I Wish There Was a God

I wish that there was a God because I also want to believe in magic, super powers, dragons, Hobbits, telekinesis and vampires. If there was a God I would be able to walk through wardrobes into other worlds; I could hold conversations with animals and learn to fly; I would probably even take up a job as a teleportational travel agent. I wish that there was a God so that I could visit parallel dimensions and battle mythic creatures of evil. If there was a God any and all of my wishing could being true. But there isn’t and that’s okay. Enough exists in this world to keep me occupied and full of wonder for my entire life.

Walking With God

I once met God while I was walking through the woods. I said, “There are a lot of people looking for you”.

“Yeah,” he said, “I’ve been here the whole time.”

“Really, I mean, there are some vague images of you, but nothing that we would consider to be definite or absolute.”

“Oh, that’s because I’m not always visible to those who don’t venture this far”.

“I see” I said.

“You know, we are one in the same, you and I. We have the same history, come from the same place, and are brothers.”

“Wow, I always wondered, but it’s not like you were around to answer questions. We all would like to spend some time talking to you.”

“I think that I’m ready to see the world and answer any questions that you might have”.

So God and I walked out of the woods, hand in hand, and it was there that we happened upon our first group of nonbelievers. Some screamed, most ran, and a few who were faithful stood there in awe. Eventually a small child came forward and approached God. Innocently she reached up to take his free hand and he took it in hers.

After a few minutes of us all staring and basking in God’s’ presence, I asked the little girl what she thought of Him. She smiled and looked up into his large face and said, “My Grandmother always said that you existed, but no one believed her. Now I can go back and tell her that Bigfoot is real”.

It was then that I realized my mistake.

And God Said, Ruin It for Everyone

This last Sunday 33 Evangelical pastors defied a federal law that prohibits U.S. clergy from endorsing political candidates from the pulpit. The Rev. Ron Johnson Jr. told worshipers that the Barack Obama’s positions on abortion and gay partnerships are "in direct opposition to God's truth as He has revealed it in the Scriptures." The Reverend believes that he as has a constitutional right to advise his congregation how to vote. In between sermons the he told the Washington Post, "The point that the IRS says you can't do it, I'm saying you're wrong." Almost ever election there are members of the extreme religious right who come out in defiance of the code that says nonprofit, tax-exempt entities may not "participate in, or intervene in . . . any political campaign on behalf of any candidate for public office".

I don’t understand why a religious person in a position of power would exchange their historic religious authority for a fleeting promise of political power, to the detriment of their churches. Moreover, by entering into a relationship between the state, they are sacrificing the direction of their faith to a government organization. Anytime a private sector is institutionalized, the government gets to control the direction of the newly acquired entity. So our system is set up to protect religions from being turned into government organizations. This keeps them free to choose their own direction, beliefs, and faith. The payment for this is that they must stay free and clear from "participate in, or intervene in . . . any political campaign on behalf of any candidate for public office" (1954 tax code amendment).

What bothers me more about this situation is that there are people in this country so willing to give the government power over the direction of their most sacred beliefs. Sure I’m post-theological, not religions, atheist, or whatever you want to label me, but the mere fact that we have American citizens so uneducated in their government that they would willingly give up their freedoms is extraordinarily disturbing to me. I don’t know of anyone who would be so enthusiastically accepting of the government telling them how to speak in their own home, instructing them what to watch on TV, or how to vote. Yet, these same people would seem elated to mix their deepest held beliefs with a government who would only seek to use that faith to their own means. It is a frighteningly moronic and almost not worth our time to protect their faith, but I know that my own freedom of belief is the same as theirs. These 33 ultra-right wing Evangelical pastors threatened all of our freedoms with their actions. And that is something for which I cannot stand.

God, Please Spare Us From You

I was reading the news this morning (an update on the hurricane that my Mother and Edgar are headed through on their way to Texas) and something struck me as absolutely bizarre. In an article titled (Hurricane) Gustav’s eye closes in on Louisiana Coastline, there is a paragraph where someone is describing their thoughts before the storm hits: "We're nervous, but we just have to keep trusting in God that we don't get the water again," said Lyndon Guidry, who hit the road for Florida just a few months after he was able to return to his home in New Orleans. "We just have to put our faith in God."

