The Book of Nature

• By Tony Harriman

Seems like the Book of Nature is designed to give us illustrations, not only of a good spirit, but also of a bad one.  There's a lot of beauty, but also a lot of ugly.  We see benevolence, but also a large amount of malevolence. 

For the longest time I have believed that Nature is an illustration of its Creator ... and ONLY of its Creator.  But I have never been able to account for all the apparent cruelty and injustice that we witness from one end of the planet to the other.  What in the world would all the horrors be telling us about nature's Creator?

I feel myself settling into another, broader picture of what stories the Book of Nature might be telling us.

Perhaps the broader view is that everything we have a sense to behold is a physical illustration of a much broader, sometimes darker, spiritual reality.  A bit like Newton's apple demonstrating the unseen reality of gravity — gravity which keeps our feet on the planet, but gravity which also breaks us to pieces if we abuse it.  In the case of visible nastiness, we see a manifestation of a nasty unseen reality -- evil.  Surely nastiness is not a manifestation of some aspect of a good Creator, right?  Clearly there is no holy intent or righteous lesson bound up in the nastiness that abounds on the planet. 

There are different views we can take of the creation we live in.  The very, very small and the very, very large present to us unerring mathematics.  There appear to be no variations on the way things work in the sub-atomic world or on the galactic plane.

It's the world we live in, the random one, in between the very big and the very small, where things are seemingly out of single control.  We have helpful people, and we have leeches.  We have creatures who exist without taking a life to sustain their own, and creatures who have to slay in order to stay alive.  And still some other creatures who often kill or maim simply because they have a nasty disposition.  We share the world with parasites that often take the life of their hosts.  The evolutionist would describe this latter behavior as an evidence that we live in a world where only the fittest survive.  

A word describing a behavior that mystifies evolutionists is that of altruism — behaving in a manner that benefits another and gaining no apparent benefit for the giver.  Where does altruism fit in a world where only the fittest survive?  Altruism reveals a spirit of benevolence, alien to the notion of a dog-eat-dog supremacy.  Altruism suggests the mathematical input of a being who cares.  Altruism does not develop in a mindless society where only the big dogs win.

Right now I am parked on the notion that when in nature we witness beauty that takes nothing from its fellows in order to be beautiful, that is clearly an illustration placed there for us to learn something about nature's Creator.  When we witness an action that is harmful to another sentient being, then that is an illustration telling us something about nature's enemy -- that old evil spirit we call the devil.

Nature appears to be a physical tapestry singing songs about the world we cannot see with our eyes.  That world must be seen with the mind and imagination.

And that's just my take on it ....

Aliens Have Rights, Too — Don’t They?

• By Tony Harriman

A thought emerged in my mind recently that at first seemed quite absurd.  As I’ve mulled the idea over for a while, it doesn’t seem quite so “out there” as it did.  See what you think:

On the battlefield there is a protocol: the enemy is fair game; if he or she intends me or my side harm, then I am at liberty to take his or her life — immediately.  No committee meeting necessary to give me the go-ahead.

Off the battlefield there is an assortment of ways to handle the taking of human life, ways that have changed from time to time throughout history.

Historically, European kings and queens took to themselves the right to judge whether or not a subject should live or die.  If necessary, trumped-up charges of treason could be applied to various wives and courtiers, resulting in the loss of a head at dawn the next day.

Convicted pirates were granted an immediate hanging wherever they were found by officials of the British Empire.

When the American Colonies were being founded, the life of the Native American had little or no value for the longest time.  Scalps were taken and traded freely.

In the American northeast a woman (usually) could be hanged, burned or drowned for being unable to disprove the charge of being a witch.  Often the taking of the woman’s life was granted by a jury as the result of a short trial.  Many times the life was freely and quickly taken at the whim of villagers, quick to quote the Bible and unwilling to “Suffer a witch to live.” Exodus 22:18.

In the southern states of the USA the life of the slave was at the mercy of his or her owner.  If the owner deemed it necessary, the slave could be awarded the original meaning of the word for letting an employee go — he or she was terminated, and perhaps died on the spot, by bullet, beating or hanging.

In the same southern states — in my lifetime — black people, young and old, men and women, were lynched (hung by a rope thrown over a tree limb) or pulled apart by wild horses for the minutest of causes with or without proof of guilt.  This so-called “justice” was swift and often without right to appeal.  If someone had a rope, it was used — right away. Law enforcement officers were often guilty of turning a blind eye to this practice.

