# Where did this "Moon god" nonsense come from? **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [May 15, 2015, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-did-this-moon-god-nonsense-come-from/720111 "2015-05-15T15:30:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 9
**Author:** ![Junior\_Spaceman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/eb8c5e/32.png) [@Junior\_Spaceman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Junior_Spaceman)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2015, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-did-this-moon-god-nonsense-come-from/720111/161 "2015-05-21T01:12:39Z")
> [@andros](#): > > As an atheist with a religious background, I find it pretty clear that they–as a body- do not. And that’s one of the benefits of being an atheist - we get to accept that all religious groups are acting in good faith (pardon the pun) with regard to their worship and beliefs. There are two different issues here - the actual beliefs and practices of particular religions (eg Catholicism and Islam), which can be described accurately or inaccurately; and then we have a collection of beliefs _about_ those beliefs, that members of a different religion (eg Fundamentalist Christian) hold. To give an illustration, the White Identity Church has beliefs that modern Jews are the spawn of Satan and act accordingly. This belief is wrong, and examining Jewish practices can show that they are objectively wrong. Making a statement that this belief is part of the Christian Identity world view is not only not wrong, it can help to explain the underpinnings of the hatred at the base of that religion. ---
**Author:** ![Anne\_Neville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Anne\_Neville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anne_Neville)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2015, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-did-this-moon-god-nonsense-come-from/720111/162 "2015-05-21T02:17:11Z")
> [@Junior\_Spaceman](#): > > the White Identity Church has beliefs that modern Jews are the spawn of Satan and act accordingly. I see they’ve tried to get Lil’ Neville to eat dinner and go to bed 😉 In that case, their problem might be a missing control group- I think most almost-three-year-olds tend to be difficult in those situations. ---
**Author:** ![Anne\_Neville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Anne\_Neville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anne_Neville)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2015, 1:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-did-this-moon-god-nonsense-come-from/720111/163 "2015-05-21T13:20:08Z")
Or maybe they had the bad luck to run into me when I haven’t had my caffeine. Someone who met me in that state might have reason to think my parents were Satan and a particularly grumpy polar bear… ---
**Author:** ![Nancarrow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/c37758/32.png) [@Nancarrow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nancarrow)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2015, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-did-this-moon-god-nonsense-come-from/720111/164 "2015-05-21T14:11:15Z")
> [@marshmallow](#): > > If you want to troll Christians/Jews just tell them you’d rather skip the imitators and go with the original Mesopotamian tripartite [sky god.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anu) A sky god called “Anu”… who is plural? I really can’t see it catching on. “Which god do YOU worship?” “Er… their name must never be spoken.” (“Well, what’s their home planet, then?” “Funny you should ask…”) ---
**Author:** ![Saintly\_Loser](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saintly_loser/32/4045_2.png) [@Saintly\_Loser](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saintly_Loser)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2015, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-did-this-moon-god-nonsense-come-from/720111/165 "2015-05-21T14:47:33Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > And don’t religious people ever find it suspicious that the religion they believe is true almost always happens to be the religion they were raised in as a child? > > Do people ever think _“The reason I’m a devout Baptist is because I happened to be born in Little Rock. If I had been born in Mumbai, I’d be a devout Hindu and I’d believe that religion just as fully as I now believe in the American Baptist Association.”_? Or do devout people not think that? Do they feel that even if they had been born in India or Nigeria or Mongolia, they would still have found the exact same religion they have now and be a devoted member of that religion? > [@Junior\_Spaceman](#): > > The answer is that they don’t do any of these things even for a second, and if they do, they’re punished emotionally by their church for demonstrating ‘doubt’. The more kind hearted feel sorry for those born into the wrong cultures (and might spare a moment to feel sad over all those ignorant heathens landing in hell), but the important idea is that their religion is either all true, or they have wasted their lives, and their community, family and emotional lives have to be abandoned. That’s a pretty strong motivator to stick with the party line. Bullshit. You don’t know the answer. You have no idea what most religious people think