[Vision2020] Hagiography and sarcasm

[Joan Opyr]

On 11 Nov 2005, at 23:28, Michael wrote:

> Joan Says,
>
> I am that I am
>
> Me:
>
> So what is god to you?

I'm sorry, Michael -- you seem to have left out an "o."  What is "good" 
to me?  Charity -- anonymous, generous, open-handed charity.  (As my 
friend Dave Budge says, give 'til it hurts.)  Unexpectedly encountering 
thing or a person or an act of rare beauty; a joyful dog; a moment of 
clarity; finding that you have something funny or unusual in common 
with someone you scarcely know; those are good.  A Mariner's win.  
Recognizing that there are many paths to God and that I don't have 
access to or interest in or understanding of all of them.  The 
infinite; the mysterious; things beyond my ken -- these are good.  
Being unwilling to condemn others to "hell," whatever that is, because 
their understanding of the divine and mine are not in complete accord.

What is God?  More than I know.  More than you know.  We are all in 
error, Michael; we are all in ignorance.  Anyone who claims to know 
exactly what God is/wants/divines/demands knows only what he or she 
wants/divines/demands.  Those who are absolutely certain about God's 
wishes know only their own fear.  And what is it we all fear, Michael 
Metzler?  We all fear death.  We're afraid that the Hokey Pokey really 
is what it's all about, and we can't stand that.  We can't stand the 
thought that this life might be all that there is.  And because of that 
fear, anyone who questions our beliefs -- anyone who holds other, 
contrary beliefs -- is dangerous to us.  They make us nervous.  They 
need to be shut up.

I'm as guilty of this as you are; I don't like to be quizzed about the 
nature of God.  Why?  Because God has not bothered to appear to me in 
the form of a pillar of flame and tell me exactly what's what.  
Sometimes I think to myself, why the hell not?  Is God too busy for me 
on this dank Saturday?  And, really, what did Moses have that I don't?  
(And if you say a penis, Michael, I'll slap you silly.)  But then I get 
a grip on myself, and I think about all of the good things of this 
life.  I think of the demands of living an ethical life, of really 
dedicating myself to charity, to tzedekah, and I am grateful for the 
moments of revelation that I have been granted.

And I am sure that what God is not is a hateful old bastard who has 
created some of us to be damned and others to be saved for no other 
reason than that it pleased him to do so.  (FYI, I use "him" here 
deliberately.  I don't actually believe that God is a him.  God is 
without gender.  God is without penis.  God has surely thought of some 
better way to cope with the bathroom situation on camping trips than 
external genitalia.)

Not entirely facetious,

Joan Opyr/Auntie Establishment
www.joanopyr.com

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