In much of the Middle East — TODAY — a woman may be stoned or beaten to death ON THE SPOT as a result of ANY accusation from a man who testifies that she did something irreverent or blasphemous.  Homosexuals, or others accused of deviant behavior, are often seen hanging by the neck from makeshift gallows in centers of commerce.

In the civilized world, the wanton taking of life is not now so easily achieved, and the death penalty is slowly being stricken from the books of justice — at least for now.

So here’s where my thoughts took what I considered to be a strange turn:

In past decades, The Gospel According to Hollywood depicted the arrival of aliens from other planets as a thing to be feared.  The aliens were here to take over.  Bodysnatchers would inhabit our bodies if we went to sleep after their arrival, etc., etc.  The life of an alien, in the movies, could be taken without hesitation.  Allowing the alien to live would have placed the people of earth in peril.

Lately, from time to time, a movie or TV program hits the screens that portrays the visiting aliens as beneficent to the human race; all these modern other-worldly tourists want to do, says Hollywood, is help us make our planet a better world.  They want to ease our social problems and help clear up rampant sickness.

You have to wonder, is there a law on the books protecting the rights (if they would actually have any) of visiting aliens?  Or, since they aren’t even human, is the life of these visitors deemed of no more value than the subject, the witch, the slave, the woman, or the Afro-American?  I guarantee you, a peon behind someone in one of the big chairs has drafted a protocol for how to handle this anticipated eventuality.

You may not have given much thought to how the world should handle the arrival of so-called visitors from other worlds.  You may subscribe to the shrinking contingent of believers in the notion that planet earth contains the only life forms in the universe.

On the other hand, you may see the UFO phenomenon as a manifestation of evil spirits, pretending to be friends, but bent on the quiet destruction of the inhabitants of our Godly Creation — a theory I presently subscribe to.

Congratulations if you’ve read this far.  Now try this next small section:

For me, the whole notion of alien equality is really “out there.”  But judging by the craziness portrayed in the daily news, it won’t be long before we see a whole slew of new crazies coming out of the closet claiming to be from another world and demanding equal rights to life and welfare and more.  Then they’ll announce that their “brothers and sisters” are due to show up anytime soon, and that we should prepare ourselves to meet them.

Sound ridiculous?  Yes, it does … just like the reports we see right now on the evening news, reports that we never imagined we would be seeing, reports that I suppose even Hollywood is having a hard time keeping up with.  

Alien equality is just going to be the next chapter. And beyond that ... even stranger.

And that’s just my take on it ….

If I Ruled the World ....

Occasionally a line from a popular song takes on a life of its own and lingers long after the song's writers and singers are long gone  The song I'm thinking of right now appeared in the sixties and is entitled "If I Ruled the World."  The song has been sung by many big names, and has enjoyed success beyond the writers' wildest dreams.  maybe you know the song (the lyrics appear below).  The song was popular when I was a boy and, like many of the songs of our childhood, did much to shape the gray matter between my ears.

The song, of course, is purely subjective.  What if other people weren't particularly warmed by the phenomenon of spring?  What if other people weren't happy with the idea of ... being happy?  What if other people didn't like the idea of being free?

You get the idea.  My view of a perfect world might be someone else's idea of hell.

So if I were in a position where I could "make the world a better place," what would give me the right to decide what "better" actually means?  Surely some things we could quickly agree upon: feed the hungry; end the wars; be more environmentally aware.  Sure.  But beyond those, what exactly is it that makes for a better world?  I mean, some people are, believe or not, quite happy being at war.  Dumping cigarette butts and candy wrappers out of the open car windows seem to be a delight for some of the planet's citizens.

It gets deeper.  Many of us are happy to be on the receiving end of charity, but not so quick to dish it out.  Many people are happy to live off the fruit of the labors of others — "You go to work ... I'm going fishing."

The world we live in has legitimate needs, clearly.  But on a very basic level, people have needs too.  We all need food, clothing and shelter.  But we aren't just animals; we have greater needs.  We need a purpose.  We need hope.  If we allow ourselves to think about it, we see that we have vision, on all kinds of levels, from our youngest days to our last.  Many of us go into the grave when we're out of time, not when we're out of ideas and plans.  This is what makes us human and alive.  This is what makes us different from the cat or the dog lazing in the sun.  We are set on this corner of the universe as caretakers, or better said — care-GIVERS.

