Chapter 9 (The Case Against Christ by John Young)

Cosmonut Yuri Gagarin, was the first to go into space. He commented that he had not seen God “up there” and was stated publicly.

John broadcasted this little parable he created on the local radio it seemed to catch the imagination. It was selected the pick of the week in the BBC Radio 4.

Once upon a time, there was a community of mice. They lived in a large house and their front door was a hole in a skirting board of the music room. In the music room there was a grand piano and from time to time they heard beautiful music.

“Aah” they would say. “Beautiful”, they would sigh. But sometimes the music stirred debate, deep debate. There was a piano of that they were sure. And there was beautiful music – of that they were sure too. But… was there a pianist?

Some were quite certain; “stuff and nonsense!” said the atheist mice. ‘If we could see inside the piano, we would know how music is made. All the talk of design and intention is quite unnecessary’.

“Stuff and nonsense!” said the believing mice. ‘You are quite wrong. Beautiful music like that certainly doesn’t happen by chance. If there is music, there must be a musician’.

“Stuff and nonsense” said the agonistic mice. ‘We simply don’t have enough evidence to decide one way or the other. We are in the dark and we shall remain in the dark. Get on with sharing the cheese.”

Within the community there was one mouse, yes you guessed it…Michael. One day he decided to go on an adventure of discovery. He would settle this question and he would settle it now.

Michael crept to the hole in the skirting board, and began to climb the leg of the grand piano. When he was halfway up, the beautiful music started again. With the greatest difficulty he climbed the shinny surface. He was bursting with curiosity, just what would he see?

At last he completed his climb and peered inside. He looked, and gasped, and then scampered down the leg, across the floor and back through the hole in the wall. As he returned the entire community gathered around, “what did you see?” They demanded, in great excitement.

“I climbed the leg of the piano,” panted Michael, and I looked inside the piano, and I saw how music… is made!. And I saw no pianist!.

That night as they went to bed, some were jubilant. They had been proved right. The pianist was a myth; a figment of imagination. Others have mixed feelings. It was good to know the truth, but they were disappointed just the same. Others were downright sad. It wasn’t simply that we had been proved wrong. It was bigger than that. Life was rather less interesting than they had hoped, and much more empty. It seems that after all, there really was nothing more to do than to get on with sharing and eating the cheese.


Personal note from John
The parables of Jesus tease the hearers. Quite often He’ll draw extraordinary parallels; comparing God with an unjust judge, for example.

Stories and parables carry risk. As they might be misunderstood. (In this little story of the mice. Many people concluded that I was an atheist).

As I look at the universe I see beauty and pattern. Like Yuri Gagarin, I do not see God.

However, I draw a different conclusion. I believe that God though unseen, created the beauty and pattern. The alternative- that they are the random product of pure chance- it seems to me to demand blind faith. Michael saw the wooden hammer strike the metal wires. Had he been more perceptive, he would have realized that the pianist, though unseen by him had activated the hammers which produce the beautiful music.

I rest my case!