Ojuice5001

Okay, naturally atheists don't believe Jupiter exists, but just see this as a hypothetical question. Here's the situation:

Jupiter was once the most powerful god in the Mediterranean area, and he and the other Roman gods ruled it well. But then Jehovah, a god from the southeast, took over the Mediterranean, and ultimately, all of Europe, the Americas, and Australia. His rule was much worse for humans and the Roman gods than Jupiter's had been--if someone didn't believe the Christian teaching about Jupiter not existing (or being a demon), they would probably prefer Jupiter to Jehovah. The Roman gods' number of worshippers dropped to zero, but their influence never did. Said influence grew a lot from the sixteenth century onward, but Jupiter is not yet as powerful as Jehovah, or even close. In particular, there is, I think, no area where Jupiter reigns supreme; he has to be Jehovah's vassal. This in spite of the fact that the most visible-to-humans instrument of Jehovah's rule, the Catholic church, wields only a fraction of its former power.

I would like to restore a realm for Jupiter, just like the Mediteranean (Roman Empire) territory used to be. The Mediterranean itself is too dominated by Catholics, whose teachings and power I respect, and Muslims, whose teachings I don't respect but whose power I do, to be a realistic possibility. But how about the area around a different body of water? Say, the Gulf of Mexico? I live in Florida, and a good domain for Jupiter would be constituted by Florida, the southern part of Alabama, Missisippi, etc., and eastern Mexico. (Ideally Cuba too, but I wouldn't ask someone to go to communist Cuba, as it's not something I would do myself.) This goal is distinct from getting people to believe in and worship the Roman gods, though if either goal is accomplished it becomes easier for Jupiter to bring about the other.

How can I do this? Remember that you don't have to be an actual believer in Jupiter to have a good answer to the question--just think hypothetically.

Abacus

I recommend adopting the practice of the Christians and the Muslims. Buy yourself a sword, and start making converts!

daemon

Wow. I have to say this is the most insane question I've ever seen.

Eudaimonist

I recommend the volume of space between the orbits of Mars and Saturn.

More seriously, how about starting a revival of the philosophical school of Stoicism? They believed in Zeus.

[ July 10, 2002: Message edited by: Eudaimonist ]</p>

Perchance

Treating it seriously as you asked for a moment, how would it be ethical to "restore a realm for Jupiter" when there are people living there who would probably object? Unless they converted to worship of him of their own free will, I don't think it would be ethical. I don't think the establishment of Israel (at least in the way it was done) was ethical, either.

Of course, one can go further back, and argue that the American lands belonged to the Native Americans, and the area where Jupiter was once worshipped to his worshippers... but, to echo your pragmatism about respecting Muslim power, it's living people you're going to have to deal with.

-Perchance.

[ July 10, 2002: Message edited by: Perchance ]</p>

Flynn McKerrow

I do! I've seen it!

Oh...you're talking about the god Jupiter, and not the planet.

Eudaimonist

You've got to admit, though, that the evidence for the existence of the planet Jupiter is considerably better than for Yahweh.

Ojuice5001

Originally posted by Perchance:

True. I suppose I have to give up the idea of seeing it happen in my lifetime. It would have to wait until a cultural change made people less committed to Christianity. As Max Planck said, "A new scientific truth does not triumph by convincing its opponents and making them see the light, but rather because its opponents eventually die out, and a new generation grows up that is familiar with it."

[ July 10, 2002: Message edited by: Ojuice5001 ]</p>

Perchance

Ummm... all right.

But wouldn't this be a replacement of a religious system by a religious system, rather than the growth of a new "scientific truth?"

-Perchance.

Ojuice5001

It was an analogy.