…and this is a 
God: flat broke
Category: Weirdness
Posted on: March 1, 2007 9:05 AM, by PZ Myers
Kevin Russell found out it's not easy trying to cash a check from God. The 21-year-old man was arrested Monday after he tried to cash a check for $50,000 at the Chase Bank in Hobart that was signed "King Savior, King of Kings, Lord of Lords, Servant," Hobart police Detective Jeff White said.
I blame the televangelists. They're skilled at cleaning out the savings of old folks, and while they were vacuuming up social security checks, they probably siphoned off every penny He had.
Don't worry about Him, though -- he's still got a lot of equity in gilt furniture and old art in Italy, I hear.
Comments
What a foolish kid. God is obviously strapped for cash, why else would his most prominent servants ask people -the missing tooth, barefoot trailer park people- to give till it hurts.
Then again, it might be a trick commandment. God might be telling them NOT to give since it hurts already.
Posted by: Slacker Ninja | March 1, 2007 9:18 AM
I know this is splitting hairs, but was he simply "God deluded" or just plain crazy? The SFG story gives no details beyond his resisting arrest (nb: "God" did not attempt to intervene on his behalf)... oh, and the fact that he had other, similar, checks on him.
Guess he didn't realize that "God" is a bankrupt idea.
Posted by: Moody834 | March 1, 2007 9:20 AM
Usually I enjoy snarking on the credulity and stupidity of religious belief. Reading about this story, however, leads me to think that this guy has severe schizophrenia and was in a delusional state of mind. I don't feel comfortable mocking someone in the grip of mental illness.
Posted by: Gobear | March 1, 2007 9:27 AM
...he's still got a lot of equity in gilt furniture and old art in Italy, I hear.
Not to mention the prime real estate in Rome. Which of course did not prevent the archdiocese of New Orleans to immediately lay off dozens of employees after Katrina. Nice touch, that was.
Posted by: Umilik | March 1, 2007 9:30 AM
Maybe he figured that god's signature woud be an easy one to forge.
Or, maybe he was trying to test if the bank really believed "in god we trust."
Posted by: beepbeepitsme | March 1, 2007 9:38 AM
Shouldn't God be the one in trouble for writing bad checks?
Posted by: No One of Consequence | March 1, 2007 10:14 AM
You think He'd show up for the hearing?
Posted by: Rick @ shrimp and grits | March 1, 2007 10:18 AM
Posted by: quork | March 1, 2007 10:42 AM
Perhaps you could fill us in on how to distinguish between the religious and the insane.
Mostly it's the hats.
Posted by: Alexandra | March 1, 2007 10:45 AM
Not only is the Big Boss broke, but the franchises are having trouble as well:
San Diego Diocese Files Chapter 11
Posted by: quork | March 1, 2007 10:47 AM
I'm surprised the teller didn't cash it. It must be good, right?
Posted by: Bonzo | March 1, 2007 10:48 AM
Maybe you have been too hard on religion and other superstitions. They can have positive social benefits: Superstition sparks toilet cleaning craze
Posted by: quork | March 1, 2007 10:58 AM
Interesting article title, quork. Do you think that, if the article had been about Christians, that the word "superstition" would have been used in the headline?
(I do agree that it's the appropriate word, by the way.)
Posted by: Rick @ shrimp and grits | March 1, 2007 11:07 AM
A seemingly noble thought. Perhaps you could fill us in on how to distinguish between the religious and the insane.
Yes, the religious do seem insane to us, but there's a difference between people who do not employ critical thinking and people with a neurological disorder that causes everyday life to be an unending bad acid trip.
I work for a nonprofit that lobbies for better care for people with mental illnesses, and one of the problems that people with bipolar illness or schizophrenia face is stigma from other people.
People with untreated schizophrenia, like the poor schmo in the article, don't have "split personalities." Schizophrenia is caused by a neurochemical imbalance in the brain that causes the sufferer to have auditory and visual hallucinations and should be regarded as an illness like cancer or diabetes.
There is a strong correlation between schizophrenia and religious delusion. People with schizophrenia often imagine themselves to be an incarnation of Jesus or some other divine being.
In any event, people with those illnesses are often so incapacitated that they can't work and lead lives of grinding poverty and social isolation. They deserve our compassion, not our scorn.
Posted by: Gobear | March 1, 2007 11:26 AM
I doubt the guy has all his mental faculties. I feel bad for him.
But to arrest him? Why didn't the teller just look at him funny and say...
"I can't cash this. God doesn't have an account with us."
Posted by: Steve_C | March 1, 2007 11:33 AM
Sorry everyone, this is My fault. We're having all kinds of financial problems up here in Heaven. I've posted a detailed explanation on My blog so the authorities will drop charges against the poor kid.
--God
Posted by: God | March 1, 2007 11:34 AM
He's been morally bankrupt for years.
Hey Gobear -Okay. We get it. Jesus H. Christ - lighten up!
Posted by: J-Dog | March 1, 2007 11:44 AM
...gilt furniture...
Would a confessional booth be "guilt furniture"?
(ducks and runs)
Posted by: Steve Watson | March 1, 2007 11:51 AM
Home come atheist discussions center so much on religion,
God and Jesus. It's like a gaggle of school girls
gossiping about each other.
Posted by: Joel | March 1, 2007 12:01 PM
Having gone to school from K-12 in Hobart, IN (back when the dinosaurs roamed the area; well, when guys still greased their hair and rolled up cigarette packs in their white T-shirts) I cannot tell you how this story warms my heart and makes me proud. No, I mean it. I really cannot tell you that.
Posted by: howard hershey | March 1, 2007 12:06 PM
Never mind some joker with a dumb idea for a bad check...Check out who else seems to have gotten a bad bill in the collection plate: god's very own agents on earth.
Posted by: greensmile | March 1, 2007 12:08 PM
As I recall the news reports, the kid was allegedly trying to pass a highly suspect cheque--the cheque itself, not the name on it--which is presumably a criminal offense. Now, if the kid does have mental problems, I hope he is properly diagnosed and treated. Being in the hands of the police will hopefully start that process, but I must admit I presume his attorney will need to kick-start the process (apologies to all the nice policepersons, but I'm rather jaded as a result of meeting too many arseholes "pigs").
Posted by: blf | March 1, 2007 12:11 PM
*coffee snarf*
Posted by: RedMolly | March 1, 2007 12:31 PM
Nah. It was the fault of his accountant:
http://www.blogofthegods.com/2007/03/01/oops-my-check-bounced/
Posted by: Kagehi | March 1, 2007 4:42 PM
Hey Gobear -Okay. We get it. Jesus H. Christ - lighten up!
I'm thinking you're the one who needs to lighten up here, J-dog. Don't drive away people who are just trying to give us information. We have enough problems driving away the nutjobs.
Posted by: Jen | March 1, 2007 6:57 PM
Jeez, I wish I read these comments when they were fresh!
Gobear, I am looking for exactly the data you refer to, that "correlation", in my inaugural post of a blog devoted to discussion of such contentions issues. Could you possibly elaborate on your sources?
Posted by: Conan Drum | March 3, 2007 9:22 AM