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God as serial killer
If we had only behaved differently God would not have unleashed that volcano, earthquake, flood, tsunami, hurricane, plague, etc., on us, so they say


A.S. Mostafanejad
September 7, 2005
iranian.com

After having listened to various religious leaders and spokesmen for God in times of calamity, I have come to the conclusion that God is a serial killer.

Following the 9/11 tragedy the Reverend (i.e. deserving to be shown respect) Jerry Falwell stated clearly that this was God’s retribution for New York having been pro gay. After Hurricane Katrina a “Christian” web site, juxtaposing a photo of the hurricane with one of a fetus, claimed that this was God’s revenge on abortionists.

It seems that while the common man may be dazed and befuddled in dealing with catastrophes and their after effects, there is no doubt in the minds of some religious leaders that God has struck yet again and should be feared. Throughout history God’s serial killings have been attributed to payment for one sin or another or support of one faction and hate of the other.

In the minds of medieval men a tragedy had to have a cause, much as the cause of seeding and irrigating was the eventual harvest, a calamity was the harvest of some bad seeding and tending. God or Gods were angry at us for some sin we had knowingly or unknowingly committed. Perhaps we engaged in sex for enjoyment and not procreation, or ate the wrong diet, or didn’t contribute enough, etc.

If we had only behaved differently God would not have unleashed that volcano, earthquake, flood, tsunami, hurricane, plague, etc., on us. What we had to do to convince God not to kill us and our offspring in the future was to figure out what sin had caused his ire, avoid committing that sin again and make amends to keep him happy. These beliefs were eventually codified and became the “gospel truth”.

God usually kills alone as in Ancient Egypt, Pompeii, Krakatoa , San Francisco, or New Orleans but some times he is too busy killing or preoccupied with other matters and needs agents or accomplices to act on his behalf. Here a Fatwa from a Khomeini to the faithful that “God wants Rushdie dead, so get busy”, or an edict from a Robertson for the offing of President Chavez, is needed.

These agents are simply saving God all that work and worry needed in judging these miscreants. Sometimes it is not enough to pray for the demise of the enemies of God. This is where a suicide mission in London, Baghdad or Bali, or a well placed bomb in Atlanta, Madrid or at an abortion clinic will drive God’s point home and bring his agent rewards in heaven.

At other times God can’t make up his mind as to who is right and who is wrong, as in the Iran-Iraq war, W.W.I or W.W.II. Both sides beseeched Him to bring them victory. Both sides had martyrs and both sides knew they were the “true believers”. In this case why not kill them all and sort it out later at an eventual “Judgment Day” or “Ghiamat”.

So, what is a believer of any Faith to do? Who can you turn to for the latest prayer, verse, invocation and flagellation, circumambulation, burning of the Rue, etc., that will do the trick and keep God happy? I am sorry to say that there seems to be no clear answer to this dilemma in the current scenario.

Since we are taught that we are created in the image of God, perhaps the next time one of your offspring misbehaves, try His example. Why limit yourself to counseling or physical or psychological torture of the scoundrel? Try a more final solution, a killing. In this way you will not only “save” the infidel of further error and damnation but you will also set a clear example to the rest of the children, those potential malefactors as to the limits of  Godly tolerance and ungodly behavior.

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