How Gods reflect their creators! The Gods of primitive, ignorant, and vulnerable societies seem immediate, arbitrary, and cruel -- requiring significant appeasement and sacrifice in return for a mitigation of their fury. In modern societies -- more knowledgeable and self-sufficient -- God is more like an elderly benevolent uncle living in a distant city; in the right mood, he might be good for a new red bicycle, or a crucial, reassuring win for the home team. (Observation # 668)