The God Squad: Even pious eyes can spot a scam

Q: I’m writing this with tears in my eyes.

My family and I came to Manila, in the Philippines, for a short vacation. Unfortunately, we got mugged in the park of the hotel where we stayed. All our cash, credit cards and cell phones were stolen, but luckily we still had our lives and passports.

We’ve been to the embassy and the police here, but they’re not helping at all. Our return flight leaves a few hours from now, but we’re having problems settling the hotel bill, and the manager insists we do so before we leave. I’m freaked out and I need your urgent help! Can you please send $1,850? — W., via godquadquestion@aol.com

A: Shame on you! You’re praying on the good will of people who are religious and, therefore, whom you presume to be easy marks for your criminal enterprise. You can send out thousands of these phony e-mails, and if you get just one gullible response, you’ve successfully stolen their money.

Your e-mail is obviously a scam because it doesn’t include any verifying information but absolutely includes the amount of money you want me to send you. I try to do good things, but I also try not to do stupid things, and sending you money would be a massively stupid thing to do.

You should also know the damage your scam does to legitimate charities and people in real need. You create a level of cynicism that makes the work of legitimate charities much harder. Shame on you!

I would continue this rant, but someone just stole my car. Please send me $15,000 right away so I can replace it. I’m freaked out and I need your urgent help!

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(Here’s another email that arrives in multiple forms every month. This one is legitimate, but tiresome. Dentists don’t have to defend dentistry every month so why do I?)

Q: Lately, the problems of the world seems to rest on the fact that there are too many religions. I can just hear God yelling down to us, “You have it all wrong! This is not what I wanted! Arabs (Muslims) fighting Jews, Protestants fighting Catholics worldwide, Muslims fighting Christians and everyone else who is not Muslim.”

We’ll never have peace in the world, and that’s the way it’s going to be forever. And when the Earth gets too close to the sun, we’ll become another Mars, orbiting the sun. We just don’t know what God really has in store for us. No one knows. — J., Howard Beach, NY, via godsquadquestion@aol.com.

A: Dear J.: Scientists predict that the earth will be toasted by the hydrogen-depleted exploding sun in about 5 billion years, so don’t panic. You have plenty of time to settle your affairs.

As for your opinion that there are too many religions, do you also believe that there are too many kinds of food in the world, or songs, movies, games, poems and colors? Wouldn’t just one of each be better?

The idea that sameness is good and diversity is bad is obviously not true. Diversity is the spice of life (I read that on an embroidered pillow). A song with different parts to be sung in harmony sounds better than a song with only one part for everyone to sing.

It’s right and good and spiritually helpful that the mountain up to God has different paths.

The abuse and perversion of religion is like the abuse and perversion of politics or free enterprise. These distortions don’t refute the value of the basic enterprise properly engaged.

The mysteries of whether or not death is the end of us, or whether goodness is rewarded and evil punished, are enduring human mysteries that are the foundation of all the world’s religions.

The response of the various religions to these mysteries has brought salvation, hope and meaning to those who embrace them. Just as a diamond has many facets, each reflecting light in a slightly different way, so do the religions of the world reflect the love and truth of God for those who choose to believe.

For those who don’t choose to believe, that’s fine by me. They must find hope in another way. But at least we should all be willing to continue our quest for meaning without instantly believing the worst about those who’ve made other choices than ours on their journey up the same mountain.

(Send QUESTIONS ONLY to The God Squad via email at godsquadquestion@aol.com.)