Chapter 2: Killing in Her Name 

While taking a meditative walk along the village lanes of Erps-Kwerps, I heard God call out my name and soon found Her hand in mine as we walked along a dirt road that appeared to follow a similar path to that of the paved road I had been walking upon. But, gone were the modern houses, replaced by considerably more trees, fields of crops and a very few mediaeval style houses. Presumably God had brought me to another time. However, I saw no people anywhere during our walk.

I would eventually grow used to Her habit of taking me to other times, other places and even – on occasion – other worlds. Whether or not this served a purpose, I do not know. God does not inhabit time and space in the same way that you and I do. She may simply not have realised that she was pulling me across spacetime whenever she called upon me. Fallibility, I expect, is a part of Her perfection. Just as we, Her children, learn from our mistakes, She must make mistakes from which she learns. How else might a god claim such omnipotence?

“I do not understand,” said God, diving right into a new conversation, “why so many of my children do such horrible things in my name.”

“You mean like terrorists?” I asked.

“Yes, terrorists. But also kings and queens. Presidents and preachers. Others. Many of my children use my name to claim unwarranted power. Then they slaughter, rape and otherwise hurt my more innocent children. These leaders steal from the poor and weak in order to empower themselves. And they do it in my name. My name! I simply do not understand. I never expected this.”

“I expect those who believe strongly in a faith believe that they are doing you a favour by harming those who do not share that faith,” I said. “But as an atheist – at least until recently – I've never understood either such people either”

“You may continue to be an atheist, Jeffrey.” God told me. “I may well not exist.”

“What?!” I exclaimed.

“But those leaders who, so hurt you my children in my name, rot in their personal hells after they die. For they come from a very evil part of our primordial beginnings,” continued God, completely ignoring my question. (She would explain “primordial beginnings” on a future walk).

“The thing that confuses most of all about my children who do such terrible things in my name,” she said, “is that I have no name. I simply am. And no matter how many of my innocent children that my evil children kill, I shall continue to have no name. Nothing will change that. Indeed, I may not even exist.”

With that, a gust of wind nearly blew my scarf off. By the time I caught it and wrapped it around my neck again, I found myself walking the lanes of a modern Erps-Kwerps alone. I had much to consider and decided to take the long road back home.