Where
do I start? It happened so long agoi
that I don't remember all the details, but I'll give it my best shot.
And I hope that you'll forgive any minor errors I may make.
As
I recall, it all began during their regular Thursday night poker
game.ii
It was dark out.iii
The doorbell rang and the Buddha answered it. It was the pizza
delivery and the Domino's man was waiting outside for a tip. That
fact, however, was annoying to the gods and Zeus struck him with
lightning. It eliminated the tip problem, but the Prophet criticized
him roundly for engaging in party tricks.
The
pizzas were still there, however, and they were divided among the
participants. Everyone had something (except for Moses, who wouldn't
eat any of it) and their spirits were sated. They looked on the
extra cheese, and it was good. There was a big crowd. In addition
to those I've already mentioned, Jesus was there along with the rest
of the Trinity (the Father and the godfather) as were Ra, Ahura
Mazda, Jupiter, Ganesha, Confucius, Ometecuthli, and a host of other
deities and dignitaries. Too many to count.
The
game resumed after the snack. It was now light outside.iv
Everybody was a winner in the poker game. That was to be expected –
there were certainly no losers among the gods and their
representatives.
Once
again the doorbell rang. This time, though, it was Brown. “I got
a package for Monseigneur George Lemaitre, and I gotta' get a John
Hancock.” Heracles sprung up. “I'll sign for it.” And he
did. The UPS man was happy to get rid of the burden. “Oh, by the
way, it fell out of the truck about a block away and I couldn't pick
it up. “No problem. I'll get it.” But before the Titan could
get to the package, the delivery man sped away.
A
few minutes later Heracles reappeared, sweat dripping all over him.
“It's not so easy. The package is small, but I can't move it.”
So
Zeus sent for Atlas who arrived with a smirk on his face. “What
can you expect from 97 pound weaklings. I guess none of you pussies
is up to it.”
He
wasn't either. Zeus wasn't laughing any more, but he was still
convinced he had the problem in hand. “It takes brains more than
brawn. Archimedes once told me, ΠΑ
ΒΩ ΚΑΙ ΧΑΡΙΣΤΙΩΝΙ ΤΑΝ ΓΑΝ ΚΙΝΗΣΩ ΠΑΣΑΝ.v
He'll
show you how it's done. When the going
gets tough, the tough get going.”
So he sent for the man with the stick. But soon after the Eureka!
man started he reported back, “The lever isn't long enough and I've
got no good place to stand.”
They
all stood around, arguing about a plan. Some suggested forgetting
about the whole thing and getting back to the game, but there was a
lot of sentiment that they mustn't give up. They couldn't admit
that there was a task too difficult for them.
Meanwhile
a Hand from above picked up the package and its contents – a speck
that was barely visible – and blew on it. There was a large
explosion, but it was silent momentarily. Then something started
expanding at an alarming pace, and the sound along with it – a
really big bang. And in only an instant,vi
there were stars all over the place.vii
Somewhere along the line life developed on earth, and possibly
elsewhere, but it's hard to determine if this resulted from natural
forces or if the Hand directed its appearance. There was plant life,
animal life, and a few other types, but in the end it was the humans
that ruled – at least among the life on earth.
The
participants in the big bet poker game watched it all, each claiming
that he deserved the credit for the whole thing. Royal flushes
abounded.
Absurd?
Of
course. But all of it, or only a part? And what part? Both
believers and non-believers claim to know all the answers. But do
they? When did time begin? Where did the gods come from? For that
matter, where did the speck originate? Our scientists tell us that
all matter comes from preexisting matter, so if that scenario, or
even part of it, is correct there must have been something earlier.
We'll
never know. The whole thing is beyond rationality – at least the
rationality built into us. The philosophers are all angle shooters –
they may have showy flops and possibly even promising turns. But
their rivers are polluted. Don't let them bluff you. You're on your
own.
In spades.
Next
episode: “Boy Scouts Lite” – The new, improved America.
i Thirteen
or fourteen billion years ago, give or take.
ii In
retrospect, that's an anachronism. Thor hadn't yet consented to the
use of his name for something as mundane as a day name. It must
have happened at some other time. Wait. That can't be right. Time
hadn't been invented yet.
iii Of
course it was dark. There was no sun.
iv Mbombo's
slices were a little ripe, and he ate too many of them, vomiting up
the sun as a result.
v
“Give me a place to stand and with a lever I will
move the whole world.”
vi Or
several billion years – whichever came second.
vii Not
just Elvis.
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