Obama- the New Norse God

Norway, in particular, and Scandinavia in general, are known to be doggedly secular places. So, unlike most people on the planet, Scandinavians are not waiting for a messiah from the heavens to come save the world, but for something else.

Sociologist Phil Zuckerman, who researched religion, or lack thereof, in Scandinavia, was surprised to find that a godless society can be extremely moral, and even more surprised to find Scandinavians to be utterly apathetic to all matters theological.

Could it be that President Obama’s flowing, hopeful, scrupulous rhetoric so mesmerized Scandinavia that the Nobel Prize Committee decided to take a blind leap of faith towards Obam-ism?

I would argue that there is a fundamental need for man to believe in something, anything. Perhaps apathy to religion correlates with a greater need for human heroes. Wannabe demagogues worldwide should pay attention: Where belief in Allah, Shiva, Jesus, or Jah is scant, it may be easier to get people to believe in you. Go find some godless place and start your very own cult of personality. And if there are some preexisting religious institutions there, just follow the Stalin formula and shut them down.

Every journalist and pundit in the world has his or her theory as to how Obama could win the Nobel Peace Prize before ever making peace. Some have called this a down payment on deeds to come, an endorsement of an ideology, lighting a hot flame under the presidential buttocks, but I have another theory.

I posit that Scandinavia has finally found God in the form of an African-American man with an angelic smile and elf-like ears.

Yes, we have witnessed the stunning transformation of an ordinary state Senator from Illinois to a Nordic God in less than 5 years.

Who knew that deification is a quicker process than puberty?

Asked why the prize had been awarded to Mr. Obama less than a year after he took office, Nobel Committee head Thorbjoern Jagland said: "It was because we would like to support what he is trying to achieve".

Come on Thorbjoern, Nordic Gods don’t need your support, your prize, a silly certificate, and some 10 million Swedish Kronors.

Look what happened after you gave the prize to that demigod, the Dalai Lama. It didn’t help him make peace with China, did it?

Not to diminish the reincarnation of the Buddha, but maybe Obama’s full-blown God powers will prove to be even greater. Maybe He really is the change we can believe in. Maybe, somewhere up in the starry Scandinavian sky, Obama and the Dalai Lama are making great plans for peace on earth.

Lets just hope their not being influenced by all the other members of the Norse Pantheon, who all seemed to have something of a violent streak. Especially that former crowd favorite Thor, a barbaric warrior God who refused to put down his deadly hammer.

Thor probably was not the ideal candidate for the Nobel Peace Prize, so this year they gave it to the new guy.