This week, I’m doing a lot of writing. Things for my NaNoWriMo characters are not going well.

Meanwhile, as often happens when I’m trying to write, I let myself get distracted by – whatever. Funny Facebook posts. The news. This A2A (Asked to Answer) on Quora. In my defense, it was an interesting distraction – I mean question:

To what extent has “existentialism” influenced theology?

Short answer: No more or less than any other philosophical movement, which is to say it depends on who you ask.

In my not so humble opinion, to give a thorough answer, we should ask every single human being who ever was or will be alive. Then synthesize the response into something cogent. As it so happens, I believe God can actually do that. Right, God? Fine, don’t tell me.

On a totally related note, the question got me thinking about my favorite philosopher and guy with a whole lot more patience than me: Thomas Aquinas. He was – among other things – a Roman Catholic priest.

I know. Part of me will always remember the moment I found out Aquinas was Catholic. Ah yes, that moment I found out one of my childhood heroes was secretly spying for the Other Side the whole time. Traitor!

Et tu, Aquinas?

Yep … still not over it.

Yep … I hate you all.

Anyway, I also wrote a long, mostly non-cheeky response to the existentialism question that boils down to my American English, post-existentialist, highly-debatable translation of something Aquinas probably (would have) said (at least) once:

Whatever it is that you are thinking, whatever you can comprehend, God is smarter than that.

God can and will respond – maybe not right away, or not evidently so. That’s because humans take a while to understand the answers.

God can and will respond.

Eventually. Unequivocally.

I know, I know….

George MacDonald and/or G.K. Chesterton (some British dude or other) also wrote rambling reflections like this in between writing fiction. Breathe!

Is it too late for a Carebear stare? I really want to end this with a Carebear stare and an after school special type moral.

People say deus ex machina like it’s an insult but if the deus and the machina are interesting enough, isn’t that pretty much how plots work?

Right, so skipping to The End of the real-world narrative. God wins. Because – God is God. The fun part is that … it isn’t that simple. Human beings are not that simple. God knows this. The best is yet to come. Wait. For. It.

Yeah, I definitely needed that rant. And to vent about writing, because-