Sunday on the Strip
I've long thought of religion as a form of gambling. I'm not talking about church basement bingo. Let's face it, a lot of time, energy, and money goes toward sustaining religious institutions based on nothing more certain than belief in an almighty who presides benignly over an afterlife, and what is gambling, after all, but an unshakeable faith that Lady Luck is ultimately on one's side? You can always recover from a losing streak in poker, roulette, blackjack or whatever, but as far as we know, if we put our chips on the wrong god there's no second roll. I intend no disrespect toward those who are deeply religious, any more than I disrespect a serial gambler. It's a choice. Personally I prefer an occasional lottery ticket. That, and addressing my prayers to "dear occupant."
posted by John M Crowther @ 7:34 AM
3 Comments:
There’s a number of topics posed here worthy of serious discourse: one, the common notion that God is masculine and that Lady Luck is feminine. We have no proof of either. If the roles were reversed we would be praying to She and cursing Lord Luck for ridding us of the rent money. As we near the near year I would suggest a moment flexible view of the unknown. God may not be the father, nor the mother, but the mother-in-law. If your accept the last proposition, it would account for all grief the diety has caused us.
This is such a vast subject that it is hard to know how to comment.
While I struggle greatly with my own belief, the thought of not having the love and care of God would render me bereft beyond measure. Maybe when we show love and caring toward others we present the true form of God. I firmly believe that we are all our brothers' and sisters' keeper. Sometimes strength lies in believing without concrete evidence. Does it matter if God is the father or mother in the long run? Should we love our fellow beings less if the gender of God is different than what we imagine?
God and good. All it takes is one more letter in the alphabet
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