The debate over Pluto will never die

I tend towards the secular argument but what is wrong with naming one Jesus and another Buddha and another Mohamed?


What about Quetzalcoatl?


Otherwise there are 110 additional planets and about 196 to 189 countries on Earth depending upon who you ask.

Children should be allowed to name some of them.

originally posted by: Kashai
I tend towards the secular argument but what is wrong with naming one Jesus and another Buddha and another Mohamed?

What about Quetzalcoatl?

The first would never happen, I don't know how sacrilegious the buddhists would think the second one is, and the third would trigger world-wide fatwas.

Quetzalcoatl is pretty cool. I'd prefer Viking/Nordic myself. Maybe Heimdall for one of the outer dwarfs.

a reply to: Teikiatsu


I see what you saying, The idea of labeling and deity is considered heretical in some cultures and that should be respected.

But the words themselves applied to planets could be understood alternatively, as a point related to a symbolic cultural expression.

Like Trump Tower the point is not different than an expression relative to our history.

The purpose of the word is as a monument and reflective of an intent to not forget.

originally posted by: Kashai
a reply to: Soylent Green Is People


in that sense we should all file a protest (respectively of course) to indicate that given it seems we are about to name 110 planets?

There naming should be beyond Greek and Roman Cultures.


Just a thought.

After thinking about it, I think I was wrong about "only" Greek and Roma Deities. Planetary bodies today are named for deities from a wide range of other mythologies beyond those of the ancient Greeks and Romans.

Some of the dwarf planets that would become planets (if the definition was to changed to include objects like Pluto) already have names that are from other cultures' mythologies. For example, the dwarf planet Makemake (pronounced MAH-kae MAH-kae) was a deity of the Rapu Nui of Easter Island. The dwarf planet Quaoar is named after the a god of the Native Americans who once inhabited parts of California.

Dwarf planet Sedna is named for an Inuit Deity. The name of the dwarf planet Haumea is from the Hawaiian Goddess of Fertility.

So I suppose once people developed a better understanding of past world cultures other than the Euro-centric classical Greek and Roman cultures, other mythological deity names started becoming included on the list of potential names for the major and minor planets.

originally posted by: Kashai
I tend towards the secular argument but what is wrong with naming one Jesus and another Buddha and another Mohamed?

What about Quetzalcoatl?

I'll draw the line at NOT including names such as Jesus, Allah, or Buddha. I suppose it could be argued that "Sedna" is just as real in the minds of certain Inuits as Jesus is in the minds of Christians. Or that Haumea is just as real in the minds of a small number of Hawaiians today as Allah is to Muslims (BTW, not Muhammad; Muhammad is not considered a divine being to Muslins; he was just a man. He was consider to be a great man and revered as the greatest prophet, but a human nonetheless who is not worshipped as a divine being).

But I see a distinction (in my mind, anyway) between naming a planet after a deity who is still divine to a billion+ people worldwide (such as Jesus and Buddha) and naming a planet after a deity who may be worshipped by a small number of native peoples who live in relatively localized groups. Maybe in 2000 years or so, Jesus and Buddha will go the way of these other deities, and be seen as just ancient mythology. However, until then, I say no.

Quetzalcoatl sound like a great idea, through.

By the way, maybe the list should include Australian Aboriginal mythological spirits, such as Barraiya, who certain Australian Aboriginal people say was the mythological spirit who created the vagina

a reply to: Soylent Green Is People


I can see what you are saying it probably is not a good idea to identify a planet with a current deity.

And I am very happy to hear that Quetzalcoatl has a chance.