God Can Be A Narcissistic Sadist

My intentional community, Evermore, has been going through a lot of changes over the past weeks. It’s been an exhausting roller coaster of emotions and has left me with little space or energy for anything else. I’ll write about these changes next, both the painful and ecstatic.

There was that time when we all stuck messages on a housemate’s crock pot written on empty toilet paper rolls…

One thing that has always been true of Evermore, however, is that we laugh a lot. Like, every day. Both our dining room table (which is painted in chalk board paint) and our refrigerator are sometimes covered in hilarious rants and conversations. We have a collection of silly “quotes of the day”, spoken by tired and silly housemates, or deliciously taken out of context. Late last night, what started as a rather serious conversation, once again deteriorated into silliness.

Here’s a glimpse of what happens when religion nerds live together for too long, hang out too much, stay up too late, and discuss topics entirely too serious.

Annika [very solemnly]: so basically what we’re talking about is the theodicy problem. You know, if there is a god who is all powerful and he all good and really loves us but lets us – or makes us – suffer, what does that say about him? I mean, if this god keeps us suffering for a long time for no reason…

Autumn: Then he’s a sadist?

Annika: Well, I guess. I mean he could still come through at the last minute –

Autumn: So he’s a sadist.

Annika: Yeah, that’s what I started thinking at one point in my spiritual journey. “if god exists, he must really hate me”. Except that it wasn’t supposed to be all about me, you know. Cause there’s also that thing about it all working out for the glory of god.

Autumn: ?

Annika: Like, if he keeps us suffering for a long time but then comes through at the very last minute, it gives him more glory.

Autumn: [censored]

Annika [much less solemnly]: Yeah. I guess that really would make him a [censored] narcissistic sadist.

[silence]

Autumn: Uh, how is that even a thing? I mean, how can you be a narcissistic sadist?

Annika: ?

We don't have a TV at Evermore. We don't need it. We're too busy cracking ourselves up. — We don’t have a TV at Evermore. We wouldn’t have time to watch it. We’re too busy cracking ourselves up.

Autumn: If you’re a narcissist, you don’t care about others, but if you’re a sadist, you get off on the suffering of others, right?

Annika: !?!

Autumn: A narcissist doesn’t empathize or feel what others are experiencing, so a narcissist can’t really enjoy the suffering he’s causing, right?

Annika: !!!

Autumn: So I don’t think there can be such a thing as a narcissistic sadist.

Annika: But god is all powerful, so he can be whatever he wants. So there. God can be a narcissistic sadist.

Autumn: [facepalm]

Annika: WE SHOULD GO TO BED!