God doesn't appear at Rally to Restore Sanity

Well, what a non-surprise. At today's Rally to Restore Sanity on the National Mall in Washington, DC, God didn't make an appearance -- despite the implorings of not-exactly a Father Guido Sarducci.

I watched the first half of the rally on C-Span, so got to see Father Sarducci's benediction. It was appealingly comedic, though not without some fairly serious philosophising at the expense of true believers.

Noting that there lots of religions in the world, each of which believes that it knows the truth about God while the rest are mistaken, Sarducci asked God to send a sign to the massive crowd: let us know which religion is right in some unmistakable fashion.

So he called out the names of various Christian denominations and other religions, then waited for a miracle to materialize in the sunny, clear October sky, or on ground level. I can't remember all the choices -- Baptist, Catholic, Judaism, Islam, Rastafarianism, Buddhism, these come to mind.

Nothing. Nada.

Cleverly (I bet most people didn't get the joke), after saying "Buddhism" and waiting a few seconds before saying "nothing," Sarducci added "But that could be the sign." After all, Buddhism is big on nothing.

Since there was no evident sign of God at the rally, just as there is no evident sign of God anywhere else, nor has there been at any time in the past, it makes sense to worship Nothing -- if someone feels a need to worship anything.

As would be expected, when Father Sarducci called out the names of the denominations and religions he'd get cheers from people in the crowd. (As might also have been expected, given the seemingly youthful tilt of the attendees, Rastafarian supporters seemed to outnumber Buddhists.)

After the first cheer, Sarducci told the crowd that these displays didn't count as signs of God, since God wouldn't show him/her/itself in that fashion.

Great point. But that's the only evidence religions have for God: human "cheering" of various varieties. "God spoke to me!" "I had a vision of God!" "These are God's commandments!"

There's never any objective, unarguable, super-persuasive sign of God's presence. Like another Sarducci request to God during his benediction:

Since you haven't responded when the names of the various denominations and religions were called out, could you annoint a person in the crowd with a halo, or an instant tattoo on their face? Then we can ask that person, "What religion are you?" That'll tell us which faith God favors.

Sarducci asked rally attendees to make friends with those around them, given that no one can see his or her own face and would need to be told if they have a miracle halo or miracle tattoo.

He waited for responses. Again, nothing. God continued to be a no-show. Which means that churchlessness is still the best unfaith for those who seek truthful sanity.

(Here's some excerpts from Sarducci's talk. Better yet, I just found a video of his entire benediction. Watch and laugh.)

Comments

[Bob]

I kinda liked ole Guido - and very funny!

[Bharat Bhushan]

Thanks for exposing so called religious leaders. It does not matter whether they are comic or a very serious stuff. They are away from logic and humanism. I am going to blog it on Meghnet. Thanks for this wonderful post.

[Divya]

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God was watching the rally and smiling at his little creations called human beings.

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[Colin]

sad how you expect God to appear out of nowhere and say "I am God. Believe in me." If he does that or if saints do miracles than that defeats the purpose of this creation. I expected smarter people on this blog.

[Katha Sheehan]

Don't you love the sterling illogic of the Believer? God doesn't need to manifest because He is God, and if God manifested He wouldn't be God?

The sad thing is that monotheist conditioning has brought Man dangerously near the abyss of extinction. Only a repudiation of the "One God Wars" can save us now!