Appearences of gods

[.Morticia.]

Why don't gods appear before everyday people any more?

The OT has a few examples. Burning bushes and such.

and of course the greek pantheon couldn't keep their mitts off mortals

So where have the all the gods gone?

( other than appearing on toast or dogs butts , and that just jeebus , not god )

[Atheist-Lite]

Ragnorak, blame the Vikings....nothing happened after them.

[Pappa]

People see gods all the time, or at least hear god's voice in their head, feel him in their heart or feel his guiding hand.

[Ironclad]

They are busy preparing hell for all dem terrorists / martyrs.

[.Morticia.]

People see gods all the time, or at least hear god's voice in their head, feel him in their heart or feel his guiding hand.

that's what I'm trying to get at

god is only a spiritual experience now

he doesn't actually make a physical presence at weddings and wars any more

How come?

[Clinton Huxley]

You don't see white dog poo anymore, either. Coincidence?

[Atheist-Lite]

The digital cameras in the bronze age could capture those Gods with uncanny accuracy.....why we have such crappy digital cameras is what I want to know?

[.Morticia.]

The digital cameras in the bronze age could capture those Gods with uncanny accuracy.....why we have such crappy digital cameras is what I want to know?

thought so

[Pappa]

People see gods all the time, or at least hear god's voice in their head, feel him in their heart or feel his guiding hand.

that's what I'm trying to get at

god is only a spiritual experience now

he doesn't actually make a physical presence at weddings and wars any more

How come?

Some people believe they really have seen personal appearances of, say, Mary. I'm sure there are others who would say they saw Jesus and a lot more who've seen Hindu gods.

Perhaps the older stories were elaborated quite a lot too, details tend to get added in each retelling.

[Animavore]

You don't see white dog poo anymore, either. Coincidence?

Why is that?

[Pappa]

You don't see white dog poo anymore, either. Coincidence?

Why is that?

Because people don't give their dogs bones to eat much nowadays.

[cowiz]

You don't see white dog poo anymore, either. Coincidence?

Why is that?

Because people don't give their dogs bones to eat much nowadays.

Coloring dog poo white used to be a hobby of mine, but I gave it up some years ago. I wonder if there's a connection?

[electricwhiteboy]

I have no doubt people used to genuinely see the Gods. Religion has changed, to be frank very few people these days put in the effort to go totally doolally from isolation. The early monks in Europe sought isolation to find God quite literally. There’s a town in Scotland not too far from me call Dysart which takes its name from the word “desert.” This is because early European Christians took desert to mean any isolated remote and deserted place and this is where they went looking for God. You say self induced psychotic episode, others would say religious experience. Extreme repeated ritual, isolation, total belief, can make you see things. Also let us not forget the word “silly” originally came from “seelie” meaning “holy”. It’s not a huge leap to think that the mental illness may also have played a part in all this. We have explanations for various phenomena. Even basic things like milk going sour, to partial explanations for ball lighting and Saint Elmo’s Fire. Also we know about the effects of ergotine which caused St Vitus Dance and “demonic possession.” There’s also a (not hugely supported) theory that the division between left brain and right brain may have been less distinct in our recent past causing cross firing which could explain some of this as well.

TLDR
Short answer we know about mental illness, hallucinogens and we no longer think that pixies turn milk sour.

[HomerJay]

Why don't gods appear before everyday people any more?

Sheer embarassment?

[WhostolemyID]

There is a lovely book by Julian Jaynes that explains this, also why South America fell to the Conquistadors so easily, and many of the Homeric stories. It's either sheer brilliance, or batshit-crazy. It's "The origin of consciousness in the breakdown of the bicameral mind" . Well-written & thought-provoking, but... well... unlikely!