In the 1980 film, The Gods Must Be Crazy, a tribesman in the Kalahari Desert encounters technology for the first time--in the shape of a Coke bottle. He takes it back to his people, and they use it for many tasks. The people start to fight over it, so he decides to return it to the God--where he thinks it came from. The timeless appeal of this theme lies in the question it raises: Is the human race of the 21st century any more enlightened than their tribal ancestors depicted in this film? Since no human being can be fully objective about matters concerning the human race, the closest we can come to exploring an unbiased view requires the imagination to consider how a non-human observer would see it.

Our hypothetical observer is a highly evolved being from another planet who arrives in earth orbit, just as the 21st century begins. His mission is to report on the progress of the human race since its tribal ancestors left their evolutionary birthplace of Africa. He prepares with extensive review of all human history. Then, after five years of observing the geopolitical situation, he writes his report: The trouble began thousands of years ago, in the part of the planet known as the Middle East when two Gods- the God of Judaism and the God of Islam gave their respective followers the same small piece of land. Naturally, each God favoring His followers over the rest of humanity affirms that it is His will and His people's destiny to return to the land He gave them. In support of His will, each group kills in His name, locking their respective populations in a terrifying cycle of violence.

The crisis spreads to the rest of the planet when the God worshipped by a man named Osama bin Laden joins the battle. This God directs His followers to fight a global war of terror against the infidels who oppose His interpretation of the Islamic religion. According to this God there is no act more sacred and worthy of eternal reward than giving one's life in the cause of killing the enemy. Their most hated enemies are the followers of the God of Judaism, and the powerful Americans who have been supporting them.

Not long after my arrival, the God of Osama orchestrated a terrorizing attack on America which brought another God into the turmoil. This God of Christianity- the one that has blessed America with all its good fortunes and powers appoints President, George W. Bush to battle the evil-doers of the world. Through George and his close advisers, He directs the attack of Afghanistan, despite the fact the actual perpetrators were from another country, Saudi Arabia. Thousands of innocent civilians are killed, mountains are bombed but Osama is not caught or killed.

Determined to destroy all evil, George Bush's God calls upon him to invade a country called Iraq. Because the American people could not have understood the higher purpose, the God of George Bush instructs him to lie and deceive his people so they will not oppose His will. For the past two years, the occupying army of George Bush's God, has been battling the Iraqis (who follow the God of Islam) and the followers of Bin Laden's God who have come to Iraq fight their American enemy. The country that was the cradle of civilization is being dismantled and destroyed, while hundreds of thousands of its citizens are maimed and killed. As a result, the hatred between the followers of the different Gods runs deeper than ever. Still, the most serious of all the carnage generated by humanity is the damage being inflicting on the very planet that sustains them. Strangely enough, the human race had been growing aware of the dangers to their planet. Then after George Bush became President of America, he defied all scientific knowledge and regressed to policies that are destroying millions of species, along with the life-sustaining ecosystem of the planet.

I wondered why the God of the most advanced country would call upon its leader to spread hatred and violence, while promoting the destruction of the ecosystem. I was also confused by intentions of other Gods like the one that forbids birth control despite the fact the planet is growing dangerously over-populated. And there are Gods who deny the equal rights to people for reasons of nature like gender, race and sexual orientation. If I didn't know better, I would think The Gods of this planet Must Be Crazy.

I have found some reason to believe that humanity will survive this very dangerous period, incited by their Gods. They seem to be gradually gaining the ability to see past the illusions generated by their more primitive senses and emotions. For instance in the past 600 years they have acquired the ability to see past the illusion that the earth is flat and their sun revolves around their planet. Now there appears to be a small but growing number of them able to see past the illusion of Gods compelling men to kill in Their name.

If only more of them could travel to space and look down on their planet as I have. From the bigger picture of the earth, afforded by space travel, the belief that the one true God favors any one group of humans over another seems as obsolete as the belief the earth is flat.

Jerry Rose is the author of the book Faith in a Fishbowl. He can be contacted at www.faithinafishbowl.com

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