Why were cats more associated with gods rather then bird. What is the meaning of the cat?
136221
Well it was in Egypt that the cat was first domesticated. Animals of all kinds were respected by Egyptians. But "cats where worshipped and respected for two reasons: firstly, because the goddess Bast was worshipped in the form of a cat, and secondly, because the cat was seen as an important part of Egyptian life" They were seen as helpful companions; they trained their cats to go out hunting with them instead of dogs!!
88455
Religion (see etymology below) is commonly defined as a group of beliefs concerning the supernatural, sacred, or divine, and the moral codes, practices, values, institutions and rituals associated with such belief. It is sometimes used interchangeably with faith or belief system. In the course of the development of religion, it has taken many forms in various cultures and individuals.\n\n\n\nA myth is a sacred story concerning the origins of the world or how the world and the creatures in it came to have their present form. The active beings in myths are generally gods and heroes. Myths take place before time, before history begins. In saying that a myth is a sacred narrative, what is meant is that a myth is believed to be true by people who attach religious or spiritual significance to it. Use of the term by scholars does not imply that the narrative is either true or false. See also legend and tale.
336674
You are correct in stating that people are working with very different definitions of God and because of this, reasonable, rational discussion is very difficult, maybe even impossible.  Atheists tend to define God in a way which supports their contention that God does not exist.  Often they focus on an allegorical description that a particular religion used to get religious concepts across to regular people.  While some religious people have a more philosophically sound approach, religions do tend, to a greater or lesser degree, to use stories and allegories which give people the sense that God can be defined in some way.  There is a problem with trying to define God however.  Things are generally defined with reference to other things: 1) usually things are defined in terms of things that are more general ... for instance an eagle is a type of bird that has the following characteristics that other birds may not have (particular size range, particular environment, particular feather patterns, etc.).  2) other times things may be defined as a generalization of more particular things...for instance if we need to define something like a color, while there is a scientific definition which follows the pattern described in 1) above (a particular wavelength of light), the more common way to define it would be in terms of commonly occuring objects that have that color, for instance blue is the color of the sky, of water, etc. 3) there may be other ways of defining things, but in the end these definitions would rely on a reference to something that can be sensed.  Definition types 1) and 3) clearly could not be applied to God ... even in normal non-philosophical conversation, God is not considered to be a particular type of a more general being or an object that can be sensed.  Some philosophers have tried to use some form of the second type of definition... in which God is a generalization of being or God is everything.  I guess that can fly in some circles, but it would also be an unsatisfactory answer for most people.  Atheists could then pretty much rightly say that it is being said that the universe is God.  It is also unsatisactory because, while no human being could comprehend the universe, we feel (whether we are right or wrong) that we can analyze parts of the universe. When we do try to analyze parts of the universe we come to some paradoxical conclusions, because of the nature of our minds.  In our experience, every particular thing has preconditions or causes.  Thus, philosophers like Aristotle, St. Thomas Aquinas, Ibn Senna and Maimonides have argued, you can conceive of a chain of causes.  They argued that an infinite chain would be impossible, because if the chain stretched to infinity nothing would ever start being caused.  They presented this as a proof of the First Cause, or God.  The philosopher Immanuel Kant made pretty good arguments against this proof.  Basically it boils down to the fact that you are still assuming that God is a "thing" that started the whole chain going.  And if the idea of the chain is valid in the first place, all "things" have causes, so you are either saying that your chain concept is invalid or you are left with an infinite chain and still have the first problem of how anything could have been caused if the chain is infinite.  Kant's conclusion is that God's existence can't be proven, but that belief in God is reasonable if you realize that God is not a phenomenon that can be sensed or even defined in our minds.  In a practical situation, it is impossible to think about God without using some sort of definition, image or idea of God.  But still, we have to remember that these are just that...human attempts to understand what is in fact not comprehensible.
609214
What people refer to as "God" is essentially the positive energy force in the universe given a form and a name. The reality is that spiritual beings are man-created to explain the forces of the universe. They are all essentially one in the same because they are all representations.\n\nIn the Neo-Pagan/Wiccan/Druidic religion(s), the positive force is represented in its highest form by The Lord (sun) and the Lady (moon). The other entities control the forces in which they are related to.\n\nPeople who say there is just one god (Allah, Christ, etc.) and that there is no other divine entity do so because they are insecure in their faith and need absolute reassurance that what they believe is the only true religion out there.
