but also in modern times.  According to ancient Japanese texts (Kojikiand Nihon Shoki) the emperor is a direct descendant of the sun goddess Amaterasu, which makes him an earthly deity worthy of worship. Japanese emperors must have been siblings of the Incan emperors! I wonder how many kings and emperors claimed to be children of the sun.

Just like the queen of England is the head of the church of England, the japanese emperor is also the head of the Shinto religion, which under Emperor Hirohito became formalized as the State Shinto Religion and played a significant role in Japan's militaristic expansion. State Shinto, with financial support from the state, had emphasized the divinity of the emperor. After Japan's defeat in World War II, the American occupation army issued an order abolishing the State Shinto Religion, claiming that it had led to the kamikaze attacks on American ships.

North Korea, which was occupied by the Japanese until 1945, must have learned leader worship from the Japanese. When Kim Il Sung took power in 1948, he developed Juche – a person centred ideology. By the 1980s, a personality cult developed around him, which intensified after his death in 1994. In a country that is professed to be atheist (no state religion) Kim Il Sung became a deity. His reflected glory continued to shine on both his son and grandson, the current leader.

Thomas: So, even in modern times, a divine connection to the gods goes a long way in governing people. It seems that most leaders needed to have the gods behind them to exert their authority on the masses. Some claimed to rule by the will of god; some became gods through reincarnation of a deity; and others simply claimed to be gods. They all knew that having achieved their rule by the power of the sword, or other weapons, it would be difficult to continue to rule by force alone. So they all invoked help from the gods in one way or another. Fear of the sword combined with fear of divine retribution was sufficient to keep subjects in a state of submission, at least most of the time. King Louis XVI was an exception. He lost his head under the guillotine when his subjects rebelled. His divine power failed to protect him!

Mathew: When it really comes down to it, people believe because they want to believe, not because they're forced. Pascal's wager is true, for the vast majority of people. You and Mary are in the minority.

Mary: People believe because they want to believe. It's an interesting thought. We'll discuss it next week.