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[vc_row el_class=”olive-branch-bg-r”][vc_column][vc_column_text]Doubt can save the world.<\/p>\n
At least, I think it can.<\/p>\n
The only certainty is this: the world is full of Love, and we are made in Love, for Love, to be Love. But Love opens us to humility and wonder and endless possibilities, not down the rigid road of certainty that can doom us to destruction.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s my take-away from a recent late-night conversation with Aziraphale and Crowley, the archangel and demon protagonists from Good Omens<\/em><\/a>,\u00a0<\/em>the epic apocalyptic fantasy by Neil Gaiman<\/a> and Sir Terry Pratchett<\/a> recently turned into a miniseries<\/a> on Amazon Prime.<\/p>\n I know, I know\u2026 How<\/em> did I find myself conversing with two delightful, diabolical fictional characters? Here\u2019s how it all went down\u2026<\/p>\n Introduction<\/strong><\/p>\n It wasn\u2019t a dark and stormy night, but the looming deadline for my article was reason enough for my nerves to rattle inside my heavily caffeinated, trembling body. My excitement over analyzing one of my favorite novels (timed as a tribute to Sir Terry Pratchett<\/a> on the 5th<\/sup> anniversary of his death) was turning to apprehension as ideas failed to materialize. The weight of the whole blessed world bore down on my shoulders as I struggled to find my angle.<\/p>\n In the delirium of my desperation, I experienced a hallucination \u2013 heavenly vision \u2013 what exactly to call it I can\u2019t be entirely sure. But as I stared blankly beyond my computer screen, letters blurring in the artificial light, the air in front of me started to vibrate until two winged men stood before me, one dressed in dazzling white and the other cloaked head to toe in black.<\/p>\n \u201cAziraphale? Crowley?\u201d I asked in disbelief.<\/p>\n \u201cClever girl, she recognizes us,\u201d Crowley the demon muttered to Aziraphale, the archangel.<\/p>\n \u201cYes, dear lady, well, we noticed you were having a bit of trouble and decided to pop over and give you a hand, as it were,\u201d Aziraphale answered, bowing slightly and smiling.<\/p>\n Lulled by their gentle British accents, and perhaps a minor miracle, I found myself strangely at ease. Thus unfolded the curious circumstances by which I took the liberty to interview one of contemporary literature\u2019s most unlikely, adorable couples\u2026[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_section el_class=”post-quote”][vc_row css=”.vc_custom_1566306295282{background-image: url(https:\/\/ravenfoundation.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/0c0caab3a0b06f49d1f4e4069f7acecc-e1562958862845.jpg?id=19638) !important;}”][vc_column][vc_column_text css_animation=”none” el_class=”quote”]<\/p>\n The false heaven is a place of self-righteousness, where everyone thinks they know everything and have nothing to learn.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n [\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][\/vc_section][vc_row][vc_column][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=”2\/3″][vc_single_image source=”external_link” external_img_size=”800×600″ custom_src=”https:\/\/media.giphy.com\/media\/5QVUij8xjA7KYzXZ1e\/giphy.gif”][\/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1\/3″][vc_empty_space][vc_column_text]Me:\u00a0<\/strong>I guess my first question has to be\u2026 how did you get here? Is this real?<\/p>\n Aziraphale:\u00a0<\/strong>Well, see, we are imaginative manifestations of cultural consciousness brought to you by the power of story and espresso…<\/p>\n Crowley:\u00a0<\/strong> You’re having a coffee-induced fantasy.[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column_inner][\/vc_row_inner][vc_empty_space height=”16px”][vc_column_text]Aziraphale:\u00a0<\/strong> Your imagination is on overdrive, and it’s bringing us to life. We are characters in a parable of heaven, hell, and humanity, and we are as real as any fictional character. We have descended from the metanarrative of our authors\u2019 genius to come and help you discern the meaning of our story, which is also your story\u2026<\/p>\n Crowley:\u00a0<\/strong>I\u2019m not much for helping. He promised drinks afterward.<\/p>\n Me:\u00a0<\/strong>So, how should I understand your story? I mean, I know… you’re an angel and a demon who have spent the course of human history on earth, and you team up to avert the apocalypse and prevent the great war between heaven and hell that will destroy the world. But I mean, if you’re here, does that mean your story is at all… true? I mean, that kind of frightens me. Because the way God is depicted in your story makes God seem like\u2026 like\u2026<\/p>\n Crowley:\u00a0<\/strong>Like a callous, violent, destructive bastard?<\/p>\n Aziraphale:\u00a0<\/strong>Crowley! Well\u2026 I suppose I must concur. \u00a0But our story is not about how God is.<\/em> It\u2019s about how humanity has always understood God to be.<\/em> So many are convinced that God\u2019s “Great Plan” is the ultimate war between good and evil. And they\u2019re willing to destroy God\u2019s creation to prove themselves on God\u2019s side, because they think God has doomed creation anyway!<\/p>\n No, see, the horsemen of the apocalypse \u2013 War, Famine, Pollution \u2013 the powers that threaten the world, these are creations of a humanity that has found power in violence. A humanity that has been so sure of its righteousness that it has been willing to fight and kill and sacrifice each other in the name of God. And we angels have sort of been thought of as benign miracle-workers for the good guys and super-charged smiters of bad guys. Honestly, even most demons come off looking better than we do in many human imaginations!<\/p>\n