Are There Whales?
Before going whale spotting, the observer needs to ask him or herself, are there whales to spot? It is sensible to ask the whale watch crew whether there will be whales in the area you are sailing to, but if you were to question whether whales exist, the crew would laugh you out of the boat.
From my preparation of bird watching field guides, I found the question birders ask is not something of the order of “do wedge-tailed eagle exist”, but “where can I find one?” Similarly, God observers want to know how to find God without being distracted by arguments regarding God’s existence.
Yet, some WON’Ts, who I call “new WON’Ts”, take an active stand against God observation by asserting that there is no God to observe. After my discussion with Dr Lee, I felt foolhardy enough to confront the world’s leading new WON’T. It so happened that the new WON’Ts were holding their World Conference in Sydney. Of course, they do not call themselves WON’Ts. Their leader, Bertrand Castle, was the main conference speaker and I interviewed him during a break between conference sessions. Stephen Carbody was also at the conference as guest celebrity. When I arrived in the afternoon, I briefly met Carbody. He was friendly enough, offered to give me his autograph, but there did not appear to be enough substance to his grey matter to make it worth interviewing him.
Conference afternoon sessions were “workshops”. The construction activity in the workshops was intriguing. The conference organisers had set the delegates an exercise to build “houses” that excluded all reference to God. They reasoned that from within such a house it should be possible to prove that God does not exist. Over afternoon tea, I discussed this with Prof. Bertrand (“call me Bertrand”) Castle.
I declared my concern, “As you know Bertrand, I am preparing a field guide for God observation. Yet, the conference workshops are constructing “houses” devoid of God so that God cannot be seen from inside the house.”
Prof. Castle replied playing a straight bat, “We all observe the world from within our own house, so to speak. If we construct a house that assumes God’s existence, we should not be surprised at people believing there is a God to see”.
“Are you saying everything is relative?” I asked.
“Everything is relative to something else,” explained Prof. Castle. “This is why we are constructing houses from which we can look at the world on the assumption there is no God.”
“What if it rains or the houses catch on fire? They are only made of cardboard.” I said in disbelief.
“They are metaphorical houses my dear Steinberger,” Prof. Castle said in a condescending tone. “God observation from these houses is not on the agenda. It is not possible. We must bravely face the future using our intelligence and innate kindness to make a better world.”
“We all want a better world, but would a world without God be better?” I asked.
“God observers haven’t done very well,” Prof. Castle said.
“Hitler, Mussolini, Stalin and Mao didn’t do very well,” I retorted with a list of infamous WONTs.
“You sound like a God observer, Steinberger,” complained Prof. Castle.
“I will never be a God observer if I lived in one of these metaphorical houses of yours,” I replied. I decided it was a good time to drink my tea.
“We are of the opinion that belief in God is based on fear,” continued Prof. Castle, “The unknown is terrifying and when times are tough, many people seek comfort in an imaginary friend.”
I struggled to spar with a world-leading scholar. “But Bertrand, when I talk to a friend on the phone I imagine him, but that does not mean he is not real. Building a house of cardboard to explain the world and its problems does the same.”
“No, no, no, science provides the basis of our construction, not your imaginary supports. We look to our own strengths to make the world a better place, not to imaginary supernatural help from above,” said Prof. Castle.
“What if what you call the imaginary supports are the real ones? Besides, wouldn’t it be useful to have supernatural help? Your houses could be likened to an ostrich hiding its head in the sand.” I was not taking that criticism, even from one of the world’s leading thinkers.
“God observers have long caused unhappiness in the world. They impose what they deem to be morality on the people,” said Prof. Castle getting red under the collar.
“Is happiness the purpose of life?” I questioned. I knew from the newspapers that Castle had recently left his wife for another woman. His morality was questionable, but I did not want to make him angry. He was already uncomfortable with my interview.
“It is better than the rules that God observers want to impose on people,” said Prof. Castle.
“They can be inconvenient,” I agreed searching for common ground with Bernard. “Let’s see how the workshops are going,” I said looking for a way out of an awkward conversation. We walked over to the construction area and met a group of delegates who were pleased with their work and eager for us to admire it. The “houses” looked like big brown cardboard boxes without windows.
A muffled voice came from inside a box, “They’ve wallpapered the inside of this box with extracts from the world’s great philosophers.”
“Is that you Carbody?” said Prof. Castle.
“Yes, I’ve been contemplating the meaning of life without reference to God,” said Carbody.
“Have you come up with anything,” I asked.
“Not yet, it is a bit claustrophobic in here,” replied Carbody.
Prof. Castle climbed inside a box and called out, “There is definitely no God in here Steinberger.”
“Who made the box?” I asked.
“The delegates, of course, from pre-existing stuff,” replied Prof. Castle anticipating my point. “Hey Carbody, I have evolution on my walls. Good scientific stuff to work with.”
I withdrew, leaving the self-made men, Castle and Carbody, to live in their metaphorical houses. Nor could I persuade any of the conference delegates to go with me on our quest. They were infatuated with the teaching of their leaders.
The common feature of all WON’Ts, from antique to new, is that they do not get started on the quest. If they were to influence the novice observer, it would be to abandon the quest like them. GOs need to have a fighting spirit. WON’Ts either run away from, or reject, our noble quest. Let their snide remarks bounce off your steely resolve like my students’ paper aeroplanes off the blackboard. If possible, allow your enthusiasm for the expedition infect the WON’Ts so they want to join you.
As one becomes convinced that our quest is important and is likely to succeed, the temptation to give up diminishes. Life would be a waste of time if there were no God to observe. Therefore, it is better to waste time, or more accurately, use your time profitably, to observe God. Let us continue to the next obstacle in the course.
[Note from Dorothy: Albert won’t tell you because he is practicing being humble, but he discovered a red-necked wagtail thought to be extinct. What I mean is if there is a God to be spotted, Albert will find him.]