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Wherefore art thou, Seven?


nara

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Like in our world the one God or the Seven are what people wish to make of them, if they decide to believe in them they become a reality for them. But I guess we will never see any proof that whatever God really exists, after all this is the base of "believe in...", believing despite not having any proof. If you want a religion to become reality for you it is real for you.

On the other hand we have seen that trials or judgements by gods do not work, there is no power behind them since Tyrion lost once and won once, in both cases he was innocent. An d Sandor won while we know that he killed Mycah - well, maybe he might still lose if ever challenged in the name of the Seven.

But I do not believe that Martin intends to introduce God in the sense of an ominipotent supernatural being as he is established in monotheistic religions. But religious fanaticism is a serious - dark - political power in the books.

Concerning Tyrion's and Cersei's religious conviction: I think Tyrion is more concerned and torn about religion than he wants to admit: when he was a child he wanted to be a septon and in ADWD he quoted the Seven Pointed Star by heart. In most cases children get rid of their parents' religion in order to defy their parents but in Tyrion's case it may have been rejecting Tywin's ruthless rationalism when Tyrion was interested in belief and it may have been an intellectual exercise for the boy to analyse religious texts.

Only at some point of his life he may have found out that the gods he wanted to believe in are not for people like him since the deformed cripple allegedly defied nature and was a curse in the eyes of the gods and men, far from grace. And the horror of the Tysha story may have crushed the last of his religious convictions and belief in the gods' grace. A cynic is only a failed romantic or believer here. No, Tyrion is not the rational atheist or tolerant agnostic he wants to be, with his sarcasm he mourns his lost belief, by now knowing that there is in fact nothing. And it will be hugely interesting to see his reaction when directly confronted with the very real magic in the story.

And Cersei definitely has an unspoken but very real awe of supernatural powers, where religion and belief in magic may melt. No she is not a cool as she wants to be, actually she is afraid of her own shadow and desperately fighting against it.

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One of several sick but funny parts of Cersei's story is when she prays to the Mother not to have nightmares about torturing the Blue Bard. She really has a nerve to do that!

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