Anthropomorphism Is Purposed

All things for the sake of human understanding.

The sun is out, rising and shining.

According to man's current understanding of the world around them, and of the moon, stars, sun and planets...does the sun actually 'come out' or 'rise' and 'shine'?

As a child I would hear about the 'Cold War' and how it lasted for so many years.

I wondered where this war was being fought, thinking it must be snowing all the time, or that the war was being fought so close to either the north or south poles it must always be 'cold'.

History depicts certain periods of time (eras) as the 'Dark Ages', and this I would also wonder as a child if the sun had ceased 'shining' or would only 'come out' for shorter periods of time.

These three examples (sun, war, era) are all written and expressed from and for the human point of view, in describing something in a certain way.

They are expressed in the following manners:

Allegory

noun

 - a story, poem, or picture that can be interpreted to reveal a hidden meaning, typically a moral or political one

Parable

noun

- a simple story used to illustrate a moral or spiritual lesson, as told by Yeshua in the Gospels

Analogy

noun

- a comparison between one thing and another, typically for the purpose of explanation or clarification

Metaphor

noun

- a figure of speech in which a word or phrase is applied to an object or action to which it is not literally applicable

Symbol

noun

- a mark or character used as a conventional representation of an object, function, or process

Notice the manner these concepts are expressed.

The manner of explanation is also somewhat allegorical and unusually expressed.

Some argue that 'time' does not actually exist; that it is an idea mankind has conceptualized according to their observation of the world.

Language is based upon sounds forming words that carry meaning.

Sometimes the meaning of a word or phrase can be understood despite the manner it is expressed, while also not being understood by others.

Consider the language of poetry.

Poetry speaks in a manner that is not always literal, nor intended to be literally understood, yet poetry is sometimes interpreted literally and the author's intended message sometimes misunderstood.

This unfortunately happens in texts believed-to-be inspired, both religious texts and those truly inspired.

To the human, the sun seems to 'rise' (and set), 'shine' and 'come out' from somewhere.

The rising and coming out are in this day and age understood as ancient terms written, again, for and from the human point of view.

From the human's point of view, it always 'looked' like the sun was 'rising' from one side of the earth and setting in the other side.

The manner the concepts regarding the sun were initially conceived was to speak to man's limited understanding.

To the purist, these could be fallacies.

To the rationalist, these do explain something according to the words and definitions I've included...and the truth can be found in their meaning, and thus their form is meaningful.

Thus it is true that the sun 'rises' from an observational perspective of a man standing on the earth, while it is also true that the earth is actually traveling around the sun from another perspective.

Were the 'Dark Ages' truly a time of 'darkness'?

(there have been several times and places termed 'dark ages', please see the phrase's entry for more information.)

Had some people's lives been 'darkened' regarding a lack of understanding of things we now know?

Is it a shame for those who lived many thousands of years ago and didn't know the earth was actually going around the sun?

Did they lose something, or were unable to plant crops or eat the fruits of their work because they didn't know or understand this?

For some people, there have been grand moments of enlightenment, while others continued in their 'darkness'.

Did the seasons change, or the manner people went about their daily lives when man realized the sun wasn't actually 'rising', but instead the earth had been revolving around the sun all along?

Perhaps for those in the scientific fields, but not for everyone else not in those fields.

For the rest of mankind, whether they understood the reality, did their lives change that much?

The farmer still depended on the sun's heat, energy and the expectation for these to continue their yearly and seasonal pattern.

Finding out 'how' such things 'work' may be important for some, but what is collectively more important is the fact that they 'happen' regardless of their explanation or understanding.

One did not (and still does not) need to know 'how' life happens, since life has been happening prior to us even thinking about it.

The sun didn't need mankind to understand it in order for it to radiate heat and light and cause things to grow.

What about when some historians have labeled a certain epoch from the past as 'dark'?

For the people who benefited from a 'change', would they consider any such era as 'dark'?

Likely not.

How about those who lived during such times and couldn't tell the difference (lacking hindsight)?

This is where one should be careful in repeating what is shared, especially when labeling a person, an idea, a place in time and themselves prior to looking behind what a label is attempting to define.

There could be an argument that a particular era of 'enlightenment' actually ushered in more depravity and rebelliousness than previous realized in the greater population.

Freedom for one is anarchy for another.

From an American perspective, there may be a negative argument that points at today's public education system.

That argument may claim that although many people are taught large amounts of information and knowledge, and more people have access to the world's libraries and to experts in every field, many students lack understanding and wisdom when looking at the past.

Does more information or more knowledge automatically equal wisdom, or a better understanding of things?

When it comes to understanding that the sun doesn't actually 'rise', this is arguable.

Consider the following when you think, as I do sometimes, that ignorance beguiles many who think they are wise because they 'know' information.

Despite the world's collective storehouse of knowledge being available at the tips of the fingers of many people, many people haven't a clue in filtering that knowledge into a clear understanding of reality.

Although man has gone to the moon and maybe soon to Mars, man still cannot get along with others like and unlike him.

Man has yet to curb his appetite to trash the earth.

If / when man arrives to Mars, will he then learn how not to trash his environment?

Consider the materially wealthy person who runs a successful company that employs many people, but personally has a poor character and deplorable manners; they are intolerable among those who really know them.

Consider the public worker who does a great job with the public they serve, but has a dysfunctional personal life among their friends and relatives; they are intolerable among those who really know them.

Consider the religious person who knows much about their specific religion, but fails to live their life as an example that others would actually want to follow...they are intolerable among those who really know them.

It could be said that the sun has yet to rise in the lives of these three examples.

It could be said a cold war still exists in these three hearts.

It could be said that these three examples are still in a dark age.