Aug 19 2009
A Groom to God
Moses bowed to the ground at once and worshiped. (Exodus 34:8)
How can a person groom a god? While chimpanzees and other primates can reach out and touch conspecifics, what do you do in the case of a noncorporeal entity, an almighty, invisible alpha?
The answer: gestures, vocalizations and language. So no, human beings don’t physically groom their gods; they do it with body language and with words: prayer, chanting, song. They comfort and reassure their great leader. He can relax; he is indeed number one. But I’m getting ahead of myself.
Grooming a god? The verb form of groom carries this definition -
1. To care for the appearance of; to make neat and trim: groomed himself carefully in front of the mirror.
2. To clean and brush (an animal).
3. To remove dirt and parasites from the skin, fur, or feathers of (another animal). (9)
In terms of our primate cousins and our own behavioral ancestry (as it pertains to religion), #3 is most pertinent. Allogrooming has a social context and consequences.
A look at the etymology of the noun form of the word may provide another clue.
c.1225, grome “male child, boy, youth.” No known cognates in other Gmc. languages. Perhaps from O.E. *groma, related to growan “grow;” or from O.Fr. grommet “servant” (cf. M.E. gromet “ship’s boy,” 1229). The fact is, it appeared 13c. and nobody knows from whence. Meaning “male servant who attends to horses” is from 1667. The verb is first attested 1809; the transferred sense of “to tidy (oneself) up” is from 1843; fig. sense of “to prepare a candidate” is from 1887, originally in U.S. politics. (10)
Servant. One who attends to.
Now please forgive the sins of the servants of the God of your father. (Genesis 50:17)
Religious adherents are grooms to their god to the degree they “serve” him and uplift him, primarily via praise.
He bowed down before the king with his face to the ground and said, “Praise be to the LORD your God!” (2 Samuel 18:28)
Whether or not a lord is of this world or the next, visible or invisible, the groom’s job is to exalt “him.” To glorify and elevate.
The following few posts in my “Almighty Alpha” series will take a look at how primate grooming may have developed into religious praise.
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(9) http://www.answers.com/groom
(10) http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=groom
