Thursday, December 22, 2011

God looks down upon the atheists (a parable)

God looked down on the atheists of the world. He slumped over in His great throne, and shook His head. He said to Himself (because He really is the only one smart enough to get Himself and He tends to talk to Himself a lot because of it), "What the heck are they thinking? All that argumentation about things they don't understand, and things they can't possibly figure out is absurd. Their lying and gross immorality offends me."

Then God turned and looked to faithful Christian Pastors and Christian religious leaders like the Pope, and smiled. He listened a little closer, slumped in His great throne and shook His head. He said to Himself (because now it was really obvious that no one was smart enough get Him), "What the heck are they thinking? All that argumentation about things they don't understand, and things they can't possibly figure out is absurd.
Their lying and gross immorality offends me."

Then God said to Himself again, "What the heck am I gonna do with this mess? I'm afraid that this freewill I've granted them is beginning to look like a catch 22. They can choose to believe in Me or choose to disbelieve in Me, and yet now I see that their damned if they do, and their damned if they don't - and damn it all, so am I!"


And so God responded to His frustration in the best way he could think of: He took up with a few medieval monks and started brewing beer.


This parable outlines my feelings about God. I feel bad for poor ol' God. What I mean is that He is in a tough position and has placed Himself there knowingly. The problems of sin, and the curse, brought on by the dynamics of freewill have made it almost impossible for a good deal of humanity to imagine a good God in the midst of all this tragedy.


Generation after generation continues to argue about His existence or the impossibility of His goodness, and He suffers that behavior for millenia. As a result he has chosen to take up working with us in many simple ways, and to express His love in those simple joys of life. If you look close enough you just might find God in the party.