25 On one occasion a believer stood up to question the atheist. “Heathen,” he asked, “what must God do to convince you to believe?”
26 “What have I previously said?”
27 He answered, “You have said you require God to act with morals at least as good as I expect from my children. You require God to be good.”
28 “You have answered correctly,” the atheist replied. “Articulate this and I will believe.”
29 But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked the atheist, “And what is good?”
30 In reply the atheist said: “A believer was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he was attacked by Christopher Hitchens' ghost. It stripped him of his dignity, beat him with Hitchslaps and went away, leaving him half dead. 31 Allah happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. Muslims responded that 'Allah works in His own time, not in ours. Allah will be ready when Allah is ready.' 32 So too, the Christian God, when He came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. Christians explained in Hushed, Important tones 'God works in Mysterious Ways. His ways cannot be comprehended by our earthly, limited view.' 33 But an atheist, as he travelled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. 34 He went to him and bandaged his hopelessness, pouring on awe and wonder for the universe. Then he put the man on his Vespa, brought him to a reputable establishment and took care of him. 35 The next day he took out two copies of The God Delusion and gave them to the establishment owner. ‘Look after him,’ he said, ‘and when I return, I will reimburse you with copies of Skeptic magazine for any extra expense you may have .’
36 “Which of these three do you think was good to the man who fell into suffering?”
37 The expert in the law replied, “The one who had mercy on him.”
The atheist told him, “When your God is this good, then I will believe.”
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