DAVE: I have a question. Do you believe in God?

DAD: Sure. Why do you ask?

DAVE: Well, you behave as though you do. I just wondered if you really did. I don’t know if I do. 

DAD:

Theology 101: 

It is natural for humans to ask: Why are we here? How did we get here? What is the purpose of life? etc. The answers to those questions, for some people, are found in religion. My answer is just as good as anyone else’s, and their answer is just as good as mine.

Genesis 1:26-27 — “Then God said, “Let us make humankind in our image, according to our likeness; and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the wild animals of the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth.”
    "So God created humankind in his image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.” (Don’t know who us is, but us obviously got left out when it came to actual creation.)

While the Bible says that God created humans in his image, I believe the truth is that humans created God in their image. Thus, in a patriarchal society, God is male; in a matriarchal society, God is female; in a white society, God is white; in a black society, God is black; etc. Therefore, God is a perception. God is whatever the believer perceives God to be, with whatever powers one wants to attribute to God.

All of this is certainly more tolerant than most religious people are. Of course, I think most monotheistic religions are far less tolerant than polytheistic religions.

DAVE: Okay. But what does God do for you? Answers those questions that everyone has?

DAD: Provides a focal point in life and a foundation for how we should treat others.

Question: Does the statement in Genesis that humankind shall have dominion “over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth” give all the rest of us dominion over Republicans?

DAVE: I’m afraid not.