and feel, except maybe the imaginary ones you’ve created to justify your ignorance. Look, many, many religious people (and just about all the believers I know) do indeed wonder what they’d believe if they’d been born in a different culture. I was actually _encouraged_ to ask this question often during my four years in Catholic high school. Some of us fell away from the faith because of this questioning. A small number eventually converted to other faiths. But we did ask. My particular brand of Christianity (a large one, not a minority faith at all) does not punish people emotionally for doubting, but rather accepts doubt as a part of life and faith. My church tells us that faith comes and goes, and that as long as we keep seeking it and remain open to it, we’re OK. We are well aware that if we’d been born in Mongolia, or wherever, we probably never would have found our way to our current religious beliefs. And we don’t think that Mongolians are damned because they’re not Christians. The vast majority of Christians, by the way, do not believe that Christians of other denominations, or non-Christians, are not saved. They just don’t. Get your facts about what people believe right before criticizing those beliefs. ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2015, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-did-this-moon-god-nonsense-come-from/720111/166 "2015-05-21T18:19:28Z")
**Saintly Loser** : Your response to the _ignorati_ is outstanding. However, I must point out an error. There are Mongolian Christians in both Inner Mongolia and Outer Mongolia. ---
**Author:** ![Kimballkid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b5a626/32.png) [@Kimballkid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimballkid)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2015, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-did-this-moon-god-nonsense-come-from/720111/167 "2015-05-21T20:01:40Z")
So the Mongolians have no beef with Christianity? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Penfeather](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/penfeather/32/384_2.png) [@Penfeather](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Penfeather)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2015, 3:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-did-this-moon-god-nonsense-come-from/720111/168 "2015-05-22T03:36:36Z")
> [@Balance](#): > > Think of it like a club. You endure hazing rituals, memorize a bunch of code phrases, and learn the secret handshake, so you can be in this club. Even if the stuff you’re doing is uncomfortable and looks silly to outsiders, you do it anyway, because it’s required in order to stay in the club. You’ve been in the club since you were a kid, and the club is where all your friends are. If you don’t follow the rules, you’ll have to leave, and your friends may not be your friends anymore. You’ll have to make new friends, and that’s risky–what if no one else likes you? What if there are bad people out there who will trick and hurt you, like the Grand Poobah of the club says? Who will you hang out with and talk about the game? Who will help you move? Thank goodness members of this board would never behave like that. ---
**Author:** ![Kobal2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kobal2/32/20_2.png) [@Kobal2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kobal2)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2015, 5:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-did-this-moon-god-nonsense-come-from/720111/169 "2015-05-22T05:32:18Z")
> [@Flyer](#): > > On the issue of Muslims, it is self-evident that their god is not God. If it were, they would be Christians, not Muslims. By that same token one expects that on the issue of Christians, it is self-evident that their god is not God, for if it were they would be Jews ? :rolleyes: Jesus (purportedly) came as a prophet from the god of the Jews, with a new deal and a new message. Muhammad (purportedly) came with a third - and final, according to him - deal from that selfsame god. Islam recognizes the truthiness of both the Talmud and the Bible, accept the reality and message of Jesus and Moses, all that jazz. They happen to also believe they got the latest firmware patch, and as such are free to disregard obsolete data. ---
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2015, 6:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-did-this-moon-god-nonsense-come-from/720111/170 "2015-05-22T06:32:42Z")
And the Mormons…and Christian Scientists, and Seventh Day Adventists, and Branch Davidians, and whatever the hell Harold Camping was…all got even more recent updates. It’s an ongoing process. Each successive renovation of scripture doesn’t require a whole new God. If so, there’s gotter be just dozens and dozens of 'em by now. (Sort of like the Thor Brigade in the current Marvel “Battleworld” stories.) (“Frog Thor” isn’t a whole lot more silly than the “God Hates Fags” version of God.) ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2015, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-did-this-moon-god-nonsense-come-from/720111/171 "2015-05-23T02:34:38Z")
