It has been a "Will and Abe" kind of day

Jeremy recently purchased Will and Abe's Guide to the Universe by Matt Groening, creator of the Simpsons. I decided to read a couple of the strips last night before bed. The next thing I knew 45 minutes had flown by, most spent doubled over in laughter. Apparently Mr. Groening has my children except with a monster fetish, as opposed to an Animusic one. Between the torn-up pop-up books and the alter-egos, he's got my kids pegged. (Except that they are his kids and the strips were written over 10 years ago.)

So, today featured my children in capes a la Abe and the sorts of questions posed by Will. Our lunch conversation went a little like this:

"I think I'd like to go to church because, you know, I believe in God."

"You do? Well, tell me about this."

"I don't know. Can you tell me about God?"

"What would you like to know?"

"Is he up in the air or a little down lower?"

"It depends on who you ask." (Brief explanation of several theories of God's location)

"Well, what does he do?"

"Some people think he created the universe and now he just keeps an eye on things. Some people think that he is up in heaven listening for people's prayers to help them out. Like, if you prayed, 'Please, God, help my poor, sick mother feel better.' "

"Or if you said, 'God, please look at my big fire and call the fire department.' "

"Yes, you could pray that."

"What else could God do?"

"Well, some people think that if you are too naughty and make God angry, he will send you to a place called 'hell' to live with the devil."

"What's hell?"

"Some people think it is very hot there with lots of fires."

"Oh! I would not want to live somewhere all fired! Why does the steeple not have a hole in it? How does God get in there?"

At this point, I had to explain that God does not need to pop down the chimney like Santa to every church service. These conversations are nothing if not thought-provoking.