Many many years ago, when I first heard the story of the Noah and the Great Flood. I asked a simple question: “Only the animals on the ark were saved? All the rest drowned? Even the Baby Bunnies?” I was told yes, even the Baby Bunnies. I just could not accept this. What had the baby bunnies do to deserve to be drowned. (Because of my ‘weak lungs’ I was and still am hydrophobic and drowning is the worst fate of all.)
It wasn’t until I was in college (1969-1973) that I was able to formulate why the classic Christian view of God is not acceptable to me. I wish to draw your attention to the picture above. The artist Doré puts at the top of the pinnacle a Tigress trying to save one of her cubs. This illustrates my point better than anything I have ever seen. Why would a loving, wise, forgiving and all powerful god kill an innocent cub? The flood was to punish sinful sons of Cain, why kill anything else?
Later in the old testament we are shown just how good a shot god can be in Exodus where he can kill just the “First Born of Egypt” and miss everyone else, that is all the other children of Egypt. If god can do this why would he kill all the innocent animals of the world? The answer is easy, he didn’t. What we see in the story of Noah is not history, it is not what actually happened or what god did. It is what I call “Hollywood History”. When Hollywood tells us history it does not let facts or the truth get in the way of telling a great story. An our story tellers have been doing this since we started telling stories.
Don’t believe me, just look at the “ Odyssey” or the Gilgamesh saga.
So I am hopeful because I believe in a Loving, wise and forgiving god. Unfortunately I also believe he never ever breaks his own rules so no mater what we do we have to live with the consequences of those actions. So, while I am hopeful with getting thru what is to come I also expect to have to live thru some very very hard times. The American Electorate elected Donald J Trump because the believed, beyond reason, what he was selling. What was he selling? Put simply, what ever your problem he will solve it. Who ever you think has done you wrong, he will be your retribution. An the electorate bought it. Now we have to do our best to live thru what we bought. It won’t be fun, or easy, in fact it will most likely be very very hard on all of us. But will get thru it, togeather.