Classifying the Almighty

People come to the library in search of all kinds of information. For many of them, we are the last resort, last stop before the wasteland, so to speak. For some, it is more like, “Well, why not try the library? They know everything else….”

It is gratifying, of course, and completely unrealistic. I mean, we can give it a shot, sure, but God is a bit beyond our grasp.

One poor woman had heard a talk at a church and called us. Pet Lover Librarian spoke to her. “They said this is what God is like,” the woman said. “But how do you know?”

Pet Lover Librarian purchases the religion books. She has a lot of knowledge in the field, but this is not something you look up in a source and read to someone. “Well, there are a lot of things people consider when they think about God,” she said. “They sometimes start with one of the sacred books of their religion: the Bible, the Koran, the Bhagavadgita.”

“But how do you know what’s true?” the woman insisted. “How do you find out what God is like?”

PLL tried again. “People talk about experiencing God different ways,” she said. “Through prayer, or visiting holy places, or worship services. But ultimately, each person has to decide for themselves. That’s what faith is.”

“I’ll try,” the woman said. “It’s all you can do,” PLL told her.

Another young man came to the desk, doing research. “Can I get a photo of the founders of Judaism?”

Powerful Presence was helping him. “No, you can’t. They didn’t have cameras back then,” she said.

“Well, who did found it? It came from Christianity, right?”

“Really, it was the other way around. It was the Jewish priests and leaders - you know, Moses and the Ten Commandments,” she said.

“Well, can I get a photo of God, then?” the boy persisted.

For once, she was speechless. Later she told me, “I just couldn’t believe he was asking me that. I mean, this is God! God is….well, you know, God is a spirit, God is….You can’t take a picture of God!” She laughed. “I really wonder what church he goes to.”

Finally, I spoke to a woman who wondered if we had a certain book. “It was published long ago,” she said. “But it speaks to my experience with other beings.”

“I see,” I said. “Do you have the author or the title?”

“Yes. It’s called God drives a flying saucer.”

God, aliens, lost souls. There’s room for us all at the library.

Comments

[suzanne]

She must have meant the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster. Or maybe Doctor Who. No one wants Darth Vader to be God!

[michikos]

Are you for real? Every one of the questions posed by the patrons had a simple and straightforward answer: it's all hogwash. There is no evidence, no photos, nothing except what different people have made up. Librarians don't have to be apologists for religion, and they don't have to dissemble. If somebody asks, tell them the truth.

[Kestralyn]

Is it safe to assume that if you're posting, you're home? Hope the good thoughts helped you through your surgery and chemo!

(found you via the Free-Range Librarian)

[Sarah]

Ha! Since when has any one of us had the trademark (tm) on Truth? There are a lot of times serving a patron has to do with getting them a book with the information they want, not with serving our own need to tell Truth as we see it. And if that book doesn't exist, well, sometimes we improvise. ;)

I know we had an interesting one recently where a young boy was looking for "real" information on the Loch Ness monster. Apparently, Nessie is a hobby of his, and he had a lot of fun looking for books in the nonfiction section on that topic. Then, as I was completing his transaction, a coworker picked up a book I had by the computer and asked about it. Because this was a book about a young girl who had "escaped" fundamentalism through studying Darwin, I was pretty stumped how to describe this without bringing this kid's mom down on me (parents are wierd around here!). Finally, I said it was about a girl trying to figure out on her own if evolution was true. The young boy piped up instantly, saying he knew that evolution was false, and he wanted to know if the girl figured that out in the end. (bangs head repeatedly against desk) Sometimes, it's just better to keep your mouth shut.

That was better than the time someone asked me if watching a particular movie title was a sin, though. lol