Gods and Their Powers

In Chapter 6 of Rituals of War, the author said that “The removal of the god from the city had disastrous consequences. The god was exiled. He (or she) went into a form of occultation wherein divine power and protection were removed from the city” (Bahrani 165). However, there doesn’t seem to be any logic behind this. First of all, I do believe what the author says about the images and monuments that were taken like booty because symbolically, it pretty much meant that the city/state was doomed and that the winners of the war were the ones in control now. And, in addition, this is similar to what the author mentioned in the first chapter, when the king’s head and other body parts were displayed during a feast because it symbolized the defeat of the other state/city/kingdom, and that their highest-ranking official was vanquished.

Okay, that all makes sense logically, but what really bothers me is how the author got the message that moving these ideological/religious monuments and images from the original location to somewhere else symbolized an exile for the gods. The monuments and images were originally created to honor the local gods of that region, and there, the people could pray to these gods, and the gods would be able to offer protection and acted as a guardian to the city/state/kingdom.

So, now, these monuments and images were removed by foreigners, but logically, wouldn’t it make sense that the gods KNOW that it’s not the people who live there who are desecrating these areas but their conquerors? In addition, as the guardian to the state/city/kingdom, shouldn’t the gods be doing something to protect his or her interests in their region? I am pretty sure that many of these gods have great power and capabilities, and so, why don’t these gods spread out bad luck and harm to these conquerors? In essence, I am not trying to promote the fact that these gods have actual powers or anything, but by their belief system, wouldn’t it make more sense that these gods have the power to cause harm and damage to their conquerors instead of being “exiled” physically? Truly, unlike human beings, the monuments and images are only portrayals of the gods, not the gods themselves, and so, couldn’t the gods simply be angry and just shoot down a lightning bolt or something and harm/scare them into returning the images and monuments?

It doesn’t make sense to me that these gods are so highly revered for their powers and protection (and are so feared by the people because if they are displeased, something bad could happen to them), that if they are simply removed via images and monuments they become totally worthless and powerless. It seems like much of their power can be removed simply by the human force, and in that case, what good are the gods? This shows that humans are a more powerful force than the gods, and so, it seems contradictory that people would even revere and respect these gods in that case. Therefore, even though I think that the images and monument relocation was plausible for the conquerors, I can’t imagine that the people being conquered would actually believe that their god had been “captured” and exiled from that region and people (but I could always be wrong… that is my interpretation and analysis of this entire situation).