"The time has come,"
the Walrus said, "To talk of many things: Of shoes
and ships and sealing-wax, Of cabbages and kings…” This line was my introduction to the Lewis
Carroll poem “The Walrus and the Carpenter.”
That particular section was the introduction to a little educational
short that aired either before or after Saturday Morning Wrestling on Channel 5
in Memphis. Honestly, I don’t remember
the specifics on the show, but I remember that line. The poem was also the inspiration for John Lennon
when he wrote “I Am the Walrus.” I was
so young when I first saw it that I hadn’t even heard of “I Am the Walrus” when
I first heard “The time has come.” In
most of these devotionals, I’ve given some back story to the referenced song. Not this time. I’m not, by any stretch of the imagination
going to attempt to explain “I Am the Walrus”.
It’s just weird. The lyrics make
no real sense at all, and the explanations of how the song came about are as
random and disconnected as the lyrics themselves. “I Am the Walrus! Goo Goo Ga Joob!” For the record, “goo goo ga job” is, in fact,
the correct exclamation here; Not the often misquoted “coo coo ca choo.” But I digress. Furthermore, my point is not really related
to the song at all. It’s actually related
to the song “Glass Onion” with its line “Here’s another clue for you all: the
walrus was Paul.” I just wanted to
reference it so I could name this one “Goo Goo Ga Joob.”
The four words “the walrus was Paul” are
also the title of a book by Gary Patterson.
What is the subject of that book?
The book is about the long-standing, wide-spread, and over-analyzed
rumor that Paul McCartney died in the late 1960s. Clues are everywhere if you’re specifically
looking for them, and there are no shortage of books and websites that outline
them all. It’s like CSI: The
Beatles. Fans have picked apart album
covers. Fans have listened to records
listening for clues. Fans have played
those same records backward looking for more clues. Fans are putting meaning into symbolism that
isn’t even true. The chief clue based on
misinformation is that the walrus is the symbol of death in India. That’s not true at all. However, on the Magical Mystery Tour album
cover, people point to Paul the Walrus and say they have proof that Paul is
dead. Then in the song Glass Onion, John
sings about the walrus and announces that the walrus was Paul. The trouble is in the detail, though. The “I Am the Walrus” video clearly shows that
John behind the piano is the walrus.
George is a rabbit. Ringo is a
parrot. Yes, I realize this is getting
ridiculous, but stay with me, there’s a point to be made. Finally, standing in front of them all,
playing a left-handed bass guitar is Paul…dressed as a hippo. The walrus isn’t Paul. Here’s another clue for you dippos, Paul was
the hippo. John is the walrus, goo goo
ga joob. It appears that the rumors of
Paul’s death may have been greatly exaggerated – apologies to Mark Twain.
I find it fascinating…I mean, completely
mind-blowing fascinating that in all the years from then to now people still
insist that Paul McCartney is dead and was replaced by William Campbell, the
winner of a look-alike contest. That’s a
lot of time spent trying to prove a debunked and refuted hoax. That’s nearly 50 years wasted trying to prove
a rumor that’s been proven false time and again. Even the Beatles themselves have admitted to
purposely adding a little fuel to the rumors intentionally.
I know a “they’re dead” rumor that’s been
going on longer. Psalm 74:10 How long, O God,
will the adversary revile, and the enemy spurn Your name forever? There you have it right there in the book
of Psalms. Psalm 74 is attributed to
Asaph and likely written around 587 BC.
The Psalm writer is asking God just how long He’s going to allow the
enemy to insult His holy name. We’re
talking over 2,600 years ago. Oh, but wait.
Let’s tick the clock backward just a few
notches more. Isaiah
52:5 Now
therefore, what do I have here,” declares the Lord, “seeing that My people have been taken away without cause?” Again the Lord declares, “Those who rule over them howl, and My name is continually
blasphemed all day long. Did you
catch that? All day long God’s name is
blasphemed. All-day blasphemy! Those words were written somewhere around
700BC. More than a hundred years farther
back than Psalm 74. Now let’s see if we
can wind the clock backward just a little bit more without busting the springs. Most experts think Job is the oldest book of
the Bible. Not that it records the
oldest events, but that it predates Moses’ writing of the Pentateuch. Ballpark estimates are in the range of 100
years before the Exodus from Egypt. That’s
going to put Job’s events at nearly 1300BC.
