GOOD GOD BAD GOD

SOUL MEDICINE

2005-02-07T13:28:00.000-08:00

SOUL MEDICINE

By Peter Fredson

A long time ago, in Southern Mexico, I could finally afford to hire both a cook and a maid for myself and several staff members. I had a portable wind-up phonograph with several dozen jazz and big-band records, which I would play at special events. The cook and maid were both delighted with the music and kept peeping in from the kitchen to share the music.

In those days malaria and yellow-fever still were terrible menaces and we only had some quinine medications to ward off the infections. One day the maid came to me in sorrow. Her little baby had just died. She wanted to take several days off for the wake and funeral, which I granted immediately. She asked if I would come to the wake, and I said “Yes, of course.”

Then she asked if I could bring the portable phonograph to play for her baby. I said I didn’t know if any of the music was appropriate, but she said, “Could you tell me the name of some of the songs?” I translated the names into Spanish for her. Well, “Stomping at the Savoy” was out so I mentioned several others. “When the Saints go Marching In” with Louis Armstrong met an enthusiastic reception, because Saints are always welcome. Then I mentioned “Yes, Sir, That’s My Baby.” And my maid said, “Oh, Sir, that’s wonderful because that IS my baby.”

So it was determined that both songs were remarkably suitable and appropriate, and both were played that evening, with several others whose names I have forgotten, and everybody was well satisfied, and all solemnities were observed.

Several days later I asked the maid if everything was well. She said, “Yes, my baby went to heaven with religious music.” I asked how long she would be in mourning and she answered, “Oh, Sir, it was a terrible thing to happen, but now it’s over.” Then she patted her stomach and said, “The factory is still working and I can make another baby.”

And so it was.

CALLING ON GOD: CALLING ON GOD

2005-02-07T12:27:00.000-08:00

CALLING ON GOD: CALLING ON GOD

Good God Bad God

2005-02-05T13:07:00.000-08:00

GOOD GOD, BAD GOD.

By Peter Fredson

I watched a detective story on TV and saw a variation of the Good Cop –Bad Cop routine. This involves having one detective act harshly to a suspect, threaten to do him bodily harm and put on a show of public humiliation to the suspect. The other detective acts kindly and sympathetic, says he will shield the suspect from the wrath of the bad cop, perhaps offers a drink or cigarette, and pretends to be highly sympathetic. In this way the suspect responds cooperatively and will eventually confess his culpability.

Then I turned to a show about space in which an “entity” with unusual abilities was able to prevent a space ship from escaping its domain. The abilities given this “entity” by the writers included a long list of attributes which were eventually contradictory. But imagination acknowledges few barriers to creation of entities.

This made me wonder if I could create my own entity. The starting point was to consult Roget’s Thesaurus. I would pick all attributes that seemed “nice” and all attributes that were “nasty.” I would add “omni” to some attributes to make them universal, eternal and infinite. After making two lists I noticed that both categories were interesting, were complimentary, and could present a picture of duality that encompassed everything in the universe.

In this fashion I created two separate entities, seemingly sufficient to explain all of the varieties of why good and bad things and processes occur. I liked the Ying-Yan oppositions and the fact that they are all interrelated, going round and round together. This could be a theory of why bad things happen to good people.

The Good God attributes would include: Omnipotence - unlimited and universal power. Omnipresence - the quality of being everywhere present at the same time. Omniscience - Infinite Knowledge. Omni-good, Omni-beautiful, Omni-truthful,Omni-patient, Omni-just, Omni-righteous, Omni-spiritual, Omni-intelligible, Eternal, Supreme, Infinite, Immutable. He commands people to be “good.”

The Bad God attributes would include: murderous, sadistic, pitiless, lustful, whimsical, unjust, deceitful, lying, torturous, violent, intolerant, mercurial, capricious, inconstant, and violent. He evaluates everything by his feelings, heeding no objective values or ideas. His ardent followers display intolerance, hate, jealousy, spitefulness, insecurity, and other attributes of evil and weakness. He commands people to have fun, watch nekkid people do things with their organs, to lie, cheat and steal.

I was fairly pleased with inventing two separate entities, and wondered if that was sufficient for me to be the founder of a new religion. But then some wise-ass blogger told me, “It’s been done already.”

Oh well, back to the drawing board.