How does an atheist or agnostic talk to God? What do I call him or her? What about the irony or would it be hypocrisy of an atheist talking to God? I guess if I can be an agnostic, you can understand or dismiss my conversation as the musings of a man sitting on the proverbial fence. Someone who wants to hedge his bets “just in case.” However, even an atheist might want to hedge his bets. (Listen to the song “Word of God Speak”- Mercy Me with Lyrics (High Quality)
So what do I talk to God about? The meaning of life? When will the world end? How can we eliminate evil in the world? The weather? Sports? TV? Movies? What could I talk about that would keep his interest? What if God is a her? Would the same things interest her as him?
John: Dear God, I am not doing much today, so I thought maybe we could have a little talk.
God: I’m kind of busy, will it take long?
John: Uhn, I dunno. Got fifteen minutes?
God: I guess so. Who do you want saved?
John: No one I can think of. I know a lot of people I would like to send to hell.
God: I don’t do that. Talk to Satan.
John: Just kidding. Thought you might have a sense of humor.
God: If I didn’t, I would not have created humans.
John: Good point. So why did you create us?
God: For the hell of it. (Laughs)
John: Good one God. But really, what was your purpose in creating humans?
God: If you really want to know, it was kind of an experiment. In the entire universe, I was the only sentient being. I wondered what would happen if I created a whole bunch of sentient beings and put them in one place. So I created stars, planets, the solar system, earth and all the things that you would need to satisfy your emotional and intellectual needs. I then created humans and let you grow and develop.
John: You mean you never interfered or interceded on our behalf?
God: Well, sometimes. I like to speed things up a bit, so I sent some prophets and a few demagogues.
John: So you sent Jesus and Buddha and Mohammed and Abraham?
God: Nope, just Jesus and Mohammed.
John: What about Hitler?
God: Nope
John: So who created Hitler and where is he now?
God: You created Hitler and he is now in Hell.
John: Where is Hell?
God: For Hitler, it is a land ruled by Jews.
John: Is that your idea of justice or is it vengeance?
God: Justice is where kindness and compassion and love flourish. Hitler will someday come to appreciate the Jewish people. I don’t do vengeance. It throws the entire universe out of kilter.
John: So you mean, we can all get to Heaven some day?
God: Only if you want to.
John: Since we don’t have much time, I would like to be very candid with you.
God: So?
John: Well, you really made a mess with the earth and humanity. Have you bothered to look at the earth and see the wars, poverty, disease, crime, injustice, famine and misery that you have created?
God: You people. You always want to blame someone else.
John: Who more than you? You are All Knowing and All Powerful. Yet you sit up there and laugh at the human race or perhaps worse, you take pleasure in our misery.
God: I never said I was all powerful or all knowing. I told Moses I always was and always will be, but I never said anything about omniscience or omnipotence. You created those myths with your stories and desires; always hoping that someone like Superman or some super-hero will get you out of the shit that you create for yourselves.
John: People look up to you. They pray to you. They sacrifice lambs and goats for you. They build altars for you.
God: Yes, and they fight for me. They kill for me. They wage war in my name. They pray that I will protect them and destroy their enemies. They pray for their relatives and ask for death for their neighbors in the next state or next town or next country.
John: Are you blaming people for praying for these things?
God: Have you not heard that I gave people free will?
John: Free will for what? To kill and maim and scourge and rape and destroy? Is that supposed to be some kind of a blessing?
God: I meant to give humans a choice. Maybe I made a mistake. I never told anyone that I was infallible. I have toyed with destroying the entire human race and trying something else, but nothing really comes to mind. How could I create a race of sentient beings and not give them free will? Should I have created a race of puppets or robots? Say the word and I will destroy your entire planet and all the people on it! It is really a very small thing to do in terms of creativity and imagination.
John: Please, don’t put that on me! I don’t want that decision on my shoulders. I thought maybe you would have some better ideas.
God: Well, if you think of any, let me know. I have things to do now and I need to end this conversation.
John: One last question. Are you planning to send any more prophets? I think we need some help down here.
