The Perfect Stranger Page #2

about Joseph and Mary.

Alright!

Growing up in Nazareth wasn't like

growing up in Cincinnati.

I can tell you that.

We didn't get many footlong

hot dogs at Riverfront Stadium.

Joseph was a good father.

He had a shop next to the house,

but he did things at a leisurely pace.

I think the only time

he ever sped up

was when he was

trying to finish a project

before I could get my hands on it.

I didn't realize then how many of

his pieces I used to mess up.

At eight years old I wasn't

exactly a master carpenter.

You're good.

Some bread?

So, how about Mary?

Wasn't it difficult having

such a pious mom?

She was hardly pious.

More like an outcast

when I was young.

Back then, before pregnant

before the wedding

wasn't exactly what you would call -

Kosher?

It wasn't the thing to do.

Y'know from all the

paintings I've seen

either she is

nursing the baby Jesus

or taking Him down off the cross?

Did she do anything in between?

I had a great mother.

Her faith kept her going.

When I finally started preaching,

thats when it got hard for her.

- seeing her son worshipped one day

and then demonized the next -

I think it was harder than

she ever imagined it would be.

Look, you haven't told me

anything that someone with a Bible

and half an imagination

couldn't make up.

You're going to have to come up

with something a little better

than these sappy Mom and Pop stories.

To do what?

You know, one night on CNN,

Larry King said,

that of all the historical figures

the one he'd most like to

interview is Jesus Christ.

I got to tell you, this routine

with the retread Bible stories

has been a little

less than intriguing.

There's not much I can say that

would convince you that I'm Jesus.

Well, there's one true statement.

So how about we do this...

How about you suspend your

disbelief, just for tonight,

and we'll proceed as

if I really am Jesus.

Now, if you were sitting here

with Jesus Christ,

I know you would have some

questions for him.

The other day I passed a church

and the sign said, "No one comes

to the Father except through me."

signed, Jesus.

Now did He actually say that?

Because if he did, I

think he's full of it.

The stuffed mushrooms,

and your soup, sir.

You're not going to ask me

to say the blessing, are you?

I usually like to say a

word of thanks before meals.

Do you mind?

No, not at all.

Father, thank you for always

providing for us, whom you love.

That's it?

Oh, I'm sorry. Is there

something else you'd like to say?

No, I think that covered it.

What about that 'no one comes to the

Father except through me' business?

Why do you think I'm mistaken?

Because you've got all these people

around the world that believe in

different ways of worshiping God.

And you are saying that only

Jesus way is the right way.

You're problem with that is?

A lot!

Who's to say that Jesus'

way is any better

than Muhammad's or

Budda's or the Hindus?

Do you think Hinduism is true?

I don't know.

I've got some friends back home

and it seemed to work for them.

I didn't ask you if you

thought it worked.

I asked you if you

thought it was true.

It was true for them.

Before Capernicus, most people

thought that the world was flat.

It was false but

it worked for them.

Do you know why that was?

I guess it didn't

matter much back then.

Before Columbus, nobody traveled

far enough for it to be a problem.

What would have happened is

someone tried to go to the moon?

They'd be in for a big surprise.

The point is:

What people believed worked for

them even though it was false

but at some critical juncture it

was bound to not work anymore.

So?

You're the one with the

Master's degree - you tell me.

In business law, not philosophy.

Well, you still had to think a little.

All right.

What you're saying...

is that even if a belief

system works for someone,

if it's false, it will

eventually break down.

You don't want what you're placing

your ultimate trust in to be wrong.

Do you remember that class you

took at UC on World Religions?

How did you know...

What did that class

teach you about Hinduism

and how it squares off with what

is known about the universe?

If I remember correctly...

Hinduism teaches that

the universe is simply

an extension of a

universal force, called...

Brahman.

Brahman. Yes.

The ultimate essence.

And God is the universe

and the universe is God.

Right - and that there

is no separate creator.

And how long has

the universe existed?

According to the Hindus, always.

The universe is eternal.

How does that match up with what

modern astronomers have discovered?

Not very well, I guess.

I read an article once that

said all evidence points

to the universe having

a definite starting point.

So, if Hinduism is true, how did

the universe get here?

I don't know.

I don't know either.

All right!

How about something a little closer

to Christianity... like Islam?

The Muslims claim to worship

the God of the Bible.

So who's to say that their version

is wrong and Jesus is right?

That would all depend whether or

not God actually spoke to Muhammad.

It's a lot of weight to put on one

man's teachings.

Well, you could say the

same thing about Christianity.

It all depends on whether or not

God spoke to one guy.

No...

The Bible has over forty authors,

that span fifteen hundred years

all with the same

consistent message.

But, who's to say that God

didn't speak to Muhammad?

Well, if he did, he got

a few things wrong.

Like what?

Well, for starters, Muhammad wrote

that I was never crucified,

that God's angels rescued me and

took me straight to heaven.

You mean Jesus.

That's what I said.

Maybe Muhammed was right.

No... he wasn't.

Oh, that's right, I forgot.

You were there.

But you don't have to ask me.

My crucifixion was

historically documented,

by Christians and Non-Christians.

But that's not the

only problem with Islam.

What else is there?

What's your deepest desire?

I'm not sure I

want to get into that.

Then let's talk in generalities.

What do most people's

hearts long for?

I don't know.

Big screen TV.

I suppose people's greatest

desire is to be loved.

I don't mean to be

too personal, Nikki -

but in your experience,

has another person ever completely

fulfilled that need for love?

Matt's a good husband.

That's not what I'm asking.

No...

I suppose no one has ever

really fulfilled it completely.

That's because another

person never can.

Only God can.

He created people that way.

But the Muslim's

never had that hope.

They can't have a personal

relationship with Allah.

He's just someone to worship

and serve from far away -

even in Paradise.

Now, why would God create mankind

with this deep need to be loved,

and then never meet it?

Maybe the Muslim's don't have

all the answers.

But I don't think that

anybody does.

No they don't.

They only think they do.

Well, if nobody has all

the answers, then maybe...

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