Here's an idea that could easily be argued against: the duty of man is to care for his or herself, his fellow man, every creature on the planet, and, dare I say it, the very world that gives him or her any existence at all.  We are all made from the same stardust, consuming the same starlight, drinking the same Hydrogen and Oxygen and breathing the same air and all that it contains.  All of us are floating in this boat adrift on a vast cosmos with no obvious or apparent compass (could develop that thought, not right now though).

Make your own list, but here's mine, partially:

• As soon as possible, educate people regarding our physiology—what makes us work and how to keep things going.

• Educate people regarding the biology, ecology and mechanics of the natural world around us.

• Teach people how to produce for their own needs and a little bit extra.

• Teach people the mechanics of the celestial world above us and of which we are a part.

• Encourage people to acknowledge the idea that a Being with vast intelligence and creative ability has been responsible for the existence of everything that drifts into the range of our senses.

• Help people realize that the random world (the one we live in — between the very big and the very small) does not always work in our favor: the weather is out of control; there are geological problems; atmospheric problems; occasionally large rocks from "out there" drift hurriedly into our world and cause devastation, the evidence of which is scattered across the surface of the earth.

Someone says, "Who's going to teach them religion?"  Hmmm, there's a tricky question.  By religion, you mean, a framework of doctrines regarding the Being mentioned above.  Honestly, I don't know how to include religious or philosophic ideas into the nuts-and-bolts world we live in.  Religion involves conviction.  Conviction is difficult, if not impossible, to teach in a classroom.  Conviction settles into the seat of our being, the seat that gets us out of bed in the morning, that trundles us off to work in the city day after day, that marches us off to war and to a battle that might not be won.  Conviction enables the martyr to sing amid the flames that will snuff out his or her mortal life.  Conviction is different from staring into the eyes of inevitability.  Conviction drags the boxer off the canvass in the eleventh round and sends him to victory in the twelfth.  Conviction pulls the tennis player off his seat to win the match in the closing games of the fifth set.  Champions "believe," but that belief cannot be taught in the classroom or during practice; belief and conviction cause their owners to see something that has not yet appeared to them.  Religion is tricky, because its pupils can be abused by its teachers.

Suppose I rule the world and someone has a different ideal than mine?  What if convictions and beliefs other than my own are suggested and espoused?  I'm in charge.  I'm the ruler.  What am I going to do with these dissidents threatening my perfect world?

Very quickly we realize that being the one in the Big Chair is a very scary notion; a role that Man is perhaps ill equipped to play.

Check out the song lyrics:

If I ruled the world
Every day would be the first day of spring
Every heart would have a new song to sing
And we'd sing of the joy every morning would bring

[Hook]
If I ruled the world
Every man would be as free as a bird
Every voice would be a voice to be heard
Take my word we would treasure each day that occurred

[Verse-2]
My world would be a beautiful place
Where we would weave such wonderful dreams
My world would wear a smile on its face
Like the man in the moon has when the moon beams

[Chorus]
If I ruled the world
Every man would say the world was his friend
There'd be happiness that no man could end
No my friend, not if I ruled the world

[Bridge]
Every head would be held up high
There'd be sunshine in everyone's sky
If the day ever dawned when I ruled the world

The World Has a Disease

By Tony Harriman

Our world has a disease, a mind disease — a deadly disease.  More security, more bag checks, more stripping before you can get on a plane, more gun control, more X-ray machines … all these are doing no more than help us BELIEVE we are dealing with the symptoms of the disease.  Rather than just handle the symptoms, what if we put more focus on wiping out the disease?  What if we did more than just make statements like, “People need God in their lives.”?

The people with the disease on the planet appear to have lots of SOME kind of god in their lives, and the fruit of that relationship is the CAUSE of the disease.  So what are we to do?  What’s the cure?  The people following this god believe that their god would like everybody with a different faith to be wiped out.  No middle ground.  No compromise.  No discussion.  You do it this way — or else. 

There’s a temptation to believe that we’re talking just about the Islamic faith.  Not so.  It might be surprising to learn that there are many cults around the world who are awaiting simply the opportunity to openly exercise their nutcase-ness and force you and me to follow their way — or die.  It might also be a surprise to learn that mainstream Christianity once embraced this elitist attitude.  Many American nations — North, Central and South — were overrun and wiped out in the name of God and some European king or other.  Old Testament history is full of the fodder which has fueled many a massacre across what is now the USA.  This same fodder is fueling the current strange Dark-Age attitude so prevalent on the planet.

