Social and ethical issues

Interviewer: I would like to focus on social and ethical issues today. The world has reached a few milestones in the last year. We have passed the year-2001 mark and are now in a new millennium. The world population is now in excess of 6 billion. It seems we are barreling into the future without much foresight as to what the outcome will be. Did You ever intend this planet to be so crowded?
God: It was not My intention that some parts of it would be so crowded, but as far as the overall numbers, I did, of course, realize that this would happen.
Interviewer: So You are not concerned with overpopulation, that we would become so numerous that earth’s resources would not be able to stretch to accommodate the demand?
God: I am concerned with the unfair distribution of the earth’s resources-that some hoard and consume well above what they should, and others are dying of hunger and thirst because of it.
Interviewer: But why design the world so that some areas have abundance and others suffer scarcity?
God: The world was not designed that way. Man has run the world for millennia, and the inequality of distribution is a result of what he has done, not Me.
Interviewer: The greatest need of all is water. In some areas it is abundant; in others it is almost absent altogether. It seems that at least for that, You have to take responsibility.
God: There are lots of reasons for the lack of water in some areas, and nearly all of them are the result of man’s poor stewardship. Even today man is destroying the rain forest and sowing the seeds for more disasters. The world’s ecology has been pretty hardy up till this time, but man’s continued, unabated assault on it is the reason for disaster.
Interviewer: Sounds like God is “green.”
God: In a way I suppose I am. But there is a limit. The most precious assets in the world are human lives. They must come first. Man should make the most of My creation, the world I made, in order to sustain humanity. The greedy exploitation that is so prevalent is indeed wrong, but to put the survival of animals and woodlands before that of mankind is also wrong. The truth lies in the middle. If earth’s resources are reasonably utilized to the equitable benefit of all, so that both mankind and the environment are sustained, then that is right.
Interviewer: My goodness! You are not only green, but You sound like a socialist with all this equal benefit talk.
God: From each according to his ability, to each according to his need, is My own slogan.
Interviewer: Whoa! You’re quoting Marx!
God: Marx was stealing ideas from Me-from the Bible.
Interviewer: The Bible promotes socialism?
God: The Bible promotes love of Me and mankind. The ideal istic society set up by Jesus’ disciples-after His ascension-was a society where His followers contributed their goods to common use, and then those who had needs had these supplied by those who had excess.
Interviewer: Obviously this way of life didn’t last long .
God: Many religious communities still practice this lifestyle today and it works as well for them as it did for those early disciples.
Interviewer: However, communism is a failed system.
God: I am not talking about the godless communist political system. That was doomed to failure because it left Me out of the picture. It was based on enforced sharing where the powerful, pretending to be the protectors of the common man, enriched and empowered themselves at the common man’s expense. No, I hold no truck with communism. What I am talking about is a society based on love and consideration of others. If everyone were concerned about making sure the needs of others were met, then in turn his or her needs would also be met.
Interviewer: Sounds like a utopian pipe dream. People just don’t live and function like that. Maybe there are some saints that could, but for most of us, any sort of consideration for others doesn’t go much further than our own immediate families-and sometimes not even that far, sad to say.
God: It is only possible to have this kind of love if you have My love as the motivator.
Interviewer: But there are millions of people who claim to have Your love motivating them, and it doesn’t seem to make much difference in their lifestyles. True, they may act a little more religious, but it seems their religion doesn’t reach down to their wallets.
God: If your religion doesn’t reach down into your heart and cause you to be compassionately motivated to help others, then it is not much of a religion.
Interviewer: Communism’s currently victorious competitor is capitalism. What are Your thoughts on capitalism?
God: Capitalism certainly seems more attractive than communism because most see it as an opportunity to get rich. It holds that “carrot” in front of people’s noses, and so they labor their whole lives within a system that exploits the many for the benefit of a few. Because there is the possibility that one day they might strike gold, people continue on this treadmill. No, the political-economic systems of the world are not ordained by Me.
Interviewer: What system is ordained by You?
God: The Garden of Eden was the ideal. With few exceptions, everything from then on was a poor substitute.
Interviewer: So Your original plan was for us humans to be in an idyllic world where all was love and beauty. Wouldn’t we all grow rather lazy in that type of environment?
God: I can hear most of your readers saying, “Speak for yourself.” It was idyllic, but Adam and Eve were far from lazy.
Interviewer: You are saying that they were busy doing something?
God: Goodness gracious, yes! They had the whole of the Garden to tend to.
Interviewer: Oh? I thought they would have just lain around in that paradise, sipping the Eden equivalent of piña coladas and soaking up the sunshine.
God: No, no! They were busy looking after the whole place and raising a family. Anyone who has raised kids knows that’s quite a task.
Interviewer: What? Cain, Abel, et al., were born in the Garden of Eden?
God: Cain and Abel, yes, but not all the “et al.”
Interviewer: Funny! One sort of has the impression that the kids came afterwards, when Adam was out there toiling and sweating away in the field to produce his food. Like having kids was part of the Curse for eating the forbidden fruit.
God: The Curse? You think having kids is a curse?
Interviewer: Well, no, but…
God: Oh, you think that sex was part of the Curse?
Interviewer: Well, that is the impression one has-that sex and sinlessness are not really that compatible.
God: Oh dear, you are mixed up. No, sex was around from the beginning. Adam and Eve had plenty of it and had children long before they had to leave the Garden of Eden.
Interviewer: So sex is okay with You?
God: Do you think that an act of love which can result in the birth of a whole new being would not be okay with Me?
Interviewer: Some might have that impression.
God: Well, let’s lay that impression to rest right now. Sex is the ultimate in expressing physically the love that a man and a woman have for each other. I made it fun, pleasurable, and just about downright irresistible. I love for people to express their love for each other by making love. Why else would it be called “making love”? No, there is nothing unhealthy or wrong about it, and neither is it the result of sin or the Curse.
Interviewer: Nevertheless, it is exclusively for marriage.
God: Who said exclusively for marriage?
Interviewer: I assumed that is what You want.
God: It does not have to be exclusively for marriage. If two people are of age and want to have sex, it has to be decided along the lines of whether it is good for them and does not harm others.
Interviewer: Those are the only rules?
God: There are a lot of things to consider before having sex, so it is not something to rush into without much forethought. But this is a huge subject that we could perhaps cover more in a later interview.