Tuesday, May 16, 2006

Anybody left to offend after the poop talk?


I was walking the dog the other day (She's spoiled...she gets two walks a day), and I was listening to my beloved iPod (I'm spoiled, because Ted got me an iPod for no reason except he knew I wanted one), and I was listening to Joan Osborn's Relish. That album always takes me back to 1995, because that's when I first heard it, and I pretty much listened to it every day in my office at work. Ah, the days before I joined the cube dwellers, when I actually had an office...but I digress. So, I was walking along, and One of Us came on...that's the song that made me want to buy the CD. I had heard Spiderweb on the radio a lot, which is a really good song, but somehow not as catchy as One of Us. So I was walking along, remembering life in Philly, my office, that kind of stuff, and I started listening to the words a bit more. The line came up,
What would you ask
If you had just one question?

That got me to thinking...what if I WERE to meet God, and I DID get to ask a question? What would it be? As a life-long athiest, it's a hum-dinger of an issue for me. I mean, here's this ENTITY that I was always taught didn't exist...what am I to do with that? So part of me, the my-life-in-music part, thought of another rock song, Dear God by XTC, and the lyrics that describe why the character in the song cannot believe in God:
I won’t believe in heaven and hell.
No saints, no sinners,
No devil as well.
No pearly gates, no thorny crown.
You’re always letting us humans down.
The wars you bring, the babes you drown.
Those lost at sea and never found,
And it’s the same the whole world ’round.
The hurt I see helps to compound,
That the father, son and holy ghost,
Is just somebody’s unholy hoax,
And if you’re up there you’ll perceive,
That my heart’s here upon my sleeve.
If there’s one thing I don’t believe in...
It's You
Dear God

So, there we are...a very angry man, talking about all of the horrid things that happen on Earth, many in God's name. Those of you with religion have probably found answers in your hearts to questions like this...but I haven't. I cannot balance the idea of a loving God with a God who lets so many wrongs occur on Earth.

So, what would I ask, if I had just one question? Hmmm. I think I would ask a two parter..."Have any of the world's religions gotten it right? And if so, which one(s)." My greatest fear would be that He would answer "Yes" to the first part, and then not answer the second half at all. I mean, if He said, "All paths to Heaven are equal" or something groovy like that, I'd be fine. But if He just stayed silent on the matter? What then?

How about you? What would you ask, if you had 'just one question'?

(Tomorrow, I'll try to offend anyone who's still talking to me by talking about politics! Fun!)

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