Frank Wilson has an intriguing piece on prayer and belief in God. Check it out. After reading it I devised a little parable for believers and non-believers to chew on.

There were two Catholic school boys in New England. One hated studying theology, not only because it was boring, but because he saw no evidence of God. The other boy was skeptical too, but he made a decision to respect theology. The cynical boy took his test and failed. After finding out his grade he cursed God. The boy with faith prayed for an A and received one.

When the two youngsters were seniors in high school, the cynical boy applied to Harvard and was rejected, but the spiritual boy prayed to get into BC and was accepted.

Twenty years later they ran into each other at a reunion, and the cynical boy asked the spiritual boy what the secret to his success was. The spiritual boy said simply that he owed all his success to God. The cynical boy thought that this was stupid. He told his old friend that there was about as much evidence for God as there was for unicorns and dragons. He followed with the assertion that it was the spiritual boy’s work habit and humble ambition that led to success.

In response to this assertion the spiritual boy said, “If you knew the answer to your question, then why did you ask me?” The cynical boy replied, “I just wanted to hear you say something other than God.” The spiritual boy stepped back for a second, looked down, and peered back up. Then he said, “If doubting God has been so fruitful for you, then why do you bother me?” The cynical boy drew a blank.

Tweet  Print This Post

Tags: creative writing, religion & philosophy // 5 Comments »