Anders,
Thank you for your compliment. I would like to comment on a few of your
points.
1) The overemphasis of power and the gradual ascent- I agree that there has
been a tendency to overplay this attribute. When examining the question of
worship, I asked what were the bare essentials necessary for me to feel a
sense of awe and devotion toward another being. I came up with the idea that
the important thing would be a being who is the embodiment of my most
cherished ideal/ideals. This does not have to be a powerful being (unless you
cherish power). I could imagine such a being which would resemble the ideal
of the saint or buddha; an enlightened consciousness which could serve as an
example to all. Having said this, however, I find it difficult to imagine a
flawless exemplar of virtue (however you care to define virtue) without
imaginining this person having some fair amount of power. How can such a
being be certain in their application of these principles without perfect
knowledge. And if one did have such perfect understanding, wouldn't one wish
to avoid error through a lack of perfect execution. And what would be the
minimum amount of perfect (or near perfect) skill that this being would
require to be ready for any situation. You could almost say that any being
which reached such a pinnacle of enlightenment would be morally obligated to
seek as much power as possible to avoid accidents of ineptitute. I suggest
this as an example of the slippery slope to associating Power with Godhood, or
maybe that should be the gradual ascent to Power.
2) Unsolicited Worship - I definitely see the point of feeling little
obligation toward unsought and undesired worship. Yet, if you were a true
Power, it might take very little to aid such worshippers, thus only a
fractional amount of noblisse oblige might at first be enough to sustain an
entire religion at first. But as your afterthought aid greatly improves the
worshippers lot, they begin to pay attention to more difficult problems, ones
they may have been at first unaware of or have accepted as unalterable, such
as death. A Power could inadvertantly trigger the Uplifting of an entire
people. You could say that this act is more than enough, and that the
worshippers should be greatful for that much and do the rest on their own.
This may be fine, but what if what your aid has in some way led them down an
evolutionary deadend, and the only way they can see out is with help. Do you
turn your metaphorical back on these people, who might not have had this
problem without worshipping you? Or do you continue to help them, guiding
them to a point where they no longer need you? There are two basic approaches
that come to mind to deal with this problem, one is the hands off approach
(dare I make a comparison to the Star Trek Prime Directive....argh!), the
other to take up the mantle of Godhood until you can help your worshippers to
maturity and kick them out of the nest (kind of like a good parent).
3) The Universe as a Growing God - I'll have to save this one for later.
Glen Finney