Now what struck me as odd was not that she looked to her faith for solace, but how blatantly one sided that relationship is. How could she place her faith in a God that destroyed the city, killing 1,800 men, women, and children a couple of years ago?

I see these same comments all the time and never know how to respond. Cancer patients praying to the same God who gave them the cancer, parents praying to the same God who let their baby be stillborn, and people praying that friends and relatives will recover from whatever it was that God had done to them. What kind of fucked up, abusive relationship is that? It’s really along the lines of trying to justify staying with someone who physically abuses you. “He only hits me because he loves me” and “It’ll be different this time” are no worse than “It is all part of his plan” and “Praying to God will help”. To paraphrase Epicurus, if God is willing to stop evil, but can’t, then he is not all powerful. If he able, but not willing, then he is cruel. If he both able and willing, then the evil came from him. If he neither able nor willing, then he isn’t a God.

There are only two reasons that I can think that blind-faith believers justify the callous actions of a God like that. One is to say that “he does everything for a reason”, like that is supposed to excuse sending natural disasters that slowly drown babies in floods of water. Also, if that were true, the lesson that you need to learn is that he is cruel. The other excuse that comes to mind is when people insist that God does these horrible things to remind us that he is all-powerful. Which I truly can’t fathom because if really is a God, he wouldn’t be as shallow as to be offended by those who doubt that he existed.

But getting back to Lyndon Guidry, essentially she is asking a deity, with the presumed power to create and destroy the universe, and who has sent another storm to ravage Louisiana, for leniency. I’m sure that if it does no harm they will thank him for sparing them. But if it kills another 1,800 people, Lyndon will only see that as God’s will. All of this left me with the question, why don’t people blame God for the evils in the world? Why not a quote from Lyndon saying, “We were just fine until God decided that Louisiana needed to be flooded again” or one from a cancer patient who declares, “God gave me cancer because he thinks I deserve it”, or maybe even “we were winning the game until God made me miss that 3-pointer”. Maybe then, those bizarre statements asking God for help would make a bit more sense.

Should Gay People Have the Same Rights?

I mistakenly flipped on the TV today to check the weather because it looked like it could storm and stopped by one of the 24-hour news networks on my way to the Weather Channel. The blonde behind the desk, smiling prettily and looking overly intelligent in her pastels and hoop earrings, said the phrase, “Should gay people have the same rights as the rest of us?”. Now I immediately want to forgive her because she is a) reading off of a teleprompter and b) a moron not paid to think for herself.

So here, let me answer that question:

If you believe that women, people who are a color other than white, and non-Christians should have equal rights, then you have to give the equal rights to gay people as well. Those strange religious nutjobs (and it’s always the religious nutjobs) who think that gay is either a lifestyle or against the Word of God should look back into their own history at how their religion was once used to explain why blacks should be slaves, non-Christians should be treated differently, and why women should be subservient. Strangely enough, they don’t see the connection. They cannot look at this class of people, who they want to separated from everyone else, and see the same parallels drawn between this new hatred and the old prejudice done in the name of their God. So for any religious people, who happen to read my blog, let me explain something to you: Your bible can be used to say anything and people who use it to tell others that who is less of a human are bigots preaching hate.

Want proof? Let’s go through a quick exercise:

Do you believe that black people should be white people’s slaves?

Well, Jesus said it was ok. In Luke 12:43-48 Jesus explains the proper way to treat your slaves. Jesus condone slavery enough to make some ground rules for their enslavement. Don’t believe me? Search the KKK’s website and you’ll find that, along with a whole host of other quotes from the Bible on how slavery is alright.

Now if you truly believe that the Bible is the Word of God, then slavery is a good thing. If you don’t believe that slavery is a good thing, then you do not believe that the Bible is the word of God. The only way to get out of this quandary is to say that the Bible is not to be taken literally, but then the same would apply for the rules governing homosexuals too.

Back to our point, should gay people have the same rights as the rest of us? Only if you believe that we are all equal. If you don’t, you probably see slavery, oppression of women, and exclusion of those of different religions as you, as all ordained by God. If you don’t, please know that that is exactly how the rest of us view you. And history has proven time and time again, that you and your Christian approved bigotry and hatred will not be tolerated.