I worked at Jack T. Rutledge Correctional Institution a Georgia State Prison From 1980 until 1997 as a drafting teacher. One day some of my students were setting around just shooting the shit as inmates tend to do at times, and some how the subjest of buzzards came up. I don't know why they were talking about that perticular subject but inmates will talk about anything. One of the inmates was telling how buzzards don't have ass holes. Then he tried to confirm it by me. "Tell them Mr Crofford, buzzards don't have assholes do they?" I of course thought he was joking and wasn't about to take the bate. I sort of grinned an said of course they have assholes all birds have assholes. Another one of the inmates piped up. "You're wrong Mr Crofford buzzards don't have assholes, that's why they are called pukeing buzzards." "That's the silliest damn thing I have ever heard." I said. "Of course they have assholes." "I'll bet you anything you want to bet buzzards don't have assholes." He answered.
Of course members of the staff aren't allowed to make bets with inmates who don't have anything to bet with anyway. But this was a challange for me to show them that buzzards had assholes. Now how was I going to prove that buzzards have assholes? I had never saw a book actually stating that buzzards have assholes. I have never saw a picture of a buzzards asshole. And I have never actually saw a buzzards asshole. How did I know that buzzards have assholes, logic? These men must have a little grey matter, after all I have to teach them to be draftsmen. It was then I relised everyones logic isn't the same. Their logic was not the same as my logic. I knew without a dought that buzzards had assholes, with out reading about it, seeing a picture or actually seeing a buzzards asshole. Did I have to have proof in order to know that they have assholes? Of course not. These men will go to their graves, and for them at least, buzzards won't have assholes. And it won't really matter.
I suppose it's the same with a God. Do people really need proof that there is a God for there to be a God? Of course not. I will go to my grave and for me there won't be a God. And then Buddha will punch me right back out to re-live my life as an insect or something. I hope it's at least a butterfly it might be nice living out the life of a butterfly.
After Ehud came Shamgar son of Anath who struck down 600 Philistines with an oxgoad, he too saved Israell. What the hell is an oxgoad? We need some of them oxgoads for our army. Of course I know what an oxgoad is. It's one of those secret magic weapons God gave his chosen people to kill off those Devil spawn Philistines. And now to kill off the Palestinians, but using more sophisticated oxgoads.
Do I really have anything to say or am I just babbling? Ah babbling, speaking in tongues, mans first great attempt to reach the heavens the tower of Babel built by the Babylonians. In order to keep them from reaching Heaven God went down and confused their language making them speak in different tongues. Did I miss something, or was Heaven a lot lower back in those days?
But man has been babbling ever since and now he has reached the moon and headed for the stars. It seems there is no limit to what man can accomplish even when babbling. But God will find a twist to stop us yet. We still have Armageddon coming don't we. Well it looks like a face off to me.
As for me I'll put my faith in man with all the Armageddons he has to face. For man has the fortitude to conquer and persevere in the face of all adversity and against all evil. While it is in the nature of man to create evil at the same time it is his nature to abhor evil and if he can't conquer it with his faith, he will fight it tooth an nail. Until he overcomes or succumbs, he will keep on keeping on.
From the very beginning when man rubbed two sticks together and said. "Let there be light." and there was light, and man saw the light that it was good. Man has lit up the world and continues to harness the powers of the universe for the betterment of mankind. From Edison to Einstein to Stephen Hawking and from Trinity to Silicon Valley to Las Alamos the genius of man has prevailed.
In the past hundred years man's progress has been stupendous. Man has built a thousand towers of Babel and God hasn't laid a brick. From the Right brothers to Chuck Yeager to Neal Armstrong man continues to ride the tail of the dragon.
Should we believe because the Biblical text is so ancient? Events in the Bible begin over six thousand years ago and ended two thousand years ago, covering brief moments in four thousand years of history, but the earliest Biblical text is less than two thousand years old. Hell man has had firm beliefs less than fifty years ago that he finds invalid today. I believe that man has more than invalidated the Bible in the past two thousand years.
If there is a God in this vast universe, would he even take notice of insignificant life on earth? The Bible has God acting like a juvenile throwing temper-tantrums and destroying all his toys. Would he have such a great need to be worshiped? I think not. A God would have no needs. Especially none that puny man could provide. He really needs to get a better grip on things.
I do relise of course in Biblical times man was just up out of the caves. They were little more than juveniles themselves and were easly hoodwinked. We have did much to revise their crap. Theologians have gone to great lengths inventing dogmas to put a new twist on it. But for me it just isn't enough. What they should do is throw the whole damn thing out and start over. Some have did just that but they still can't seem to get it right. |
