How What Santa Has That God Does Not Lead to the Same Result

If you have not seen Miracle on 34th Street please stop reading now.

Now.

I mean it.

Okay, read at your own risk.

There's only one movie by that name in my estimation. Yes, two were made, but only one has the right to be called by that name. It stars Maureen O'Hara, Edmund Gwenn, Natalie Wood, and John Payne. Released May 2, 1947. (Odd, huh?) So, now you know what about which movie I speak.

Do you remember how Santa was acquitted? Do you?

A federal agency - the post office - recognized him to be Santa. And therefore, he had to be Santa. So, because Santa had an address - kids sent him kajillions of letters after all - he was determined to be who he said he was.

Fast forward 60 years. Nebraska State Senator Ernie Chambers decides to sue for the "fearsome floods, egregious earthquakes, horrendous hurricanes, terrifying tornados, pestilential plagues..." and the like caused throughout history. Who does he decide to sue? God, of course. As the cause of all such natural disasters among other happenings in this world.

But the judge threw out the suit - with prejudice. Why you ask. Because God doesn't have an address. "Given that this court finds that there can never be service effectuated on the named defendant this action will be dismissed with prejudice," the judge wrote.

I have a suggestion that I would like to relay to Ernie for his appeal. He could argue that religious buildings of worship are houses of God, in which case Nebraska would need to 'serve' God in every house of God in Nebraska. (We'll limit it to the great state of Nebraska for this argument). But the problem with that argument is that any house could become a house of God at any time. And because God is omnipresent anyway, the court would have to serve every address in Nebraska. But the problem with this is that God is also omniscient and omnipotent, and thus the Nebraska court would have to serve God at all addresses at every moment of every day from the date of the suit.

Now, let's compromise and say that there is only a requirement to serve God at every address in Nebraska every 15 minutes. Well, for one thing, there wouldn't be a job shortage in Nebraska. And Ernie would be succeeding in bringing the suit against God at all times in all places (in Nebraska).

The question... Who would be sued?

The entire population of Nebraska. Because every one of them has failed in some way. It's not God who has failed. God is the absence of evil.

But, you may say, people don't cause natural disasters. My first response to you... yes, they do. My second response to you... agreed, humans do not cause hurricanes and earthquakes. You've got me, you may think, because God himself created a world where these natural disasters can occur. God is therefore responsible. Yes, for nature and nature alone. Nature, which includes a volatile earth and sentient beings with free will. But God does not call down flame and fire; God doesn't smite people. God doesn't do revenge.

God does judge. Judgement based on the choices a person has made of his/her own accord. Thus the reason the population of Nebraska - including Ernie - would be the ones being sued.

Rather unbelievable, that I've reached this, my one hundredth post in this blog. That Santa could be acquitted because he has an address. That God is let off easy because he doesn't have an address. That God is not to blame for the world's problems. That you and I bear responsibility in this world to more people than ourselves.

Rather unbelievable.

Well, believe it...