The Concept of Divinity or God by Xenophanes - Essay Example

The concept of divinity or god by Xenophanes Since ancient times, there has been an apparent conflict between science and religion over the existence of God. From their difference, one can easily deduce that there is an apparent difference between God and the physical world. Because this argument is clear, for if God was concurrent with the universe, then there would have been no conflict between religion and science over a uniform divine-material. Mixtures of the earthly practices that do not separate them because of diverse human imaginations explain why the polytheism was practiced in ancient cultures. For example, Hinduism is one of the religious practices that believed in the existence of many gods. In his study, Xenophanes learnt that men worship gods that resemble them. In justifying this, he gave some examples of people and their respective gods. For example, he argued that the Ethiopians worship a black god with a flat nose whereas the Thracians worshipped gods that possessed red hair and blue eyes. In justifying his point, he claimed that the people worship black gods were either black or received their religious practices in toto or from black people. For instance, he claimed that the ancient gods of India have Ethiopian crowns on their head because of the religion they received from the black Ethiopians. According to Xenophanes, most of the people in the world received their religious practices from the black because they believed that the black gods were saviors. In connection to this, it is evident that most of the black gods were considered as crucified saviors who had died on behalf of humanity through by being tied on a tree as if on a cross or being nailed to across. It was after the invention of Christianity through Western civilization that people started to know the difference that coexisted between creator and the creation. For instance, Xenophanes said openly that while the Greek believed that their gods were white skinned, African perceived their gods as black. According to him, “mankind imputed human characteristics to the nature of the gods” (Caiazza 142). Despite all these, Xenophanes did not conclude that there were no gods. However, “he stated that God’s nature was not like that of mortal men but that he was immortal, and he had no sense organs; Xenophanes asserted that instead of many gods there was, in fact, only one God” (Caiazza 142). Xenophanes belief in existence of only one greatest God is ideal. This is justified by what is happening in the world currently. If there were many gods, then probably the world would have been exhausted or worn out completely by now because of disagreements. This is also justified by his teachings that all things were united by one infinite force in the universe (Vitsaxis 228). Additionally, it is evident that the greatest god sees things differently from the way men see. For instance, he would have punished the whole world for the sinful nature if his perceptions of things resembled that of a man. The fact that Xenophanes did not refer on other gods when expounding on the characteristics of his one greatest god finds me in agreement with him (Xenophanes 230). If he were not sure of the god he was describing, he would have involved himself in a supremacy war. The existence of many gods provides a platform for completion or division of responsibilities. For instance, Buddhism has diverse gods with different roles. Thus, the belief of Xenophanes in one god explains why all the creations behave in a unified manner. Although Christianity relates God with man in terms of formation, it is evident that God does not have any form as a suggested by Xenophanes; He is universal. This is evidenced by the impossibility drafted from the Christians’ point of view about God. For instance, if God by chance resembled every human being on earth as the Bible says, then He is not tangible; He can change his form to fit the shapes of other human beings on earth. In tandem to this, “Xenophanes is also right in saying that god does not need the human sense organs to obtain knowledge, since he is all spirit, or spiritual force” (Vitsaxis 231). From this, one can deduce that god has a spirit form and physical as many other religions think of him. From his arguments, it is evident that Xenophanes related god with only two senses; sense of sight and hearing. His choice of senses for his greatest god expounds on the University of God. According to him, if god had the sense of taste, smell and touch as other religions claim, then he would have been a human being and not a universal god. Additionally, if god had a bodily contact, then he would have been doing his actions in a mechanical way. Unfortunately, such a way would have been tedious due to the number of creations on earth. Thus, I agree with Xenophanes argument that the god performs all his activities on earth via the work of the brain; thought, and from this, it is evident that the god is universal. In claiming that god is everlasting, Xenophanes did not aim at creating conflicts with the traditional beliefs of gods’ immortality. According to him, god remains the same irrespective of changes in time. He believed that the god was everlasting. Yeah, his argument is correct. In claiming that god does not have a concrete shape, it is evident that he meant that the god cannot age. This is evidenced by his description of god as a spirit. If god is a spirit, and a spirit lacks physical formation, then the spirit cannot age. Additionally, it is evident that only organisms with the physical body reproduce. Since god is a spirit, and a spirit does not have a tangible body, and then it is evident that the god does not multiply to form gods as traditionalists believed and practiced. “Xenophanes believed that everything that is born dies and that no one can reject death without also rejecting birth” (Vitsaxis 232). His argument is convincible; it is true that anything that is given birth into dies. Thus, if god was undergoing multiplication as other religions claim, then he would have died a long time ago. From the characteristics of god provided by Xenophanes, one can easily deduce that god is everlasting. In his description of his greatest god, Xenophanes referred to god as spherical. Unfortunately, many people thought he related god to things such as a ball. Additionally, it is evident that he did not intend to have it in other people’s minds that god is formless. It is also evident that his use of the term spherical in describing god did not mean he accepted that god has a physical appearance. To some extent, I think he meant god is “spheroidal.” Spheroidal is a description of the unity and perfection associated with the greatest god. In emphasizing on how god was everlasting, Xenophanes also provided detailed information as to why he thinks god is an eternal being. According to him, god was there before, and he will continue to be in the future. This is evidenced by his argument that god is immobile. According to him, immobility meant that the god has the highest form of existence. His association of a mobile thing to an organism with ability to move from something to something else makes me agree with his claim that the god is immobile. It is true that a being that is unique cannot be thought of moving from place to place. According to him, the existence of god is beyond the reasoning power of a human being. Additionally, it is evident that the term immobility justifies that god is totally different from any creature or any activity taking place in the world. Thus, human beings cannot deduce that god is mobile. In conclusion, Xenophanes argues that men worship gods that resemble them. According to him, Ethiopians worship a black god with a flat nose because they are black. He also believed that most of the people in the world received their religious practices from the black because they believed that the black gods were saviors. However, “he stated that God’s nature was not like that of mortal men but that he was immortal, and he had no sense organs; Xenophanes asserted that instead of many gods there was, in fact, only one God” (Caiazza 142). Works Cited Caiazza, John. The War of the Jesus and Darwin Fishes: Religion and Science in the Postmodern. New York: Transaction Publishers, 2011. Print. Vitsaxis, Vassilis. Thought and Faith: The concept of divinity. London: Somerset Hall Press, 2009. Print. Read More