If There Was No God
Predator Press
[LOBO]
Muslim outrage has made a movie nobody would have ever heard of –let alone seen- a global sensation. Pakistan, moreover, has just issued a $100,000 bounty on the film’s creator, and now he is cemented in history.
???
-Okay now I'm outraged.
I consider myself a shade Christian by upbringing (later sprinkled with Taoism and Buddhism), and from behind this lens I’ve seen some of the most barbarously cruel “Christian” acts -most wrought in whiplash contrast to the teachings. In short, I’m not indemnifying any religion from the accusation that people do dumb, counter-intuitive things instead of rising to -and above- the occasion at hand. But spiritually I have no use for anything that promotes anything but peace and prosperity. Otherwise why bother? For God? Regardless of what we do, God's plan is going to work out just fine. We, on the other hand, decipher cryptic runes for rumor, pore over parables for meaning, and tell our children wonderful and fantastic tales ... all parsed in effort to scramble out of God's way during the Devil's final asskicking.
So I started playing with a hypothetical situation: What if someone with a time machine offered me one trip backwards, so I could prove or disprove any single event in religious history? Not to tamper with … just to observe. I toyed with this for a while. How cool would it be if you saw Moses literally part the Red Sea? Or saw David defeat Goliath? Let’s face it: the sequel is awesome, but if you want to witness top notch religion you gotta go Old Testament -I’m almost certain it has a Cyclops somewhere.
But then, faith affirmed with a firsthand account … what? Put on a sandwich board? Stir the flames between other religions? The world is full of people with “Faith.” This outcome really has no consequence.
The other potential outcome, conversely, is utterly horrifying. What if you go back and find out something didn’t happen? Or a miracle was explainable? Or perhaps, maybe worse, someone important was a lot less than what you expected? In this case, when returned to the present time, do you explain it to the people clinging to these beliefs, unleashing the flaws and passions previously tempered by their now-shattered faith? I could make an argument that you would be morally obligated to lie, lest civilization burn at your own hand.
This hypothetical scenario, interestingly, loses on both ends. And I would certainly never do it; in a sea of people one hundred percent certain about their opinions, a little bit of doubt actually seems to make the world a better place.
My religion and philosophy -of the head and heart, serene and non-denominational- offers up but one single prayer:
"O Great Magnet, please ensure that Muslims never, ever, ever discover Adam Sandler ..."
[LOBO]
Muslim outrage has made a movie nobody would have ever heard of –let alone seen- a global sensation. Pakistan, moreover, has just issued a $100,000 bounty on the film’s creator, and now he is cemented in history.
-Okay now I'm outraged.
I consider myself a shade Christian by upbringing (later sprinkled with Taoism and Buddhism), and from behind this lens I’ve seen some of the most barbarously cruel “Christian” acts -most wrought in whiplash contrast to the teachings. In short, I’m not indemnifying any religion from the accusation that people do dumb, counter-intuitive things instead of rising to -and above- the occasion at hand. But spiritually I have no use for anything that promotes anything but peace and prosperity. Otherwise why bother? For God? Regardless of what we do, God's plan is going to work out just fine. We, on the other hand, decipher cryptic runes for rumor, pore over parables for meaning, and tell our children wonderful and fantastic tales ... all parsed in effort to scramble out of God's way during the Devil's final asskicking.
So I started playing with a hypothetical situation: What if someone with a time machine offered me one trip backwards, so I could prove or disprove any single event in religious history? Not to tamper with … just to observe. I toyed with this for a while. How cool would it be if you saw Moses literally part the Red Sea? Or saw David defeat Goliath? Let’s face it: the sequel is awesome, but if you want to witness top notch religion you gotta go Old Testament -I’m almost certain it has a Cyclops somewhere.
But then, faith affirmed with a firsthand account … what? Put on a sandwich board? Stir the flames between other religions? The world is full of people with “Faith.” This outcome really has no consequence.
The other potential outcome, conversely, is utterly horrifying. What if you go back and find out something didn’t happen? Or a miracle was explainable? Or perhaps, maybe worse, someone important was a lot less than what you expected? In this case, when returned to the present time, do you explain it to the people clinging to these beliefs, unleashing the flaws and passions previously tempered by their now-shattered faith? I could make an argument that you would be morally obligated to lie, lest civilization burn at your own hand.
This hypothetical scenario, interestingly, loses on both ends. And I would certainly never do it; in a sea of people one hundred percent certain about their opinions, a little bit of doubt actually seems to make the world a better place.
My religion and philosophy -of the head and heart, serene and non-denominational- offers up but one single prayer:
"O Great Magnet, please ensure that Muslims never, ever, ever discover Adam Sandler ..."
Comments