Remembering Forgotten Gods With Lenn Adair

We tell lots of stories about gods, but seldom do we hear stories from their point of view. Sometimes I think how hard it would be to have all the best and worst parts of you, your learning and struggles to grow, recorded forever as sacred texts by people who hold you up as an example of what or what not to do.

“Forgotten God” by Lenn Adair is a short webcomic from the perspective of a god. The god is never named, and doesn’t have to be. It represents all the gods we’ve known and loved throughout our history, most of which we’ve forgotten. It doesn’t matter, in the end, if the god was real before we discovered it or if it was real because of us. It was real, and that’s what’s important. And, being an immortal creature, it knew us and then was alone for a long time before being rediscovered.

I think sometimes, too, about our creatures of folklore and urban legends. How many of them had their beginnings in godhood? Would our ancestors have seen Mothman, Nessie, and Chupacabra and known them by other, sacred names? Would they have laid offerings at their feet and celebrated festivals in their honor?

It is nice to be remembered, even if you’re remembered imperfectly, maybe. As someone whose greatest fear is being abandoned and left entirely alone, I found myself sympathizing with this god and hoping it made friends and followers among the new humans. We pack-bond with little fuzzy creatures and Roombas, surely there’s space at our table for a forgotten god or two.

I stumble across this webcomic from time to time and am always thankful when I do. It feels like rediscovering an old friend, and it reminds me to be grateful for the friends, gods, and spirits I know now.