More thoughts on #Francis the talking pope & #PZMyers

I blogged some initial thoughts about the election of Frances the Unnumbered yesterday.

Just a couple more, though, and a bit on the snarkier side.

First, whether in cardinals electing a pope, a high-church Protestant denomination calling a pastor, or similar, if it is really a "divine call," then why doesn't god make his divine will immediately clear?

Why do the cardinals have to cast multiple ballots?

Or why does the initial divinely called Protestant pastor turn down the call?

Well, you know the real answer: "God works in mysterious ways."

Followed by various declarations about how "his ways are above are ways," etc.

Yep, more of the inscrutability of god.

And, if the pope turned over some of his own priests to the Argentinian junta, then ... that, too, was god's will, right? Because god foresaw all of this.

I don't often venture into snarky Gnu Atheist territory, but I do on occasion.

And this is one of them.

This is a simple, and clear, illustration of the "problem of evil," and of what length orthodox Christians will go to in an attempt to dodge the issue.

And, Gnu Atheist kingpin P.Z. Myers is right on this issue of "crunchy theology" vs "squishy theology." And, like him, I actually prefer dealing with crunchy theology at times.

Of course, on the narrow issue of the election of a pope, I'm not being half as snarky as Taslima Nasreen.