7 Words You Can't Say in Church

George Carlin passed away.   I always kinda liked Carlin, except for a few of his neurotic  tendencies.  I know that is not what you would expect a pastor to write about Carlin posthumously, or at this point you'd expect the other shoe to drop.  Well, although I am sure there are things I could write about that I disagreed with him, that's not my point right now.  I don't get a kick out of anyone's death.  I'm not happy that he died.  He had some redeeming qualities.  He knew how to make you laugh at the most obscure things.  "Why do they lock the restroom doors at the gas station?  Are they afraid someone is going to clean it?"

The things that bothered me about Carlin didn't include his skepticism.  I like skeptics.  I tend to be one.  A skeptical pastor, you ask?  Sure.  Everyone knows the biggest skeptic of the 12 disciples- Thomas.  He seems to take a lot of flack for being a big doubter.  However, you would think that Jesus would have scorned him in a huge way for being such a doubter.  Instead, Jesus tells him to stick his finger in his hand, and his hand in his side.  Go ahead, he said.  Even in Hebrews the Bible says that faith is the *substance* of things hoped for, the *evidence* of things not seen. 

I think the problem with the so called *skeptics* is that they have turned long ago into being full fledged card carrying cynics.  What's the difference?  A skeptic keeps looking.  A doubter asks questions and searches for answers.  A cynic already has his mind made up.  Yesterday at church we talked about Noah.  In Noah's day, there weren't any skeptics from what we read, they were cynics.   They stopped caring.  Noah was different.  He obeyed God.  Did he doubt at times?  I don't know, but I would have.  I'm sure he must have, but he kept asking questions, searching for answers and didn't turn into a cynic and still obeyed.

So, Carlin- skeptic or cynic?  Actually he was a self proclaimed atheist.  Hmm, not anymore.  It's a shame.  I keep hearing that Newsboys song in my head- "They Don't Serve Breakfast in Hell."