God: Each time I sent one, you listen for a while and then you somehow change the message back to what you want to hear or what you want to do. The Ten Commandments become the two “maybe” Commandments. The Eight Beatitudes become the 
eight “Would be nice to do” but they are kind of impractical. The Eight Fold Path becomes “I don’t have time.” The Six Articles of Faith become a prescription for Jihad. You have a propensity for converting the words of the prophets I have sent into formulas for bigotry and intolerance. Nevertheless, when I can, I will continue to send more prophets and messengers. Keep in mind; they will all say the same thing: “Love One Another.”
John: Well, thanks for your time God, and Merry Christmas.
God: Merry Christmas to you John, but I don’t do Santa.
Time for Questions:
Do you ever speak to God? Does he answer? Is God a he or she? Does it matter? Do you get the answers you need from God? Do you think God should wipe out the human race and start over? Why or why not? Did God screw things up with “Free Will?”
Life is just beginning.
“In the beginning..
when ray and day hadn’t yet come into existence at all,
there was a kind of radiance that illuminates universe.
That radiance is the light of knowledge and goodness.
That radiance will persistently and consistently shine brightly
even after all the stars and moons in this vast universe die out.”
― Toba Beta,
Suffice it to say, I am awestruck by the reply from ChatGPT. She/he might just eliminate the need for many experts including pundits like me, psychiatrists, doctors, lawyers, professors, sociologists, psychologists and even you. I am scratching my head as to what I can add about the subject that ChatGPT did not provide you. I can tell you a story though that ChatGPT cannot concerning a major non-closure in my own life. One episode among many that has left me with regrets. I can also tell you that it is not always easy to get closure on incomplete episodes. Many things can get in the way. Perhaps the primary barriers either being the unwillingness of one party to try or to reciprocate an effort and of course our own egos.
few years later, I decided to reach out to him again. You can guess his reaction. He was angry and insulting. I decided to drop my effort. Over the years, we have had some interactions by phone or email but nothing that has substantially reinvigorated our former friendship. I am not sure whether he feels any loss, but I can honestly say that I miss him. He had many good qualities and there were many times that we spent together that I fondly remember. I have been the one over the past few years to try to reach out, but my efforts have gone nowhere. At this point, I have decided that “people change” and that he is not the person that he once was. This is a good excuse or rationale for my letting go and forgetting him. You can no doubt pick many holes in my logic.
I could point out that few things worth having ever come easy. The problem is that too many of us grow up today with the fantasy that as the song in My Fair Lady goes, “With a little bit of luck, you can have it all.” I grew up with a phrase that was popular in my neighborhood that went “He got the breaks.” This meant basically that he/she got what they got cause they got lucky. They did not have to work hard. They did not have to practice. They did not have to study. They simply had to get the “Breaks.” It took me years to realize the fallacy in thinking that luck has much to do with what one gets in life. Two of my now favorites quotes are:
A life without closures will be a life not really lived well. The more closures we can accomplish, the more satisfying our lives will be. Perhaps only a life lived with closures can be a life lived without regrets. We will all have regrets in our lives. Our incomplete episodes are links in a chain that we forge as we go through life. A key question is “how long do we want our chain to be?” The more effort we make to complete these episodes, the shorter our chain will be, and I think the happier our lives will be. Look at the incomplete episodes in your life today. Which ones still cause you heartache and regrets. Is it too late to do anything about them? Would it be worth the effort? What would it cost you to try?
Two thousand years ago, the Roman Empire started its decline after having been the greatest empire that the world had yet seen. Many historians point to the decadence of the Roman Empire during its decline. “Decadence” is defined by the Oxford On-Line Dictionary as, “Moral or cultural decline as characterized by excessive indulgence in pleasure or luxury.” The Romans had their “Bread and Circuses.” The Oxford Dictionary defines “Bread and Circuses” as, “A diet of entertainment or political policies on which the masses are fed to keep them happy and docile.” For many, football and politics are the bread and circuses or our American Empire. I think the rot and decay in America today goes much deeper than that. Here is my list of some of the decadence that I see in the USA today:
I have another T-Shirt where I list the “No Exceptions” groups that somehow seem to be conveniently overlooked by many Cultural Christians. The major fallacy that many Christians seem to observe is to define their neighbors as either someone in their own church or in their own social group. When Jesus included the Samaritans who were an outcast group at the time as his neighbors, this should have made it clear that you must go beyond your tribe or friends to include other nations, other ethnicities, other religions, and other people with different beliefs as your neighbor.
Aging Capriciously 