The wisdom of South Park

“Logic and reason aren’t enough. You have to be a dick to everyone who doesn’t agree with you.” -- Attributed to Richard Dawkins by South Park.

I know, the real Richard Dawkins didn’t say that, not that I’ve seen anyway. The boys behind South Park were putting words in his mouth to oversimplify his position, for both clarity and humor. I did see Dawkins’ column on The Huffington Post where he says he’s not demeaning everyone’s God with his book, The God Delusion, just the ones with personal Gods. Abstract Gods like love and other entities are OK with him. Who knows? Maybe he’d even compromise further and say that any God compatible with evolution by natural selection may not be a delusion. That would be sporting of him.

It’s too bad that Richard Dawkins is only human, as so many other dicks are, both theists and atheists, even some women. They only know what they’ve experienced, directly or second-hand. They don’t know what’s beyond what they know, not just in terms of the ultimate origin of the universe or anything in it, but also what might be right here with me as I write this that we don’t understand yet, inside 4-dimensional space-time or outside it, coursing through it, as outside air courses through my lungs. It sure is nice that science completely explains my conscious experience and God’s place in that, only it doesn’t. It does only if one accepts the words of crackpots who say anyone who experiences God is nuts.

Atheists are going to keep this up for the foreseeable future. They will compliment themselves for how smart they are. Traditionalists will compliment themselves for how good they are in sticking to the old ways, how blessed they are or will be. They’re all liars. May there be a pox on both their houses. I’ve been saying that since I gave up finding common ground with atheists through science or with conservatives through Jesus Christ. There is no such ground for a liberal Christian. Even among liberal Christians there are several groups who don’t like those with different beliefs. This is human to make beliefs so important. Can we do any better?

“Who knows? Maybe just believing in God makes God exist.” – The Wise One, just before all the atheist otters kill him, on South Park.

I write a lot of words trying to illustrate the possibilities for God. I like the idea in this quote. Maybe God truly evolves as out beliefs do. Even more fascinating is if believing in God doesn’t just bring God to life in my mind, but beyond me as well, not even just in terms of culture, but something beyond physical existence. Who knows? God tells me He doesn’t mind being like Tinker Bell this way, only He tells me He’s pretty sure He existed before humans did. Still He is changed by us.

Maybe it’s impossible to open most people’s minds to possibilities. They don’t want to know. Then there’s the sticky issue that not everything we dream up is possible. Where is the line between possible and impossible? I’m quite sure it’s not in Richard Dawkins head or any other dick. In the end many possibilities are dead ends. I am who I am. The world is what it is. God is whoever and whatever God is. I know few believe me that I can communicate with all of these. In fact many people shut me out, especially on those subjects they don’t care to hear. The rest have been enough, though, especially God. I never would have guessed. God is not a dick, but is a source of love and truth, the only one I trust to cry on, not an empty closet, but a presence, not self-hypnosis, but things that are completely unexpected, like what God needs from me. People could know more about this. Most would rather not and use labels to emphasize that, like “delusion” or others.

You just can’t trust everything people say. Even they may not understand exactly why they say it.