My issue is that all the things that "holy water" is supposed to symbolize are the same things that regular water symbolizes.

So, if it's just a symbol, then that means it's your frame of mind that matters. If you're about to bless yourself with holy water and pray to God, it's not going to be somehow a less effective prayer if a dastardly villain has swapped out a bottle of Evian into the font. As long as you're in a prayerful state of mind, that's what counts- the water supposedly just helps you get there.


So if it's not the physical substance, but the state of mind that's important, then it follows that the physical substance is NOT important. That is, if you can achieve the same sincere, prayerful state of mind with some beads, some music, or a cup of Ramen, then everything should be just as good.





So. Now we know that the physical substance doesn't matter- all that matters is that it gets you into the right frame of mind. Holy water makes one think of purity, of life, of being refreshed. So does regular water.


Therefore, there's no reason why "normal" water (that is, not water that has been shit in, Ghav) couldn't be used in whatever rites supposedly demand "holy" water.




(Now, this all falls apart if you say that the physical substance does have some importance. But if that's the case, then we're back to "magic water," that is, water that has special properties that regular water does not.)