Please don't be afraid

The salvation argument presumes there is something that needs to be saved. There are several problem with that view. First, of course, it requires that something needs to be broken. That "something" happens to be you, me, and everybody else. Using a standard monotheistic definition of God as Creator, we might ask, would God create something that was broken or susceptible to breakdown? I suggest a good answer is "no." God is not a clumsy oaf and nobody around here is broken.

The second problem with worries about salvation is the presumption of the existence of a "plan." Unless somebody is using some sort of special "secret" dictionary, "plan" means a series of staged actions over time, or a scheme, or a map or diagram, or an intention that has not been fully executed. Is time God's master? Would God wait to act? Does God need to write things down or tie a string to an anthropomorphic finger? Again, I think not. Just as bandits "don't need no stinking badges" God does not need a plan. Also, I respectfully direct your attention to the preceding paragraph, which points out that nothing is broken, so nothing needs fixing.

Third, there are often worries about whether the "plan" will "work." Will "the plan" really move someone from a state of being broken, to a state of being unbroken, over time? That's the heart of the worry. After all, some structures are lovingly built with the best of intentions but they fall down like the famous Tacoma Narrows Bridge or the World Trade Center. Here again, the fear collapses into anthropomorphic nonsense. After all, there is nothing to fix, no plan to fix it, and no new action needs to be taken.

So, if asked the question, "Have you done enough to be saved?" I would have to respond as did Marisa Tomei's character in My Cousin Vinnie:

"Answer: It's a bullshit question."

A good way to work through those kinds of "you may be going to Hell" questions is to take them apart and see the limits placed upon God. Throw out the limits you know are goofy and smile at the limits your version of reality demands of you today.

Another good way to respond to just about any version of the "is everything okay? worry, is to direct the question to a baby, who will give that straw man all the consideration it is due while she fills up a diaper and reaches for a hug.

So informed, I have a few more questions . . .