Original artwork, not a still
Small Gods ‧ 1992
“He says gods like to see an atheist around. Gives them something to aim at.”
Behind the line
What it means
Our interpretation.
Pratchett makes the joke cut two ways. A god gets no sport from smiting the faithful, but a visible doubter is a target, so the atheist is useful to the gods. Behind it sits the whole novel's argument that gods live on belief, which is why the powerful Omnian church has almost none left in Om. Fans quote it whenever an unbeliever gets a hard time.
Context reviewed
In context
Spoilers for Small GodsShow the scene
Terry Pratchett's Discworld novel Small Gods (1992) follows Brutha, a novice of the Omnian church with an exact memory, and the god Om, whose only genuine believer is Brutha. The line comes during the Ephebe chapters, where Brutha meets the city's philosophers for the first time; Wikiquote places it at page 174, just after the philosopher Didactylos has described watching a stoning and how sure the stone-throwers were that they were not the ones in the pit. In the line, an atheist is kept around by the gods as something to aim at.
Sources (2)
- Wikiquote: Small Godsp. 174, after the pp. 173-174 stoning passageReference checked
- Wikipedia: Small GodsLead and PlotReference checked
Context reviewed
