1.6 ...and ye shall find.

Topic #1 has become a problem for me lately. I tend to stall out when I get to it—in this case for almost two months. It's not for lack of material or lack of interest. It's because the things I want to write about tend to induce others to label me a "seeker," and frankly that is tremendously annoying.

When it comes to God, the "who," "what," "where," and "when" are the easy parts. Even the "how" isn't really a stretch when your God is as big as mine. This leaves "why" as the only truly interesting question. The first four questions are answered in Sunday School, when we learn all the Bible stories. "How" seems to be a study of the attributes of God. "Why" is huge—and largely unanswered.

Sure there are some decent answers to some of the "why" questions, but most of those lead to more "why" questions. The stock answers to the big "why" questions are lame, and usually come with the added "God's ways are above our ways..." line. I don't like that one bit.

Being the nerd that I am, everything always ends up in some kind of bad car analogy, so here goes...

Some drivers know enough about their car to get from point A to point B and generally keep their car running pretty well. Generally speaking, if it ain't broke, they don't fix it, but if things start to go poorly with their car they go to someone who knows more about their car than they do, and they get it fixed. If these drivers ask why the car was not working and how it was fixed, the answer they get doesn't necessarily make much sense to them, but they nod and pay and go back to their motoring ways. These people also seem to have a certain disdain for backyard mechanics.

I think many people look at their religion the same way, and they expect the same behavior out of me. They get offended if I ask tough questions, and they question my faith if I want to know "why." Does it really indicate a lack of faith in my car if I look under the hood? How is it offensive if I want to understand why my car works as it does, when that understanding can make me a better driver? Should I really apply the "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" mantra to my religion? Billions of people do, and they certainly don't agree with each other. Most of them are wrong—they have to be. They only think their religion ain't broke.

As we are created in God's image—and armed with the knowledge of good and evil—answers must be within reach.

The search for "why" is the greatest undertaking of mankind and is the source of most of the adventure in life. If I must take on the label of "seeker" to explore the question, then I will wear it proudly.

May I never cease seeking out answers wherever they may be found.