The other day I showed God a newspaper clipping telling of the latest
massacre: "Ten Million Dead."

"What about this, God.?"

"Don't try to pin that on me, buddy. I gave you all free will , and if
that's what you want to do with it, don't blame me."

"But God, you made us a little too stupid to know what to do with free
will. You made us think (or allowed us to think) that we're separate egos
in competition and conflict with each other, then you give us free will.
Its like teaching a child that everyone is the enemy, then giving him a gun
for Christmas."

"I didn't teach you anything, I just created you and plopped you down, and
now I'm having a blast watching youall run around like chickens with your
heads cut off. Once in awhile, one of you paints a great painting, shows
kindness to another, or causes to be built amazing machines, and that's
cool. Sometimes one of you causes millions of human beings to be tortured
and killed. That's cool by me too. What's a movie without a little
violence? "

"But God, what about love?"

"What do you mean by that?"

"The perception/knowledge that we are not separate egos in conflict, but
rather we are each other, and we are You."

"Hey, now don't you go around agitating with inflammatory notions like
that. If everyone knew that, the whole charade would be over. Look: I'm
going to let you in on a little secret: I Am Infinite Manifestation.
Everything that could ever be, is, and must be, all at once. What you call
time is just a way of slicing the apple, there really is no sequence. Its
all manifesting simultaneously. You just happen to be part of the
manifestation that looks like this here universe, and it is what it is,
because somebody had to be this particular manifestation. Somebody,
somewhere gets to be a pleasure-and-happiness manifestation, and just as
surely, someone else, somewhere else, gets to be a pain-and-suffering
manifestation. You should realize that, to me, it's six of one and
half dozen of the other. Just accept your assignment and know that you are
contributing your bit towards Infinite Manifestation."

"Heartless God!"

"What are you talking about? I'm also infinite Love."

"But what about the suffering?"

"I told you, you bring that on yourselves."

"But you allow it to exist!"

"It's not that I allow it to exist, it *must* exist, as part of Infinite
Manifestation. There's another universe down the pike aways in which free
will is combined with love, but that's them, and you're you. In the
manifestation that you're a part of, free will is combined with fear and
belief in separation . In your particular universe, consciousness wants
happiness and instead creates suffering for itself. Just the luck of the
draw. Like I said, its a tough job, but somebody's got to do it."

"But why, God, why?"

"You're beginning to irritate me. What part of "Infinite Manifestation"
don't you understand?"

"I'm not interested in Infinite Manifestation", I only see human suffering."

"You're too provincial to have an intelligent conversation with. You've got
to see the big picture."

"But God, you made it so we cannot see the big picture."

"Oh yes, you can only see big pictures in that other universe I mentioned.
Sorry."

"Wait, God....I see. We need to experience suffering in order to learn."

"What is it you expect to learn?"

"That we all are, and everything is, at bottom, You."

"But that's always the case anyway. Why would you want to suffer to learn that?"

"We have forgotten, or we are just getting to the point where we can 'wake
up' enough to experience our identity with You."

"But since its just Me anyway, I can only pretend to forget, or pretend to
'wake up'. Where's the learning? Some manifestations will cognize Oneness,
and others won't, 'cause they'll be busy doing something else. You seem to
be overly enamored with ulterior motives and salvation. All manifestation
has no meaning beyond itself: there is no justification, no progression
except as viewed from time, nothing really "happens", everything just "is".

"You're getting too abstract for me."

"Hey, I'm God. If I can't get abstract, who can?"

"Well, I think I'd rather be a creativity-and-happiness manifestation"

"Fine, then that's just what you're meant to be. Go for it."

"But my life is full of suffering."

"Well, then, up to now you must have been choosing to be a
pain-and-suffering manifestation. Like I said, six of one, half dozen of
the other.... It's up to you."

"But God, its because of my relationship, and my family, and my job, and
where I live that I suffer. I don't want to suffer!"

"(sighs and rolls His eyes). Oh boy... (looks at His watch) Listen..., I
have to go get started on this new universe where everybody's gonna spend
all day having sex but secretly be thinking about sitting behind a desk.
See ya later......."