About Oug

Oug ?

I assume you are reading this note because you are curious about the word 'oug' in the title. As far as I can tell, 'oug' is not yet a word in the English language. I claim it as my own and will tell you what it means. It is the mid section of a word that begins with 'th' and ends in 'ht.

This bit of wordplay demonstrates that the heart of thought is something unknown that leaves you looking for an explanation. Conversely, when you are sure you know, thinking stops and you can get busy with important things. I presume you are no longer thinking about 'oug' because I told you what it means and you trust me to tell the truth. 

Now some theology. Don't stop reading. This is one of the important things. The linguists tell us that the word god (theos in Greek, other names elsewhere) has two aspects.

1. God is a name for a collection of attributes which we deem true without much thinking because somebody we trust already has it figured out and told us about it. Now that we don't have to think, we can get on with business and pleasure. Furthermore, if others in our group share the same beliefs, we spend less time discussing and more time taking care of business and having fun. That has a dark side: we believers  assure each other that we already know the truth and therefore never improve our understanding. Darker still, we may disrespect those who don't share our beliefs, stop listening to them, exclude them as adversaries, even go to war and sacrifice our children and theirs in battle just because we know the truth and the unbelievers don't. Confident that we are right, we get busy doing wrong. 

2. Alternatively, God is a Mystery. That gets us thinking and keeps us humble. Then our beliefs are up for discussion. As for our neighbours, whatever they believe, we are all wondering about the same mystery, wiser together, enriched by a variety of perspectives. On the negative side, we thoughtful people don't get much done unless we trust some of our thoughts enough to act on them. However, if we are wise, we do not defend the creed in the face of contrary evidence. We pay attention to consequences and adjust our thinking as we go.

So we have these two gods: (1) our trusted understanding and (2) the mystery forever beckoning beyond what we know.

Early on, a younger version of myself assumed that theology was somebody else's job. I was too busy to worry about it. If I were doing things over again, I would listen to the many voices speaking their version of truth from a thousand traditions. I would be curious about the Mystery at the heart of things, and probably get fired because I spent too much time thinking and didn't get the job done... or more likely I would do an internet search and have my opinions reinforced by the Google echo algorithm. 

How Curiosity Rewires Your Brain For Change: Big Think Business

Reading the Heretics: Martin Thielen, August 2025

Names of God: Wikipedia

ReligionsGeek: Brian Carwana
Safeguard Your Mind: Big Think,Yuval Noah Harari

Yes
there's the Internet,
its gods affirming what we think,
while clickbait deacons collect our offerings
before the sacrament of holy consumerism;
but
don't forget the Mystery
and thought.