It is not enough to say to a religious nutcase, “Okay, you stay here, and the rest of us will pack our bags, move out and start a new life for ourselves somewhere over yonder.”  The religious nutcase must track you down and rid the planet of the disease that he believes YOU are carrying.  He or she believes you are broken beyond repair and his or her god is offended that you should be using up the planet’s good air.

More religion is not enough.  We’ve got more than enough religion.

What we need is a change of heart and mind, a common belief — among all residents of the planet — that we all have a soul to save, that we all have a part to play and a place to live in this ridiculously-small portion of the known universe.  We need to know that there is indeed a Heavenly Benefactor Who is interested in every … single … person on the planet.  Why our Benefactor allows us all to treat each other so badly is, I must admit, still a mystery to me, and I imagine we shall have to wait for answers that currently, humanly, we are unable to process.

Just like a person with gum disease or broken teeth, we cannot fix ourselves.  We need divine intervention.  We are broken and have no no glue sufficient for the job.  Only the Being Who made our mind can fix our mind.  Unlike flesh and blood, attitudes are spiritual (like it or not), and can only be fixed by a Spirit greater than the one we possess.  A broken spirit cannot fix itself, any more than Humpty can put himself back together.

Things on our little world are rough sometimes, so rough, in fact, that we wish we could jump off.  We can’t jump off.  There’s nowhere to go.  Besides, those of us who survive need each other.  We need each other to dress our wounds, wipe our tears and lift us up — for now.

There’s a verse in the Christian New Testament that points to a time when God Himself, our Heavenly Benefactor, will wipe every last tear from our eyes.  When the planet’s reset button is hit, when the universe is finally rebooted, and God once again declares everything to be “Very good,” our Father’s own hand will take on the task of calming the last troubled mind.  This task will be delegated to no one.  Picture that: the Creator of EVERYTHING that has any kind of existence will personally wipe away ALL tears and ALL CAUSES of tears.  I don’t know about you, but I have a few tears that sit so close to the surface that I can be reduced to a helpless wreck in less than a moment, right out of the clear blue.  I’d like for those to be gone.

There’s going to be more nutcase-ness running about the planet for who knows how much longer, simply because human beings don’t have a cure for nutcase.  We’re better at mopping up the flood than we are at turning off the tap. 

On a recent trip to Cuba I was given an opportunity to relive a reality experienced by many of us who travel.  The road surfaces in Cuba are awful, full of potholes, road material worn well down to the dirt and beyond.  The Cuban driver observes that he or she must have one set of eyes on traffic conditions and one set of eyes on the condition of the road.  Both may be hazardous.  In the troubled world in which we’re living we need to keep one set of eyes on the road ahead, one set on the conditions around us, and an additional set on the condition of our own vehicle — our own mind.  Because just as easily you and I can embrace some kind of nutcase philosophy that convinces us that we are better than others, and that the behavior of “those over there” is worthy of death … cold-blooded death … strap-a-bomb-to-myself kind of death.

Be patient.  All things will be set straight.  Nature will take its course.  We have no need to try to help God open the roses ahead of time.  He’s got that covered.

And that's just my take on it ....

Speak English, Please

By Tony Harriman

More than once in my life, on both sides of the Atlantic, I’ve heard the assertion made to visitors who speak a foreign tongue: “This is England --” or “This is America -- speak English.”  I’ve thought about that long and hard, and I’ve come to the conclusion that people who believe and say such a thing really don’t know the history of the English language -- at all.  Of all languages on the planet, English is the one that has undergone the most changes.  The earliest we know of the language gives us its roots in Celtic Germanic. But the language has never parked and festered.  English speakers have wandered in and out of communicating (mostly) in Celtic, Latin, Scandinavian (Danish and Norwegian), French, German, Anglo-Saxon (Old English), Chaucer’s English (Middle English), Shakespeare’s English (Elizabethan), until we arrive at the many dialects we hear widely spoken today.  We might not think of these languages as being English, but the inhabitants of Britain probably didn't give it much thought -- this was simply the local lingo spoken in the British Isles.