We’re talking over 3,300 years ago, and what’s there in Chapter 22? In verse 12 Eliphaz is talking about the
people that think that God is just SO far away: “You say, ‘What does God know?
Can He judge through the thick darkness?” Later in verse 17 Eliphaz is talking about
wicked men and, “They said to God,
‘Depart from us!’ And ‘What can the Almighty do to them?’” So over 3,000 years ago, in the span of
five verses, we have illustrations of people who think that God is in Heaven
and too far away to see or do anything for us, followed by people who actively
tell God to go away and question God’s authority over humanity.
Paul’s been being declared dead for
nearly 50 years. God’s been being
declared dead and useless for over 3,000!
How do you argue with someone that’s thoroughly convinced that Paul
McCartney is dead? You can’t,
really. You can show them what you perceive
to be the truth, but they’ll twist it and tell you that you have your head in
the sand and blind to the truth. If you
try to convince someone that’s thoroughly convinced that God is dead that He’s
most definitely not dead, they’ll do the exact same things. Some people just don’t want to be
convinced. They feel smarter than others
who blindly accept (what they’ll call) the crutch of religion. They see no proof that God exists even when
(as the Bible says) the proof of His existence surrounds us in Creation.
It all comes down to belief. You either choose to believe, or you choose
to not. Some choose to not believe then
insult those who do believe – but that’s just going to be that way. Their reasons for not believing are as varied
as the meaning behind the lyrics to “I Am the Walrus.” It’s their choice. We choose to believe. They choose to not. Millions of kids every night firmly believe
there is a monster in their closet. Mom
and dad can come in, open the closet door, and move everything in there to
demonstrate the empty closet. In the
end, they will have done nothing to sway that little kid’s opinion that there
is a monster STILL in that closet.
Atheists can come in and make all manner of accusations and arguments,
but in the end, I still choose to believe.
Believers in God can show wonderful examples of God’s love and
compassion and ability to provide a wonderful planet in which humanity can
live. In the end, some will continue to
reject every bit of it. They simply
choose not to believe. That saddens
me.
It also saddens me that some of those
same people will use the history of Christianity against me. They point to the Crusades and slavery and
thousands of years of hate and exclusionism exhibited by those who proclaim to
believe in the Love of God the Father and His Son, Christ Jesus. When they point to that, I can’t argue with
it. Great numbers of people of misused
God’s name to justify atrocious behavior throughout history. It’s the very same attitude and behavior that
cried out “Crucify Him” as they put Jesus on trial. There’s a touch of irony there. At the other end of the spectrum, there are
those that continue to use Grace as a license to live however they want. They don’t care how many times Paul said, “By
no means!”
Listen for the Whisper that sounds like
the opening verse of the 19th Psalm.
“The heavens are telling of the
glory of God; And their expanse is
declaring the work of His hands.”
It’s the same argument used in Romans 1 to make the same points that I’m
making in this devotional. In verse 20,
Paul says, ”For since the creation of the
world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been
clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are
without excuse.” Paul is simply
stating that the best argument for God’s existence is the magnificence of
Creation itself. People will either
believe that it came from God, or they’ll believe that this is all one big
happy accident. Some will look at the
tragedies and ask why a loving God would allow it to happen. Others will ask them why they are standing
there doubting God instead of helping the ones suffering through the
tragedies. The thing is: Some of those very doubters are the first to
a disaster site to help victims. There’s
another bit of irony. They devote their
every breath denying that God exists, trying to convince as many as they can
how right that point of view is, and then by their own selfless actions in
times of trouble display the very love that God wants us to have for one
another. That makes me smile just a
little. Because, you see, God’s not dead
any more than Paul was dead. Not Paul
the apostle, but Paul the hippo. Goo Goo
Ga Joob.
~Dwayne
