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All rise…[congregation stands] This honorable Trademark
court is now in session. All those who have business before
this court gather nigh and be heard. I now call Docket No.
1A-4-6, regarding trademark violations of the name: "G-O-D."
Counsel for the plaintiff may approach. You may be seated.
[Sermon is structured as a final jury argument]
May it please the court. I represent the owner of the
protected and trademarked name "God", known in many other
variations as Yahweh, Allah, Jesus, et. al. This suit was
filed as a result of deliberate and unauthorized use of the
aforesaid trademarked name of G-O-D (hereinafter referred to
as "God".) In support of this complaint, we offer the
following evidence:
1. Throughout history, humanity has invoked the name of
"God" to justify every imaginable violence--rape, murder,
the pillaging of land, slavery, genocide and war.
2. Such acts have been perpetrated by Kings and Queens,
popes and generals, religious leaders and common folk
alike-acts which have resulted in destruction, suffering and
the loss of millions lives.
3. Invoking the name of God has been most popular in
the realm of war. Consider everything from the thirty years
war to the crusades to the Third Reich. Most recently we see
the world at war again…with the same unauthorized use of the
name God, as in the centuries and centuries before. The
United States and Iraq have both invoked the name of God to
justify their positions as divinely sanctioned. On the one
hand, we have Saddam Hussein, has claimed that "God" or
"Allah" is on the side of his followers, saying, "Allah is
their protector," and that "Iraq has triumphed over the
enemies of the nation…with the help of Allah…" On the other
hand, George Bush, has also claimed God's stamp of approval
on the side of the US by designating the Iraqi government
along with others the "axis of evil". He went on to clarify
his position by stating that "Freedom and fear, justice and
cruelty have always been at war. And we know that God is not
neutral between them." Probably the most blatant of all
offenders is ironically the Attorney General of the US who
recently was quoted as saying, "We are a nation called to
defend freedom-a freedom that is not the grant of any
government or document, but our own
endowment from God.".
4. This confusing crossfire has damaged my client's
reputation. It has caused wide spread confusion in God's
position on war, on basic religious tenants as evidenced by
a recent publication describing the Iraqi war as a "Jihad
for Jesus."
The damage is probably best illustrated by Maureen Dowd
of the Washington Post (April 7, 2002), who said, "Dear God,
save us from the people who believe in you."
Not one of these parties had the expressed written or
verbal authorization from my client. And there is no clear
record of any select divine blessings being bestowed. As an
aside, I might offer, especially for our American
contingent, the First amendment of the US Constitution
regarding separation of church and state.
Let us be clear here. This lawsuit does not attempt to
litigate the validity of war. Given that we have troops and
civilians dying in the field as we speak, arguments about
whether or not we should be there are moot. This suit simply
demands that God's unauthorized stamp of approval, placed on
everything from elections to war, cease and desist. In
short, we must STOP blaming God for the inhumanity of
humanity.
In support of this argument I offer two points: First,
we, as human beings, are capable of an almost unimaginable
spectrum of behavior-on one hand the ability to love
unconditionally and on the other, the ability to utterly
destroy. And we choose which power to wield. Maybe you have
seen it emerge through battle in your own life. Oh yes, life
is full of battlefields…at work, in families, in love…
Doesn't matter whether you are on the front line of a
battlefield, or the front lines of a peace march… We have
all lowered the crosshairs and pulled the trigger at some
point in our lives.
Second, as human beings we were all given free will.
How we exercise it, is up to us. True, God has given some
guidance. But frankly, I will admit to this court, that that
is the weakest link in our case. We freely admit that the
scripture's instruction regarding war are confusing at best.
We have everything from "love your neighbor" and "blessed
are the peace makers" to "an eye for an eye" and Romans
language "the servant of God shall execute wrath on the
wrong-doer." But, where does "love thy neighbor" end and "an
eye for an eye" begin? Does love thy neighbor ever end? As a
footnote, I offer Dr. Martin Luther King's thoughts
here--for he warned us that "An eye for an eye and a tooth
for a tooth simply leaves us all blind and toothless."
Others of God's creation have managed to find a healthy
balance in these teachings…or perhaps I should say others of
God's creation without an ego. Need we ask what would a
grove of 2500 year-old redwood trees say about war? They've
watched thousands of wars be raged, for every imaginable
reason, and the people and the reasons justifying each have
been long forgotten. How about in the animal kingdom? A
lion, for example, will not attack, unless you threaten its
food or its young. In light of this, it is interesting to
ponder a war that some have argued has its roots in "oil"
…but that is outside the scope of this lawsuit.
I am sorry to say, war is alive and well in the 21st
century. But, the God cannot be blamed for it. If we as
human beings choose war, then so be it. No, we may not have
signed the order for war, but let's put responsibility where
responsibility lies…if we need to blame someone, blame the
system, blame the government, blame the leaders, blame
ourselves for electing the leaders… But leave God out of it.
It is a slippery slope for if God's name is allowed to
be invoked for war, then God gets blamed for war, and the
next the you know God is then being held responsible for
famine, disease, suffering, evil…etc etc. Worst of all,
people then begin to point to tragedy and suffering and war
as some type of divine judgment.
War is not about God. War is not of God. For God
stands on both sides of the battlefield…in the midst of the
suffering, in the midst of the pain. So be clear about one
thing: when the words stop and the bombs begin,
notwithstanding any of our differences, we all weep in the
same language… And God weeps with us. "For as Jesus came
near and saw the city, he wept, saying 'If you had only
recognized on this day the things that make for peace.'" I
rest my case…
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