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Darth Harley and L’il Yoda

Harley and Li’l Yoda talked that recess, and many others after, and became good friends.  They talked about video games, God, TV, sports, and music, to name a few.  Harley would always go home and tell his parents about his conversations with Li’l Yoda, and his parents were delighted he made a friend.  Harley couldn’t always remember the details of his discussion, his memory being no where near as good as Li’l Yoda’s, but he thought he remembered the important parts and while Harley didn’t have many ideas of his own to say about God, or even if there was a God or gods, he thought he came up with some good questions.  For instance, he and L’il Yoda discussed:

(Baby Yoda/Grogu image Wiki fair use: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grogu)

1 (Li’l Yoda) Science isn’t exactly sure how everything began, so God must have created everything

(Darth Harley) A long time ago they didn’t know why the sun moved across the sky, so they guessed a god was making it move.  Is it a “good guess” to say we’re not exactly sure how everything began, so an invisible, magical leprechaun must be responsible?

2 (LY) When I die, my soul will live on forever

(DH) Why do you think we have a soul?  When a part of the brain gets destroyed, that part of the mind stops working.  What would be left over that would be a soul?

3 (LY) God is our loving father and wants us to always think about Him, worship Him, and stay close to Him.

(DH) A father may want those things when you’re young, but doesn’t a loving Father want you to grow up and discover your own place in the world, not having to think about Him and depend on Him for everything?

4 (LY)  God Can Do Anything.

(DH)  Why can’t He show up now and say “Hi” to us?

5 (LY) No one can see or hear him when God talks to me, but he always does, and even helps me to think what to say, like right now.

(DH) My imaginary friends talk to me and we have great times, but they’re not real. 

6 (LY) God is Love.

(DH) Then why is there so much animal and human suffering?  That’s not love.

7 (LY) There’s no suffering in heaven

(DH) Then why don’t we just start off there?  That still makes things more confusing.  If God made heaven without suffering, then he could have made this life without it.  Again, that’s not love.

8 (LY) God always answers prayer, just that sometimes the answer is no

(DH)  We know heat makes water boil because it always works.   Prayer and good results go together sometimes, but it seems to be an accident, not that prayer works.

9 (LY) The doctors were sure my mom wasn’t going to get healthy again, but she suddenly did.  It must have been God!

(DH)  Isn’t that like saying it’s almost impossible to win the jackpot when you buy a lottery ticket, but someone won last night, so it must have been God?

10 (LY) Some religious people (not me) say God hates LGBTQ people. 

(DH) Who you love isn’t a choice.  Is heterosexuality a choice? If God hates someone for something extremely important to the person that they didn’t choose and can’t change, then God is Evil

11 (LY) We’re not that different.  We both question the belief of most Gods.  I don’t believe in Zeus.  You just disbelieve in one more God than I do.

(DH) What happens when you question and look at your God the same way you question and look at Zeus?

12 (LY) God helped me to win my hockey championship!

(DH) Does that mean God made the other team lose?

13 (LY) Don’t you want to live in heaven forever?

(DH) It would probably be like living in Disneyland forever, great for a while, but eventually you would get tired of it.

(2) THE LEGEND OF DARTH HARLEY Episode 1: Young Darth Harley, Bark Lord of the Sith, and the “DOG-MATIC” Jedi Li’l Yoda

 “If one is to understand the great mystery, one must study all its aspects, not just the dog-matic narrow view of the Jedi.” (Darth Sidious: Star Wars Episode 3, Revenge of the Sith)

*** image Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=1884697

(i)  

Harley had a different childhood from most kids.  His parents worked far away from other people in a deep, dark forest, and so Harley never even met other kids until his parents moved and he started school in grade 5.  His mother and father said to him that his teachers will give him a neverending supply of information about every subject imaginable, and some teachers will think the best students are the ones that can remember the most information the quickest.  But, Harley’s parents said, what they wanted him to practice the most was sniffing out “dog-ma”, to see when people are saying things without good reasons supporting what they say.  To help Harley understand this, his parents shared with him a book about the adventures of invisible leprechauns.  Harley’s mother and father asked: “Do you see the difference between learning a lot of information about the leprechauns and their adventures, and asking for evidence that such leprechauns actually exist?”  Harley’s parents said if you keep this idea close to your heart, the difference between little questions and big questions, you will begin to see the difference between “Intelligent” people who have and play with tons of information, and “Wise” people who know how to ask questions.

• (ii) 

It was very difficult for Harley when he first started school, because even though he spoke the same language as the other kids, in a way he didn’t.  When they talked about the video games they liked, or the tv shows and movies they watched, Harley didn’t know any of them and so mostly just listened with some confusion and tried to understand what the kids were talking about.  Happily, the more Harley listened, the more he understood, and as he started watching the shows the other kids watched and playing the games they played, he felt he was becoming more like them. Harley got sad some times because he couldn’t remember details as well as the other kids, but his mother always reminded him that he should always try to figure out what the few important ideas are in the galaxy of details, and keep those close to his heart. 

(iii)

One day something happened that made Harley feel really different from the other kids.  The teacher wanted to have a discussion about something called “pluralism” where each student was supposed to talk for a minute about the religion they celebrated.  Harley sort of understood what religion and God was from listening to the other kids, but his parents had never really bothered to mention God, so he was eager to learn and question the other kids about God.  Harley said this to his teacher, and his teacher paired him up with a very smart student at recess, Li’l Yoda, who would be his friend and talk with him about God.  His teacher quietly whispered to Harley that he didn’t have to agree with Li’l Yoda, just listen and try to understand – always asking questions if Li’l Yoda wasn’t being clear.