The Scoop: Pondering life and the universe
I usually don’t respond to opinion columns written by reporters on our staff, but there has been such outcry about a recent column by Will Stewart, I thought I would offer a few comments.
The column in question was published in Sunday’s edition. The point Will was trying to make was he doesn’t believe God has much concern for American politics. In other words, God is neither a Democrat or Republican.
What has drawn so much attention is a statement in the very first paragraph where Will says, “? the idea that the Almighty (if He actually exists at all) might be interested in human politics at all is absurd.”
As I’ve found over the past week, there are a tremendous number of people deeply upset about the part where God’s existence is questioned. Two people have canceled their subscriptions and enclosed a copy of Will’s column with their cancellation request. Several other folks have called to complain. One man came to the office in person.
Religious beliefs are indeed a touchy subject. It’s the reason children in the Middle East learn to operate a machine gun before they learn arithmetic. It’s one of the driving forces behind the Revolutionary War and our separation from England.
Speaking for myself, I think the Ten Commandments should be displayed at the front entrance of the courthouse and all other government buildings. I think there should be prayer in school. I believe in God and regularly attend church. I enjoy reading the Bible (although I probably don’t read it as much as I should).
All that said, I find it somewhat unusual there has been so much backlash from Will’s statement about the existence of God. Maybe I shouldn’t admit this, but there have been times in my life when I’ve wondered about God. And that’s not to say I don’t firmly believe in God.
Through the years, I’ve heard preachers ask from the pulpit, “Is there a God?” and then spend the rest of the sermon telling the congregation why. In college, I took a philosophy course where we argued for a solid month about the existence of God.
In middle school, we were taught about The Big Bang Theory, which is a popular scientific theory about the origin of the universe. According to The Big Bang, the universe was created sometime between 10 billion and 20 billion years ago from a cosmic explosion that hurled matter in all directions. This puts a scientific, rather than religious, spin on the creation of the universe.
We were taught about Charles Darwin and his Theory of Evolution. Darwin’s theory is that man evolved over millions of years from lower life forms such as apes. It very much contradicts the fundamental belief that there is a grand creator of the universe.
With all that in mind, I find it puzzling so many folks would be outraged that Will has questioned the existence of God. It’s as if it’s the first time that question has ever been mentioned.
I still remember the innocent childhood questions I asked my parents about God. “Mommy, how do you know there is a God? Mommy, why can’t I see Him?”
In a few more years, I’m sure I’ll be hearing some of those same questions pointed in my direction from 3-year-old Benjamin. While I’m not quite sure about the best way to answer, you can believe Benjamin will be raised in a home with Christian values by parents who believe in God.
As to whether Benjamin’s father has ever contemplated the existence of God, I’d be lying if I said I hadn’t occasionally wondered about such things. I think it’s fair to say I’m not the only person on this earth who has ever pondered the meaning of life and the creation of the universe.
James Clark is editor of the Standard. He can be reached at 473-2191 or by e-mail at [email protected].