Sort of Deconstructing the Sacrilegious Tendencies of the Irreligious, Ch. 2

"The Devil is in the Details."

Indeed, God is easy.   Easy to get all inspired when you hear the religious sermon.   But the devil is with you when you wake up the next morning after the religious orgiastic ecstasy is over.  When you have soiled your pants and don't immediately recognize your surroundings.   The devil is there to help you get up, try and ascertain where you are, and get you that water that your cotton mouth so desperately craves.

I was surprised that the "devil is in the details" expression didn't have a more ancient and exalted origin.  If you believe Google, the phrase did not appear in print before 1975.   I find that hard to believe.   Of course, we do live in the age of satiric irony, which goes hand in hand with the phrase, so maybe I shouldn't be that surprised.  Speaking of ironic, the predecessor to the phrase was "the Good God is in the detail" which was attributed to Gustave Flaubert.   Of course, Flaubert never indulged in any irony--one can only wonder what was good about the God of his detail.

What could be more natural than a belief in a God?  When the fetus is in utero, she is one with everything.   Easy for her to believe in monotheism at that point.   But when she comes out of the shoot, all the pesky details emerge.  Among them, that at its core, parents aside (if you are lucky), the universe doesn't give a rats ass about you.   And so, on those dark nights of the soul--or dark days--our grown up fetus has an overwhelming and guttural desire to get back to simpler times.   And have faith in an omnipresent protector.  Like I said, God is easy, the devil is in the details.

God is easy on the morality as well. Love your neighbor as yourself.  Take care of strangers. But what if the stranger who is your neighbor is Hitler?

Blessed are the meek,
for they will inherit the earth.
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
for they will be filled.
Blessed are the merciful,
for they will be shown mercy.
Blessed are the pure in heart,
for they will see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers,
for they will be called sons of God.
Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

etc etc etc.

Don't get me wrong.   It all sounds great.   But the devil is all in the implementation, or the detail.  

Take care of yourself out there:-).