[modest]

This is not a discussion of religion - please, kindly, thump bibles elsewhere.

I’ve twice now been called out for saying “god” on hypography in a non-religious way. Once for having a signature quoting 2001: A Space Odyssey with “God” in the quote.

Oddly enough (and unrelated) my current signature has a religious symbol that is the name of a god.

In another post here, I use god (as well as “mother earth”) to some poetic extent. Neither references were religious nor had religious meaning intended. The meaning of my post; however, was clearly debased in at least one person’s eyes. So, my question is:

Are we to avoid religious symbolism in secular literature or can it be a useful tool for the poetics and meaning of a thing?

Let me give a couple examples:

Announcing your plans is a good way to hear God laugh

-Al Swearengen (a more profane character never existed)

More poetical - same meaning:

Heaven from all creatures hides the book of fate,
All but the page prescribed, their present state.

-Alexander Pope

These are two very short and simple statements that carry a very big idea with some dramatic effect. Put in the right context, “God” and “Heaven” here are only analogue to an idea of how time works and what our place in it is. The idea is not religious. The same idea is discussed in great length in moments and events - a very enlightening thread. It could be that statements like above diminish the idea they convey because they could be seen as coming from a religious person (even when not). Or, it could be that they are a useful way to convey the idea.

I personally try to avoid such symbolism even though I am completely non-religious and have no faith or belief in a god. I don’t do this because I’m afraid of being considered religious (there should be no stigma there) but because it can clearly muck up an issue.

It just seems odd that we so often go to the Greek gods for analogies and symbolism but are linguistically constrained from using the generic term ‘god’. Just as constraining is our inability to go to the judeo-christian fables and myths for analogy for fear of having the concept behind the analogy be branded religious.

If I wanted to talk about free will and human understanding of right and wrong I might want to use the apple from Eden as an analogy. The story has the necessary structure and framework for the discussion and everyone knows the story. In the end I probably wouldn't use the analogy and it's unfortunate.

It would be hard to argue that something has not been lost since the time of Shakespeare in our use of English. Could this be one of those things?

-modest