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I am an atheist, and you may be wondering, “Why would an
atheist write
a book about God?” The main reason is that so many people to whom
I am close believe in God, that it’s natural for me to think about the
subject. I asked myself, “If I tried to believe in God, what kind
of God could I possibly imagine?” That was the genesis (no pun
intended) for this book.
Manifestations of God are everywhere. In the former CBS TV show,
“Joan of Arcadia,” God pops up as everything from a black woman in the
school cafeteria to a plumber fixing the leak in Joan’s family’s
sink. Giant billboards appear on highways all across America
sporting pithy sayings attributed to God. A best-selling book
relates “Conversations with God.” Even DeBeers diamond ads are
invoking God’s creativeness. Millions of Americans are thrilled
by this new focus on God. And millions of others don’t know what
to make of it.
A lot of the people I meet aren’t quite sure where they stand with God,
or at least with all this talk of God. As an atheist, I don’t
find it useful or believable that there is any sort of planning,
thinking, organized force or deity that creates and controls the
universe or anything IN the universe. But my entire life, I have
been surrounded by and affected by people who have strong faith in that
God, and so I have spent a lot of time thinking about what such a
traditional God would really “think” if God existed.
For this book, I created two “characters.” Jeremiah is God’s
Press Secretary, and is prone, like most press secretaries, to poor
jokes, evasive answers, and a desire to keep the press happy. A
press secretary is someone who speaks on behalf of his or her boss to
electronic and print reporters. The press secretary can answer
questions when the boss is not available. Their answers are
considered official. They represent what the boss would say if he
or she were there. Members of the press ask questions, so in this
case, the “press” is you and people like you.
The other “character” is God – not a human or even a living character,
but simply a presence that must always be true to its nature. The
answers Jeremiah gives are my version of this reality that is a product
of my imagination.
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