Where is Your God Now?

The Question

"If power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely, then wouldn't you agree that any existing god would be the most corrupt being imaginable?"The man stood up in the middle of our local pastor's sermon and spoke these words in a voice so loud I'm sure you could hear him outside. He framed the idea as a question, but his tone implied it was a matter of fact. No one had ever seen him in town before, it was a small town and he was not exactly the kind of man you would forget. He was dressed in a black suit and tie, a long coat and a wide brimmed hat which he wore even in church - something I'd always been told was very disrespectful though it was quickly clear this man had little to no respect for god or religion. A crop of blond hair hung down over the back of his neck and even from my seat 4 rows away I could see the brilliance of his blue eyes when he turned to look at those behind him."Son, may I please finish my sermon?" The pastor stepped down off the pulpit, his bible still clutched in his liver spotted fist."No you may not! I have asked a question! An important question to a man of god, and I expect and answer!" His voice was soft as silk, with a distinct drawl that I couldn't quite place. All I could tell was that he wasn't local. He walked from his place among the crowd and over to where the pastor was standing, his smooth features a juxtaposition to the aging man of god."You are applying a human flaw to the lord, corruption is a trait of mankind, not of god." The pastor seemed satisfied with his answer and crossed his arms, you could hear the congregation whisper as the stranger in black thought of a reply."Indeed! Corruption does appear to be distinctly human does it not?" He turned and gestured over us as if we were the "humans" of which he spoke. "Yet aren't we made in his image pastor?""Yes but we we're also given free will. We make our own decisions about how we...""Free Will!" The stranger interrupted the pastor and began to walk down the aisle towards the pulpit. "Yes, we do have free will. Free to act as saint and sinner alike, though I'd be reluctant to say there are more of the latter than the former. That's what we do with free will and our meager power!"He stepped onto the pulpit and looked over the crowd of confused church goers."Son, I'm going to have to ask you to step down from there." The pastor looked like he aged another 5 years since the stranger began his diatribe. His face was flustered red and he was beginning to lose patience with this interloper in his church."Oh, I will. Just as soon as you prove to me that you have more right to be up here than me." The stranger flashed a toothy grin and tipped his hat to Mrs. Margo in the first row. He blew her a quick kiss before returning his attention to the crowd. Her husband gripped her arm and stood to leave, clearly made uncomfortable by the gesture."I'm sorry, I can't sit here and listen to this anymore." Mr. Margo said to the pastor as he drug his wife along."Mr. Margo, Mrs. Margo, I'm going to have to ask you to return to your seats till we're finished here." The stranger lowered his head and pointed one long finger in their direction, his frame seem to extend just slightly as he did making his arm look stretched and body look more lanky. Mr. Margo (Tim to his friends of who I never really got to count myself) suddenly stopped in place and turned to face the stranger. Everyone sat in silence as the two simply looked at each other for what felt like forever, the stranger's sly smile still curled on his thin lips. Mr. Margo began to sweat and his body stiffened and convulsed. His eyes bugged out of his head and Mrs. Margo (Janet to her friends whom I also couldn't count myself) started asking if he was okay in worried tones. People started to rise from their seats and help him, as it had become clear something was seriously wrong."Tim?" The first voice came."He's having some kind of episode!" Another shouted rising from their seat and trying to push past others to get to him."A heart attack?""Someone help him!""Sit the fuck down!" The last voice cut through the others like freshly sharpened knife through the morning bread. It was the voice of the stranger. He had jumped down from the pulpit and was walking towards the Margo's slowly, as he walked by the pastor he snatched the bible from his hand and kissed it before tossing it over his shoulder like trash."This is you isn't it, what are you doing to him?!" Mrs. Margo screamed as the stranger got closer to them. Mr. Margo continued to convulse but remained on his feet, the veins were popping out from his neck and forehead and his hands were clenched so tightly his knuckles had turned to ghost white. Those who had previously gotten to their feet to help all seemed to shrink as the stranger passed them, he gave off an air of menace that worsened with each passing second."God's infallible and omnipotent my dear Janet." The stranger reached his hand out towards Mrs. Margo and she recoiled in disgust. "I can do nothing he doesn't allow." With one motion the stranger swung his arm around towards Mr. Margo and placed a hand over his face."Don't you touch him!" Someone screamed, I turned to look but no one had taken to their feet to support their voice. We all just watched, even the pastor. The stranger looked up towards the ceiling and closed his eyes; he did a quick little two step with his feet and raised the hand that wasn't covering Mr. Margo's face towards the sky. He imitated the over exaggerations of a faith healer in a revival tent, the scene of slack jawed onlookers making seem even more accurate."In the name of Jesus Christ the savior and the god almighty....You are HEALED!"No one knew what to expect, but we most certainly didn't expect what happened.