Wisdom of the Father
Aug 7th, 2017 by Kimberly
God is not your scapegoat.
– Father Brown, in Father Brown
Full disclosure, this is not Kembleford.
I love a good mystery series, and Father Brown is one of my favorites. It shies away from the physical grittiness of death, with indulgently picturesque scenery, but makes up for it by steering directly into the emotional mess that created the crime. When one character confesses to a crime, he explains away his guilt in a language he’s sure Father Brown will understand: he threw the weapon in the general direction of a person, but God made sure it landed right on the victim’s head. This results in an unusually ticked off Father Brown hissing the quote above.
It made me think. The good Father says it in God’s defense, but I know several atheists who’d be inclined to say the same. Did God put the thought in your head? Because I’m hearing that you decided to do that and then later rationalized that God approved of the decision. Rather than obedience, it sounds a lot like letting yourself off the hook.
I have no easy answers about how to determine the will of God, so if you were hoping for that, you can join me in disappointment. For now, I just figure if my actions will result in harm, God is probably giving them the thumbs down. And if that makes me a little more inclined to think about consequences before I act? Well, that just might be divine intervention all by itself.
Kimberly occasionally thinks before she acts, and before she sings and dances, too.
God gave us command over own choices through Free Will. There are no scapegoats no matter how hard we believe. We are responsible for our actions. No one else.
No need to think before singing and dancing, it’s a form of worship 🙂
Speaking as a good agnostic- I really agree with this post.
Here’s another one that drives me crazy. I’ll see people that through sheer force of will and determination make it through a difficult time: bereavement, divorce, sickness,, you name it. Once through this challenge they give all the credit to God. I’ll buy that God inspired them, comforted them, supported them, but they CHOSE every day to put one foot in front of the other. God or no God, they could have given up. I believe they should take at least partial credit for their triumph.
I really enjoyed that series too Kimberley! Discovered it on Netflix and watched the whole thing. (Did you mention it in a previous post? Thinking maybe you pointed me to it.)
Not edgy entertainment like some of my current favorites (The Americans, Orphan Black), but had some surprising (to me) elements that I liked: a very accepting attitude by this Catholic priest toward gay characters (and they show up pretty regularly, as I recall); and, as with the quote you cited, there are more references to God and spiritual beliefs than most shows are willing to incorporate. And I loved the lead actor, Mark Williams, whom Harry Potter fans will recognize as Arthur Weasley. Some of his facial expressions in this show are priceless.
Absolutely.