"Religion has actually convinced people that there's an invisible man living in the sky watching everything you do, every minute of every day. And the invisible man has a special list of ten things he does not want you to do. And if you do any of these ten things, he has a special place, full of fire and smoke and burning and torture and anguish, where he will send you to live and suffer and burn and choke and scream and cry forever and ever until the end of time! But he loves you. He loves you, and he needs money. He always needs money. He's all-powerful, all-perfect, all-knowing, and all-wise, somehow he just can't handle money."
~George Carlin~
I shared a video the other day of a monologue done by comedian George Carlin on religion. While many Christians might find his words a tab bit offensive, I actually saw and found the humor in it. See, George Carlin came from a catholic family, yet young George chose a different path. Raised in an Irish catholic family, he briefly attended a catholic school as well. Early on, it seems like he seemed to separate himself from the religion. He described religion as an invisible man living in the sky who had ten rules he expected you to follow. If one were to break these rules, the man would send you to a place of fire, smoke and torture forever. But he loves you, he loves you and he always needs money. Sound familiar? Like I said, having been involved in the mainstream church system for quite a few years, I can see the relevant humor in Carlins words. The truth is, Christianity has reduced God to exactly the way which George Carlin describes Him. I believe that he was not poking fun at God Himself, but at the religious system which man has created. I have poked around the scriptures a bit and I couldn't come up with anything which Jesus proclaimed which resembles the monologue of George Carlin. Again, this is simply the creation of mankind. Anyone who has read the gospels knows all too well of Jesus' feelings about the Scribes and Pharisees whom he criticized. These men were the agents of the religious system of Jesus' time. In His woes to the Pharisees, Jesus lays out His criticisms of these men {Mathews Account 23:13-33}. I find it strange that many Christians would look upon Jesus' words against the Pharisees and see them as righteous while criticizing George Carlin for doing the same thing. I did not see Carlin criticize God, but the man-made system in which we encapsule Him. Let me be the first to tell you, that God has never been burdened by man-made religion. Confining God to a box has never worked out too well.
The God who makes the world and all that is in it, He, the Lord inherent of heaven and earth, is not dwelling in temples made with hands, neither is He attended by human hands, as if requiring anything, since He Himself gives to all life and breath and all.
Acts of the Apostles 23: 24-25, Concordant New Testament
One of the reasons that George Carlins resonated with me is that more and more I have noticed that many in the world share his view of the Christian faith. Can you blame them? The church has spent generations proclaiming its theology of a creation separated from the Father, the "Man in the sky." Yet nothing could be further from the truth. The idea that we have ever been separated from our Lord who created us is the lie spoken to Adam and Eve in the garden {Genesis 3:1-7}. In reality, God has always been an intimate part of who we are {Genesis 1:27}. It is He who breathed into us the breath of life {Genesis 2:7}. How is it that we could ever be separated from He who created us? Yet this is the conversation which the mainstream church has pushed for generations. The truth is, God has never been simply a "Man in the sky" who watches over us and punishes us for doing wrong. The apostle Paul speaks to the indwelling Christ within us {Paul to the Galatians 2:20}. Does that sound like Jesus is separated from us? Jesus also speaks to the truth of our union in He and the Father through His disciple John {Johns Account 14:20}. I am thoroughly convinced that if Jesus were to confront those of the mainstream church today that we might very well see His "Woes to the church leaders." For it is their teachings which have spoken a false narrative of the Father. Instead, it was George Carlin who called them out.
~Scott~
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