> [@septimus](#): > > Ironic that you link to a song by [the famous Muslim jihadist Yusuf Islam, once barred from entering the U.S.A.](http://www.jihadwatch.org/2014/12/questions-remain-over-cat-stevens-connections-to-jihad-terror) :eek: Oh, peace train sounding louder Glide on the peace train Come on the peace train Yes, peace train holy roller Everyone jump upon the peace train Come on the peace train ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2015, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-did-this-moon-god-nonsense-come-from/720111/172 "2015-05-23T02:38:16Z")
Of course, the Islamic conception of God comes entirely from the Koran. So . . . It’s only a paper Moon Sailing over a cardboard sea But it wouldn’t be make believe If you believed in Me! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![robert\_columbia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e79b87/32.png) [@robert\_columbia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robert_columbia)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2015, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-did-this-moon-god-nonsense-come-from/720111/173 "2015-05-23T03:05:10Z")
> [@kanicbird](#): > > …As for where the moon god came from IDK. The moon? ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2015, 4:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-did-this-moon-god-nonsense-come-from/720111/174 "2015-05-23T04:14:06Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > My first girlfriend turned into the moon. Man, that’s some bad driving. ---
**Author:** ![watchwolf49](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e9c0ed/32.png) [@watchwolf49](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/watchwolf49)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2015, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-did-this-moon-god-nonsense-come-from/720111/175 "2015-05-23T14:18:42Z")
“And the eye cannot say unto the hand, I have no need of thee: nor again the head to the feet, I have no need of you” – 1 Corinthians 12:21 ---
**Author:** ![Rysto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ecccb3/32.png) [@Rysto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rysto)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2015, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-did-this-moon-god-nonsense-come-from/720111/176 "2015-05-23T14:44:10Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > My first girlfriend turned into the moon. That’s rough, man. ---
**Author:** ![Norse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/a9adbd/32.png) [@Norse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Norse)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2015, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-did-this-moon-god-nonsense-come-from/720111/177 "2015-05-23T14:48:48Z")
> [@Anne\_Neville](#): > > Viking gods drank mead. Not just mead. They certainly [appreciated](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%86gir) ale, [as well](http://www.vikinganswerlady.com/drink.shtml) 🙂 > [@Anne\_Neville](#): > > There are probably some Protestant churches in Norway or Sweden that were built on former Viking sacred sites [Quite a few](http://www.arild-hauge.com/echurch.htm), in fact: > [@](#): > > There is reason to believe that most stave churches were built upon old Norse heathen, holy places or temples, which were destroyed after Christianity was introduced in Norway around the year 1000. > [@Anne\_Neville](#): > > maybe the Protestant Christian god drinks mead as well. If he did, it’d probably be some crappy, non-alcoholic version. Even communion wine is non-alcoholic over here. ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2015, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-did-this-moon-god-nonsense-come-from/720111/178 "2015-05-23T19:11:12Z")
> [@Anne\_Neville](#): > > You’re thinking of the Church of England, and it’s the Queen _they_ worship. > > (We need more religious art with corgis in it) It would certainly have the absolute [cutest hellhounds ever](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Brp8sbJCYAEPsU_.jpg). ---
**Author:** ![Saintly\_Loser](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saintly_loser/32/4045_2.png) [@Saintly\_Loser](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saintly_Loser)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2015, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-did-this-moon-god-nonsense-come-from/720111/179 "2015-05-23T19:45:44Z")
> [@Norse](#): > > crappy, non-alcoholic version. Even communion wine is non-alcoholic over here. Even the communion wine at Catholic masses? I seem to recall (in fact, I’m pretty sure) that the Catholic Church requires that the wine actually be wine, not some denatured version, or grape juice. ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2015, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-did-this-moon-god-nonsense-come-from/720111/180 "2015-05-23T20:19:58Z")
> [@Anne\_Neville](#): > > I still want to see some Anglican icons that incorporate corgis, though. Because icons with corgis would just be 🆒 > [@dropzone](#): > > Got a little Shih Tzu/Westie cross I renamed Huitzi because she’s so bloodthirsty. Seemed appropriate. I don’t worship her, but I respect her. When will we recognize the true importance of these divine creatures? It is no accident that their name is called “d’Og”. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-did-this-moon-god-nonsense-come-from/720111.md?page=8) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-did-this-moon-god-nonsense-come-from/720111.md?page=10)