I believe in God, but who that being is exactly, I'm not so sure, yet. We as humankind created religion, which I don't necessarily equate with God, even though people of various faiths may equate the two as fundamentally the same. We are an imperfect lot, capable of the best charity toward one another and apparently of horrific deeds on each other, too. So in this context, the religion we create is necessarily flawed and contradictory, and as George Carlin works it, subject to criticism, comedy and debate.
More specifically, I argue that religion, or religions, are our explanatory models for the supreme complexity that is God. We don't have limitless capacity for understanding, as our brains, even for the best and smartest of us, simply cannot grasp everything. We can grasp a lot, and come to understand what God is all about, but then our knowledge has frank boundaries to it. So we create religion to house that knowledge, and not just knowledge, but also our musings and queries as well as our fears and doubts.
I believe God is perfect, but why, Carlin basically asks, is there disaster, catastrophe and other bad things? Why does there seem to be flaws in God's stewardship of Earth and humankind? A comment on YouTube points out that there is Satan, too, who is the one responsible for all these bad things. But then I wonder how can there be Satan, if God is also omnipotent. I'd like to believe that such things as disease, famine and poverty, conflict and war, killing and horror are part and parcel of God's purpose for humankind, that these are a test of some sort, and that it is all His Will. Again, I'm not sure about these questions, so I need to keep reflecting on them, thinking about them, and trying to understand.
In the end, though, Carlin is a brilliant comedian and a piercing critic of such things that we may hold near and dear. The best thing about his act is how it prompts us to reflect, think, and try to understand.
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