R&I ~ D,BM
So… my family has started watching Hamilton… a lot. (And I have a wife who likes to sing, and a five year old who likes to dance… and Disney+… so this shows no signs of abating)
And when push comes to shove
I will send a fully armed battalion to remind you of my love!
Da da da dat da dat da da da da ya da
Da da dat dat da ya da!
A highlight of Act 1, is the show-stopper British-Invasion-style “You’ll be Back” performed by Jonathan Groff, as King George III, addressing his colonial subjects. Which is a combination of fun and catchy. The King is obviously powerful, but completely out of touch about the hypocrisy of his words, logic, and threats.
And as we watched it… three times… last night… it reminded me of discussions here in the Religion channel, and the Atheist understanding of God’s character as represented by Christians.
We owe God a debt for having created us, even if he’s not being particularly helpful now. A debt we must repay in love!
You say
The price of my love’s not a price that you’re willing to pay
You cry
In your tea which you hurl in the sea when you see me go by
Why so sad?
Remember we made an arrangement when you went away
Now you’re making me mad
Remember, despite our estrangement, I’m your man
And… another familiar twist to the argument… not only is God in the past, but God is in your future! God knows better than you, and you’ll be coming back to the omniscient, omnibenevolent God! Things are better with God is on your side, you’ll see! And because humanity *belongs* to God, as his dearest creation… and God is eternal.
You’ll be back, soon you’ll see
You’ll remember you belong to me
You’ll be back, time will tell
You’ll remember that I served you well
Oceans rise, empires fall
We have seen each other through it all
As for what kind of relationship God wants with you… well… it’s a little one way.
You say our love is draining and you can’t go on
You’ll be the one complaining when I am gone
And no, don’t change the subject
‘Cause you’re my favorite subject
My sweet, submissive subject
My loyal, royal subject
Forever and ever and ever and ever and ever
And finally why, exactly should you go back to this arrangement? What’s the strongest argument atheists are offered?
When you’re gone, I’ll go mad
So don’t throw away this thing we had
‘Cause when push comes to shove
I will kill your friends and family to remind you of my love
So… Questions:
Atheists… is this a fair summary of God’s character as it’s presented to you. The slightly foppish George? Who punches a mean threat in exchange for ‘love’ (and has the disadvantage of lacking immediacy).
Christians/other religious sorts… if the Atheists do view this as the character of God they are presented with… what are they missing?
Da da da dat da dat da da da da ya da
Da da dat dat da ya da!
Da da da dat da dat da da da da ya da
Da da dat—
Everybody!Da da da dat da dat da da da da ya da
Da da dat dat da ya da!
Sir Tainley