768
One theory on the origin of this expression is that in ancient times nine was a lucky number because it is the Trinity of Trinities. As cats seem able to escape injury time and time again, this lucky number seemed suited to the cat. While in most countries the cat is said to have nine lives, in Arab and Turkish proverbs poor puss has a mere seven lucky lives and in Russia, is said to-survive nine deaths.
490330
it means smile and laugh cats are great? Or cats make u smile and laugh? Is it one of those?
320270
Great analogy Panchita. I only can add Mathew 6-26\n\nLook at the birds which fly in the air: they do not sow or reap or store up in barns, but your Heavenly Father feeds them: are not you of much greater value than they?\n\nAs Jesus said: Aren't human being of much greater value than the birds?\n\nAnd don't be so hard with OrtegaMaricon, look in these links all that he has gone through:\n\nhttp://answers.yahoo.com/question/?qid=1006051712167\nhttp://answers.yahoo.com/question/?qid=1006051706686
66153
well it really depends on your religion. If you believe in God and that he created all things in the beginning, it would be the chicken because he created the animals first. If you don't believe in God, then there's really no answer unless the chicken slowly evolved to be an egg breeder, so that means teh chicken came first
575763
There's more than one way to skin a cat - There is more than one way to accomplish a task.\nThe reference is to preparing a catfish (named as such because of its long whiskers) for cooking, which must be skinned because the skin is tough.
126838
What does a cat symbolize?  Cunning, sneaky, carnivore, what?  Cats were worshiped in ancient Egypt, but I wonder if that wasn't because they kept the rats out of the granary.  Anyway, think about what cats symbolize to you.\n\nNow, as to the idea that your father won't help you, perhaps in fact he will not help you with the problem the cats symbolize.  Could you be representing male admirers with the cats?  You know, like "cool cats," as in jazz slang?  If that is the case, then your unconscious mind undoubtedly believes your father will not help you with regard to men.  That is, you are facing a grown-up question and you have to answer it yourself.  Papa won't make everything right and safe and easy for you on this topic.
521376
I like your logic, and I agree.  I believe all gods are one God, just different names/aspects.  The supreme ruler is an IMMENSE being, and mere humans with our human brains cannot possibly interpret the whole thing as it is.  So we look at aspects of the supreme being.  I see one part, and you see another part.  But we're seeing the same Being.
205931
Love is a connection on a deeper level than friendship. It has a component that is committed and loyal. You love usually when you share values and attitudes. You love when you can disagree and still be respectful of the other person's opinions. Though I use it in reference to my old cat too. He liked being around me and being cuddly. The current cat  I'm just friendly with heh.
586350
You mean the Phoenix.  It's not a real bird.  It's a myth, and the myth states that the Phoenix rises up out of ash to begin it's life.
214816
The domestic cat is a member of the genus Felis.  Lions and tigers are members of the genus Panthera.  The house cat is as closely related to the lion as it is to the tiger.  \n\nThis rotten forum won't let me draw a picture, so here's the best way I can explain it in text.\n\nImagine you're an only child, but your uncle (father's brother) has two children.  Which of your uncle's children are you more closely related to?  The answer is neither, you are equally related to both of them.\n\nIt's the same here.  Panthera and Felis share a common ancestor many millions of years ago, while lions and tigers only separated a short time ago.
92147
No I agree with Stevie Wonder that superstition ain't the way. \n\nIn Japan, having a black cat cross your path is good luck. In Europe, it is considered to be bad luck. In ancient Egypt, the goddess Bast was a black cat. In order to discredit the old religion, Christians said that black cats were demons and if one crossed your path it would block your path to heaven.
47587
It has to do with misunderstood Witchcraft. Many witches -- especially back in the old days -- liked to have a physical familiar. A familiar is usually an animal spirit that helps a person when they are in meditation and tells them how to deal with real-life problems. Black is the color of darkness and the unknown... and many witches that had cat familiars figured knew that wanted to know more about the unknown, and to achieve wisdom and knowledge, they bought and bred black cats. But, the Christians of the time saw witches as evil and cruel and Satan Worshipping... so... they assumed that the cats were the bystanders and helpers of the witches who -- they believed -- were servants of Satan.\n\nHope that helped. :3
428755
A cute story about a cat:\nMy friend Milan found a homeless kitten. When Milan found her he gave the kitten a stuffed lion (teady bear). The kitten essentially grew up with the lion. Now everytime the cat goes out to play, he takes the lion and puts it face down in his food dish. As if he's feeding the lion!! It's so cute!