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Description
This was #7 in a string of eight animations in a row so it got a little loopy
Subjects of Equestria! We are pleased to kick off the Nightmare Night Festivities and the 14th anniversary of the return of our beloved Princess Luna! Join us in celebration!
Eh. Everyone’s got their little peeves.
I didn’t mean to make such a controversial animation [](/raritywhy)
>>power is a nonfactor for gods
No one would call some entity that is “weaker than a mouse” a god. It has to be god of something to be a god, so power is indeed taken into account. It need not have all the power, by mythological standards, but it has to have some.
>>even the bible has God losing to Jacob in wrestling_
Frankly, that’s a mysterious text that no one quite understands, so it’s presumptuous to even use that as an example. It’s a given that Jacob, whose very existence is contingent upon God’s continual thought and grace, could not possibly have any inherent power to defeat God in any contest. Some point to a verse in Hosea that says it was an angel. Others say the mysterious supernatural wrestler was indeed a theophany of sorts, but that God was accomplishing some symbolic thing. Whatever the case, there’s no way Jacob could in fact “overpower” God.
>>she fulfills the function of one
As I believe you have even said in a roundabout way, Celestia fails the requirements of being “a supernatural being, who may be thought of as holy, divine, or sacred”. She’s not supernatural, and she lacks the power to impact the soul of a person in any way.
>>is immortal
Says who? She’s pretty old, but that doesn’t mean that she won’t eventually fade away and die. She’s quite obviously not invincible.
>>She’s used where the term God would be used
People swear by their monarchs all the time. That’s a pretty feeble argument.
>>Why does it matter if she is called a god or not?
What could be more important than the difference between a false god, and a true one? A real deity carries real significance when it comes to prayer and worship. A mortal pretending to be divine would be the WORST kind of liar. Of course, if asked I highly doubt that Celestia would call herself any sort of goddess.
It looks like a god. It walks like a god. It quacks like a god. It’s some sort of avian that may or may not be a god.
But power is a nonfactor for gods. You can be anywhere from omnipotent to weaker than a mouse and still be a god.
“In religious belief, a deity is a supernatural being, who may be thought of as holy, divine, or sacred.”
Power doesn’t even measure into it. There are gods outdone by regular mortals in most myths- even the bible has God losing to Jacob in wrestling(and resorting to either dislocating his leg, or grabbing his balls).
Some claim it to be an angel, but the text never suggests that.
Celestia may not be a goddess, but she fulfills the function of one, is more powerful than quite a few real gods, is immortal(not inherent to gods- the norse gods needed to eat golden apples to not die from age).
She’s used where the term God would be used.
Why does it matter if she is called a god or not?
Don’t forget, power over natural phenomena is common to ponies, so that criterion is essentially invalidated. Immortality can’t be used either, because no one can say anything with any certainty besides the fact that Celestia is long lived. Immortality is doubtful, and besides, we now know that anyone capable of mastering age spells could keep themselves young almost indefinitely. That leaves only “extraordinarily powerful” on your list, and I must say I find Celestia’s power to be a far cry from god-like, at least in the context of the pony world.
celestia and luna hold the roles of controlling the sun and moon, similar to Apollo and Artemis.
being incredibly exceptional with lifespans have been recorded in the millennia, and that is just recorded history, as well as unrivaled attunement to the Æther(their magic is top, dawg).
in the other image you brought up how the unicorns worked to raise and lower the sun and moon. how do you know celestia and luna werent doing it themselves, by themselves, while the unicorns faffed about each morning and night. that ritual that the unicorns performed sounds incredibly similar to a rain dance.
and if it comes down to it, i also view Twilight and Cadence as demigods
One definition of a god is a being who is extraordinarily powerful, immortal, and has power over or is the personification of a natural phenomenon. Whether or not you consider Celestia and Luna gods is really just a matter of semantics.
That said, the idea of them as spiritual authorities is kind of an intriguing one.
But there must be some super-spiritual aspect to the entity for “god” status to be considered. Being nothing more than an exceptional pony whom some others reference in silly sayings just isn’t gonna cut it.
Not all definitions of god require them to be omnipotent, all knowing, or invincible, and the quote that that line references doesn’t use the name of a monarch. A character can even be beaten by a mortal and still be considered a god.
yes i am the same bp. not so much following you so much is finding you in images i have an interest in.
Are you that same BP from last time? You following me or something?
Look, for the umpteenth time, you’re using a couple of vague expressions to argue the divinity of perfectly mortal beings. That’s pure silliness for all kinds of reasons, and you should know it. Your entire argument seems to revolve around this:
LET THE CLASHING OF HEAD CANONS COMMENCE!
Dude, we dont have definitive proof that religion exists in their world or no. The princesses have been implied through use of language to be of divine status(gods), just not plainly stated in the show. If you dont want to believe they are gods, fine, just stop being a wet blanket for the rest of us
The British have often sworn by their royalty. That’s just a cultural thing.
Oh yeah, and that one time Rarity used ‘with Celestia as my witness!’
Hm. Well, there is that. And sadly, I doubt the princess would bother to set them straight if they did think so.
I’ve always thought them a little gullible.
If someone told them Celestia guarded their souls, what chance is there they won’t believe that?
What’s your point?
These are ponies we’re talking about…
True enough. If he was a priest, I can’t help but wonder what he might have been saying. They certainly can’t be foolish enough to think that Celestia has any bearing on a person’s soul.
Well, we’ve seen one funeral with a priest
not conclusive of course, it could always be a secular position that just happens to have feature a priestly dog collar, but there’s that
Um, so far, Equestria has no religion at all, unless the concepts related to “Harmony” form some systematic approach to the questions of the universe.