God Is Not Great – but sometimes I wonder…

God is not great.  Must be an atheist.  Doesn’t believe in spirits, let alone God.

I just finished reading Christopher Hitchen’s book, titled as GodIsNotGreat.  You find me sitting in the quiet of early morning. Reflecting on all his conflicting thoughts. Contemplating an existence and end without spirits and souls.  Without God.  Though sincere, sometimes funny, but not entirely convincing.  Mr. Hitchens claims that he has been writing this book all his life.  His conclusion: there is no God, there are no spirits, and your soul is dust in the wind.

There are conflicting thoughts and quotes.  If you are in the dark, it makes sense to follow a blind man who knows the way.  But once it is light, you are foolish to follow a blind man.  He is referring to the scientific knowledge and discoveries of the present era.  However, he also infers that if you only believe in that which can be proved, you eliminate everything else.  I sat in my ghostly quiet living room, with darkened hallways, pondering a life of false beliefs, of unproven gods, of no proof that a spiritual dimension exists.

Moments later, a familiar sound startled me.  The laundry room came loudly alive with sound.  It’s 5 a.m.  My wife still in bed.  Me still in my easy chair.  Up I stood.  In I went.  The washing machine running.  But no lights indicating washing cycle. These new electronic contraptions!  Couldn’t turn it off.  Couldn’t change its cycle.  Could only unplug it.  Quiet.  I could tell you it kept running after unplugging it but that might give you the impression that this anecdote is fabricated…

When all else fails, read the instruction manual:

Top Load Washer Motor Reset (i.e. washer turns on by itself)

  1. Unplug the washer for 1 minute from the electrical outlet.
  2. Plug the washer back in and lift and lower the lid 6 times within a 12 second period.
    • You have 30 seconds to start lifting and lowering the lid.
    • The lid must be raised a minimum of 2″ ensure the magnetic connection on the lid is interrupted.
    • Make sure you close the lid completely each time.
  3. The motor has now been reset and is ready for you to start a cycle.

DIDN’T WORK!  Washer still churning. Spirit skeptic starts to wonder.

Next, I called the GE Customer Service Hotline.  Eventually, a reassuring female voice told me that “we” would fix the problem over the phone.

Voice: Ok, let’s go through the Top Load Washer Motor Reset.

Me: I already did this.  Maybe I held my mouth wrong.

To myself I think: Ok girl, here “we” go.

Voice: Step one, “We” unplug the washer for 1 minute from the electrical outlet…

To myself I think: Yeah, it will work for “us” this time.  Maybe “we” held “our” mouth wrong the first several times “we” followed the washer reset instructions.

To humor myself during this futile exercise, I opened my mouth wide and turn my head into a hideous tilt.  “We” follow the instructions, the same instructions.  “We” finish the sequence. “My” belief remains hopeless.  Miraculously, the lights come on.  Divinely, the washer then stops.  Now, I’m a believer. But I’m still agape.  The Voice says one last thing:

Voice: “We” can close your mouth now.