New Gods????

Recently I was asked who my patron God was. At first I was tempted to use my stand by answer of Cernunnos or any one of the Celtic Gods. But I decided to do some soul searching and take a look at things a bit more critically.

First I wanted to figure out which God I most identified with. Which God I would say that I most wanted to emulate in my life to make me a better person. Which God's story most appeals to me and touches me on a deeper level. I went down my list of Gods from around the world and I came up blank. Not one of them touched me, at least not in a way that I identified with. Not even the Celtic Gods with whom I do feel a close kinship. So I started feeling a bit lost. Just who was my patron God???

During all this I was having a discussion with a friend about one of our share interests in a scifi TV show. He said that he wasn't sure if he wanted to keep seeing the character written as "an unleashed god". At the time I wasn't sure what to make of it but the comment stayed with me for some reason. Later I had a moment of epiphany where a great many things clicked into place for me.

Now many of my friends who know me, know that I am a freak for all things Doctor WHO related. I love the show. Longest running Scifi TV show ever. Beats out Star Trek by about 3 years. I have been a fan of the show for over 28 years give or take a year. I am the biggest nerd in the room when it comes to this show, with trivia in my head that would make most fans cringe.

It was after my discussion with a fellow fan about the character of the Doctor that I realized just who my patron God was, it was the Doctor from the TV show Doctor WHO. I idolize this character. To a lesser extent I worship him. I do my best to emulate him and live up to his code of conduct. I see him as the Divine aspect I want to aspire to.

This really got my cogs turning. Here I am worshipping a made up character and aspiring to be like unto him. I wonder if there are others out there that have similar situations in their lives. After all surely this is probably how the Gods of ancient peoples came into being in a way. It got me thinking that maybe, just maybe, our culture isn't so much turning away from religion here in the modern world as some think, that maybe folks are just adopting new Gods to replace the old ones. When I mentioned my idea to a friend I was told that I really need to read Neil Gaiman's book "American Gods". After hearing a bit about the plot I plan to soon.

I personally don't think that it is so crazy of a notion that we create new Gods to worship. I think it is how we as humans cope with the craziness of life. Perhaps it does fly in the face of more traditional Pagan paths. But in the end one's relationship to Divinity is not something someone can share, it is a personal journey. Yes, The Doctor is my patron God. Maybe for someone else it might be Lt. Ripley from the Aliens franchise. Or even Lara Croft from the Tomb Raider franchise. Whatever you choose to find peace with let it be your journey.