Bush et al: Proof Positive There Is No God

I think that, without too much effort, we can take certain Christian fundamentalists in the US - like George W. Bush, Mike Huckabee and Sarah Palin - and use them as proof that God doesn't exist. This will be controversial for some, but bear with me as I explain.

The first thing to note from God in the Bible, particularly in the Old Testament, is that God is quite an interventionist sort of a chap. He seems to be happiest when he is getting involved with his creation and - more often than not - getting his hands dirty. God sees a problem in the Old Testament, and he deals with it.

And the Old Testament God has no problem in dealing with problems in quite a harsh way. Make no mistake about this - the Old Testament God is a smiting God. One can imagine the Old Testament God getting out of bed in the morning and being asked by Mrs God "what are you up to today?" God's response would be simple - "I'm a-goin' a-smitin'!" This is the God who evicted Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden like an irate landlord. He's the God who made like a demolition expert on the Tower of Babel. He's the "good" Lord who treated the citizens of Swansea Sodom and Gomorrah to fire and brimstone, like some sort of puritanical terrorist. And he's the God who fucked up the whole life of Job because - and this is the bit that staggers me - Job believed in God. The Old Testament God has no issue with having a pop at those who disappoint him. He also sounds like a massive wanker as well, but that's a side issue.

The New Testament God is a little different. Some would argue that he ceases to be an interventionist, but I'd counter that by pointing out that having his son wandering around around the Middle East carrying out miracles is a little interventionist. Nonetheless, the God of the New Testament is a little more loving than his Old Testament incarnation. In fact, some of the teachings of Jesus are genuinely uplifting and revolutionary ideas that have never been properly tried in the real world. Love thy neighbour? Sounds pretty radical to me. And something people across the world and across history - including Christians - have never really tried to do. It is in the teachings of Jesus that we get the idea that "God is Love". In the Old Testament, you're left with the feeling "God is Angry. And Coming For You."

So to recap. We have a God whose son preaches love. A God who is willing to intervene in this world. And a God who is really ready and willing to have a go at those who don't do what God wants. So why the hell does this God allow the likes of George W Bush, Mike Huckabee and Sarah Palin to strut around dragging the concept of Christianity into the gutter? Those listed - and others like them - have nothing to do with messages of hope, tolerance, peace and love. They have nothing to do with faith. They prefer unthinking dogma and deep - sometimes violent - suspicion of those who don't share their faith. They take Christianity and use it as an excuse to dismiss other people and force their views on a world that God apparently gave free will to. They are an embarrassment to God and the religion based on his son's alleged teachings. And given God had no problem with intervening in the past, I do really wonder why he doesn't do something about these ersatz apostles right now. As the Editors sing, "If there really was a God here, he'd have raised a hand by now."

Of course, the above is a little tongue-in-cheek. It also requires quite a slanted reading of the Bible, and ignores the notion that God can't intervene in human matters without proving his own existence, and thus destroying the concept of faith. After all, it is very easy to have faith in something that is a proven fact. Yet what Christians could take from this is just how damaging it is to have leading lights such as Bush Junior and Palin representing their faith. Even if people were able to overcome the deeply unlikely central stories of the Christian faith, then they would still have to contend with the idea of joining a movement that was, for eight years, represented in a major way by one of the worst Presidents in the history of the USA. The problems many people have with Christianity in this day and age is not just having to buy into highly improbable stories of resurrection and miracles, but also having to buy into a faith increasingly dominated by ignorant dogmatists and those who appear to represent just about anything other than the more inspirational teachings of Jesus.