Very Like A Whale

"No, no, Lord Byron, before I'll believe that this Assyrian was actually like a wolf I must have some kind of proof", Ogden Nash, Very Like A Whale

There is an old story about a cynic who did not believe. His friends told him, "Come to the temple. There you will see the proof of the miracles the Gods have wrought." So he went to the temple and in front of the temple there was a mountain of crutches. Old ones, new ones. Big crutches and little crutches. Crutches made of bent sticks and finely crafted ones inlaid with silver and gold.

"See," said his friends, "see the proof of the power of the Gods."

The cynic looked at this pile of crutches for a moment and said,

"One wooden leg would be better."

Faith is just that. Faith. It requires no proof. It is belief in things unseen and unknowable. To believe in miracles though is a different matter. These are things of the earth. Miracle cures, sudden unexplained changes in the nature of reality, walking on water, the instant and complete transformation of a persons personality. Proof?

"The doctor said I had six months to live, that was twelve years ago!"

The doctor was wrong. Praise God!

"This guy walked on water!"

Did you see him?

Other things are unexplained but are they proof of the supernatural? I have walked on fire. Well hot coals really. A lot of people have. No one stands on them very long. I've seen a UFO. Very mysterious until I found out it was my neighbor with a kite and a flashlight.

We are asked to believe very day without any evidence. It's been going on since we were children. We've gotten so used we don't realize were doing it any more. We just accept that things are true without thinking. It's easier that way. Easier not to ask the hard questions. What is truth? Is there an absolute truth? How about right and wrong? If it is wrong to kill someone how does self defence make it ok? Is war murder in self defence institutionalized? Is abortion ever good? Can the death penalty be justified? When is ok to lie? When it is a little white lie? Or when it is a matter of national security?

I don't know. What was the question?

OWL

April 4, 2007