English explorers frequently wandered the globe and came back from distant lands with scores of new words -- constantly.  We’ve mixed and matched the language to suit various (and varying) needs.  Some old rules from different eras are partly the reason we have so many versions of the sound made by the letters "ough."  Rough, thought, bough and though are given their pronunciation from very different ideas -- clearly.

Consider for a moment how English speakers define food: an Anglo Saxon sheep when prepared for eating becomes the French mutton; an Anglo Saxon ox becomes the French beef; the Anglo Saxon Pig becomes the French pork.  Of course, the spelling has changed a little, but not the root.

The English language took a huge leap when French was added to its use, especially in the arts (Poetry, music, dance, etc.).  Because of its broad language, England became a land of such sought-after folk as the Venerable Bede.  English monasteries and churches became healthy places of learning, and remained so until Henry the Eighth finally shut them down.

Some foreign words used in the English language need no replacement: Ricochet, Silhouette, Hamburger, Pretzel, House, Mouse, Buffet, and Assassin.  We may not know where these words came from, but we know what they mean.  Some words may not be as obviously foreign as, say, Filet Mignon, but no matter how they sound, we have no doubt as to the intended meaning.  You might be surprised to learn that Algebra -- both the math and its name -- was given to us by the Arabs.  The lowly and ubiquitous dandelion gets it name from the French description of the shape of its leaves: dent-de-lion -- lion's tooth.

Other words we have adopted include: Pizza, Paella, Diesel, Fest, Burrito, Tortilla, Pasta, Kaput; or how about Kindergarten?  Totally German, that one.

Come across the Atlantic to the United States and we have another dilemma for the “English” speaker -- more than half the States’ names are of Native American origin, to say nothing of just about every city and town name in the Southern States.  Of course, there are English names too: New York; New Jersey; New Hampshire -- all named after the original places in England, which in turn were given their names from a language that wasn’t quite English as we know it.

Someone (not British) once asked me, “How does it feel to be pure British?”  To which I responded, “You clearly don’t know the history of Britain.”  Every British person in Britain today came from somewhere else many miles from the British Isles.  Just like the rest of the world, Britain has been overrun and ruled by many foreign monarchs.  My own personal blood contains a lot of Roman and Scandinavian, and I can claim no part of my British blood as belonging to any part of Britain from more than a couple of thousand years ago.

Now, I recognize the need for border rules in our present world; without them the many nations of the planet would still be engaged in a constant struggle for autonomy.  And I understand that there has to be a standard way of communicating, especially regarding the rules of the road, sea and sky.  And for the sharing of ideas, small and great, there has to be what’s known as the Lingua-Franca, the language of common use.  But to say that you may speak in only one language would put an immediate stop to the growth of ANY language.  

To my fellow Earthlings out there I would say this: those people whose language you don’t understand ARE speaking English; you just aren’t yet familiar with it, because right now your personal (or national) vocabulary hasn’t yet included the words.  But know this, your children WILL understand more of the words, and your grandchildren will DEFINITELY be more savvy regarding the use of MOST of those words.

From a Godly perspective I have a very difficult time with the notion of national exclusion.  “God loves you.  Now go back Home!”  is an attitude I have a hard time seeing Jesus allowing to fester in His heart.

I suppose we should be careful not to fall into the trap of making “myself” of more importance than others.  The Scripture reads: “…he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen?”  1 John 4:20. 

Ah, but you say, “I love my brother, I just don’t want him here, he wants to change the way we do things.  We have our own customs, and if these foreigners come here, then they should do things our way.”

There is a Biblical concept of a thousand years in Heaven before we return to what will become a New Earth, where we’ll make our new home.  I’ve wondered if during those thousand years we won't be spending an awful lot of time UN-learning how to live, because the attitude rendered above is not one we can expect to endure throughout the ceaseless ages of eternity.  If we have any of that kind of junk on us, we’re going to have to be scoured before we can ever be rendered safe to live among the Godly inhabitants of the universe.

As a closing thought, you have to wonder what is meant by "The UNITED Nations."  United in or by what, exactly?

And that’s just my take on it ….

The Atheist ....

By Tony Harriman

Seems to me that an Atheist is not born. An Atheist is caused ... or made (created, if you don't mind putting those two words in the same sentence). People might for a long while be indifferent toward the existence of God, mainly because they have no proof, or because they simply have no reason to believe in someone they can't capture with the senses.  The idea of a Creator doesn't just simply occur to a person; the seed has to be sown by an entity outside of themselves.  

