It’s hard to imagine someone less appealing on so many levels than the current president of the Philippines, Rodrigo Duterte. He is a singularly unpleasant gargoyle-ish man who brags about murdering people himself, ridicules other world leaders, insults anyone for just about any reason, and shows no regard for the rule of law. But last week, he made a comment that finally got me cheering for him if only a little bit.
He stated that God was stupid.
Referencing the nonsensical Book of Genesis, Duterte said “This son of a bitch is…really stupid.” What Rodrigo claimed is that god was stupid based on what is recorded in the Bible. If that god knows all and sees all, how did it not know what was going to happen, especially in the Garden of Eden? It’s proof that that being is stupid. For example, why would god punish Adam and Eve for not knowing right from wrong when he created them that way? And if that supposedly supreme being did know - and yet let it happen with over 99.9999999…% of all humans who would live on this planet being condemned to Hell after death…it is stupid to a degree unimaginable. Who wants to worship a god that stupid?
Then, Duterte followed that comment a few days later with a challenge - if anyone could prove to him that god existed, he’d step down from the presidency immediately.
Talk about a win-win.
If no one can prove that god exists, just as no one can prove the Easter Bunny exists, it is solid evidence that belief in a supreme being is without merit and should be abandoned for the good of the world. But if god’s existence is proven, we get rid of Duterte. (Although even if some being did introduce itself, Rodrigo would probably claim that wasn’t good enough or he’d say he didn’t really mean he’d leave office.) But I can agree with his basic premise - prove to all of us that god...any god...exists!
So many people around the world swear that god exists; they just can’t seem to agree on which one. They can’t all be right. But as many non-believers have repeatedly pointed out, they CAN all be wrong. All we are asking is provide the evidence that a god exists. Real evidence, not words in a book that cannot be verified as anything more than the ramblings of half-educated men trying to make sense out of a world they didn’t understand. Don’t point at the trees, the mountains, or the sunset and claim “see, that’s god’s handiwork.” Setting aside the immediate problem of identifying which god created it, you can’t find god’s fingerprints, signature, or DNA samples on any of it so stop the ridiculous nodding at nature and giving it supernatural qualities it doesn’t have.
Two clowns holding hands
The baffling part of Duterte’s recent statements is that he claims to believe in a god…he just doesn’t believe in religion. So if he believes, why does he want someone else to provide proof of the existence of god? You don't need evidence if you already accept there must be a god. It seems as though Duterte is simply chasing and chewing off his own tail in a search for an imaginary being, or he wants confirmation that his delusion is valid. Duterte uses "God" just like many U.S. politicians and other Americans do: convince the gullible he’s just like them and then exploit those people. Duterte and politicians like Trump use it as a tool to attain power, not as a standard of morality, honesty, or humility.
Bizarre as it seems, such a thing as a god could quickly put an end to the debate about his existence once and for all…by providing unmistakable proof he exists. The fact that he doesn’t can only lead to one of two conclusions - that he doesn’t want to be found…or doesn’t exist. Which makes more sense?
