Wanted - Knowledge about the unexplainable

An author must continue to learn – and not just about how to write a coherent sentence.

The theology class I just completed got me thinking….

As a youngster, I was always asking questions. I went to Catholic grammar schools and some of my questions came out of those religion classes. The questions about the existence of God were big ones. Little did I know then that the whole concept was always up for discussion. I took the theology course as part of my church volunteer work and was introduced to many writings on God, the Trinity and how it can apply to life today.

It seems like St. Augustine and St. Thomas Aquinas, and a whole host of others have been debating this issue for centuries. Now, you add into the mix physicists like Dr. Michio Kaku, and archeologist/scientist Erik Von Danikan and the debate rises to a whole new level of philosophy. Yes, science geeks, the debate rages on and it’s not just for Biblical scholars anymore. Looks like a marriage finally happened between science and the Bible somewhere along the line. Not always a blissful marriage either.

All I know is that after each class meeting I had such a headache! This “God” idea is not an easy concept to contemplate. I remember asking my mom about some abstract God information as a kid and she would always say to put that question aside on a list until you get to heaven. Keeping that in mind, over the years I’ve compiled quite an extensive list of questions. Some of them seem silly but they are real questions I’ve had in the past. Don’t you have some things you would like to ask God too? I mean, aside from the obvious “Why is there evil in the world?” and Why is there war?”

Here are some of my questions for when I hit the Pearly Gates:

• The mosquito – what is the purpose???? I mean, come on, Lord! The state “bird” of Maryland and New Jersey?????  What were You thinking?

• Why is it so easy to be selfish?

• How can you tell the difference between self-serving and self-defensiveness?

• Why does chocolate taste so good? Why does it need sugar and fat to make it better?

• Why is the sky blue? It’s so pretty, so please don’t say that it is all perception of visual light lengths. Can we leave it as just plain pretty?

• Why do the deer of the neighborhood seem to love my garden and leave my neighbors alone? Is it me? What am I planting that make them love me? Or is my yard the first decent “restaurant” on the block?

• Which heathen animal keeps knocking my St. Francis statue over? No, I am not going to hurt it.

• How did You come up with the ostrich? It defies physics. Was this a “it’s-5:58 pm-and-I–have-to-clean-up–this-place-for-the-Sabbath” creation of leftover spare body parts? And if You were going to give it a face only its mother could love, why did You also give it a 25-mile stink? Remember that trip we took to New Mexico? Oy, the smell!

• Why did You allow us to invent pockets? It seems like someone is always needing them filled, wanting us to empty them, or picking them when we aren’t looking.

• Do You really look like George Burns? (“Oh God” movies) Or is my visualization based on my prayer relationship with You?

• Have You been talking to Erik Von Daniken directly or is he just guessing about that alien colonization thing? By the way, those Nazca Lines are great! My compliments to the artists.

• Why do so many people expect someone – or some government agency – to take care of them? Is that why You allowed us to get kicked out of the Garden of Eden? So we could learn for ourselves?

• Why do people refuse to learn – from anything? Why do they prefer stupidity, aspire to mediocrity and avoid courageous action?

• If the big bang happened in the vacuum of space, is it still a big bang, or just a small fart? (Yes, I’m serious about this one. It’s a perception of sound thing.)

• Is technology of all kinds really the Biblical Antichrist? George Orwell wasn’t just smoking funky stuff when he wrote 1984, was he?

• With this concept of salvation, what am I being saved from, or am I being saved for something? How will I know the difference?

• Are all these scientific discoveries really You revealing Yourself to us in a magnificent way at a time in space when human minds can comprehend the information?

• With that thought, then, when will You help us cure cancer? Or does disease exist to make us appreciate our healthy times?

• What’s the difference between being really lazy and just needing rest?

• Oh, and just so I don’t sound like I’m nagging again, thank you for music! That’s among Your better gifts to humankind.

That’s just a sampling of what has been rattling around in my cranial cavity for years and years. Yes, you can all now agree with my thesis advisor – I think too much and overthink more. Some of my former students would remind me that I need a life.

How about you all? What questions might you have for God? Maybe you acknowledge the Higher Power by a different name. That’s cool, since we all have varying life experiences. Hey, I’m no preacher by any stretch of the imagination (my kids may disagree). This is a big world and there’s room for us all. And we all have the choice to believe or not. This could be a great contemporary discussion! And probably no one would win the debate.

Some people may point to the evil in the world and bad things that happen to them personally and say “Why believe in  a God? What’s the point?”

I prefer to look at it this way – Life without God is like trying to write with a broken pencil – no point to it! I need the hope that belief brings to me. At least, that's my opinion. What's yours?