Most of us will give God the benefit of the doubt, and give Him the credit for the beautiful things on the planet and beyond. But a large number of earthlings (Atheists included) just don't understand why a Being with such incredible power as to breathe suns and galaxies into life wouldn't clothe and feed a cold and hungry child. Why would such a Being be more interested in how humans eat, drink and make merry, than in the welfare of the many intimidated innocents on the planet? The witness of the atrocities of evil and the selfishness of Man is no inspiration to any human being with an ounce of compassion.

Philosophers and religionists alike have offered scores of ideas for why the world as we know it continues the way it does. All of these ideas CANNOT be right, nor may they all be necessarily wrong. And most honest-hearted people will at least listen to an idea, hoping to find some consolation—at least for a while, anyway.

But there inevitably comes a time when grief, heartache, and sometimes even shame or pain, show up on the doorstep of each one of us. And that is the moment that truth is revealed. Will a person cling to an idea they've held on to for a while but cannot prove? Or will the person weigh anchor and drift off to another, maybe better, idea? Of course, that's very personal and totally subjective. In other words: you'll have to wait and see, and maybe not for long.

I feel that there should be different classifications of Atheists, and maybe there already are, and I'm just not aware of them. Maybe the category of Intelligent Design (ID) would be a good place for some people to moor their boat. ID people might be happy to give credit to a creator, but not to a deity who makes claims on our time and energies.  Not a God, but a Power, has been responsible for all that exists.

Recently I was blessed to have been listening to a series of lectures by a microbiologist and geneticist who is also a Christian. And I have to be honest, while listening I had all my shields up and filters in place as this man spoke of the incredible complexity in nature as viewed through the Theory of Evolution. And honestly, I'm not sure I can tell you what this speaker truly believes about the seeming millions of years of "evidence" in the rocks of earth. But this scientist's appreciation for a Being who has such creative capacity was really refreshing.

There's probably a large place for "adaptation" in the study of organisms on the planet; truly, it would probably be very difficult to study medicine without embracing the idea that germs and viruses "change," often in a very short space of time. But I am not a believer in what is known as Evolution Theory and the idea that life on this planet started as a very simple electrically-charged cell and went on to become multiple beings with the capacity to be aware of their surroundings, or that discovered and developed the capability to calculate vast distances across the cosmos. I am not a person of great faith, and the idea of such a fantastic metamorphosis is too great of a leap for me. My apologies to my friends who understand the concept far better than I do.

I have my own set of frustrations regarding the Heavenly realms and their interaction with Planet Earth, as I'm sure you do. But I once lived life without a knowledge of a beneficent Being in my consciousness, and I would find it very difficult, if not impossible, to step back into that cold, dark existence. I've had my own losses and heartaches; some really hard to stomach. But the experiences have not caused me to look down—only up. Those of you who know me a little bit will readily acknowledge that there are more questions floating about between my ears than there are answers. This life is a puzzle to me. Questions regarding why God would do things this way in the first place, and then leave Himself to sort it out are a mystery to me.

But I really don't feel like I have to have answers before I can believe. Belief doesn't work that way. Belief that has to be pasted on is not belief at all. If you believe it, you believe it—and that's that. Your belief may change over time. But a person doesn't wake up one morning and tell his or herself to believe a certain way. Beliefs become more refined, or more fuzzy, depending upon "education" — education in the sense of the things you learn about a subject.

An Atheist has learned things that have not led the mind toward Heavenly things. But there is no need for the believer to "fear" the Atheist and his or her views. Certainly God is not affected by people who don't believe in Him. If you have concerns about the Atheist, the concern might not really be about the views of the Atheist; the concern might actually be with the fragility of your own views, and what you truly believe -- or think you believe.

The Atheist is on a similar path to that of the believer in Heavenly things.  Science, and its method for proving that things exist and have a meaningful function, is unable to prove or disprove that God exists, so the Atheist must put his or her trust in a theory that is inherently shaky at best.  The belief that God doesn't exist is as surely a product of faith as is the belief that He does exist.

Bottom line: there are many things we know very little about. But we don't have long to wait before we DO know what is, and also what ain't. In the meantime, if you feel God should be doing a better job of caring for the beings of the planet, maybe you could help Him out for a while. Maybe He'll get the idea once he sees what you're about.

And that's just my take on it ....