 On a winter's day back in the Eighties, I was walking trough one of Stuttgart's city parks with an acquaintance when we noticed this provoking graffiti "Gott spinnt" ("God is crazy"). It seemed that someone had already tried to erase it, but was rather unsuccessful. I hesitated to take a photo, but my acquaintance insisted on it.
Since then, the color slide is part of my picture archive, and I have sometimes been musing on the sense or nonsense of this graffiti (that has probably been completely erased shortly after the photo was taken).
Religion can be a sensitive personal issue and it is not my intention to hurt anyone's feelings or beliefs (believing or unbelieving) or even to give a provoking opinion, but I think that there is still something interesting besides that:
The graffiti's claim that God is crazy is contrary to the solid middle-class religious belief that is widespread in the area around Stuttgart which claims that God is the ultimative good and the unknowable spirit. This provocation may well have caused someone to try to erase the graffiti.
But like the remaining strokes that are faded but still readable, I keep thinking: why should God exactly fit into a particular society's picture of him at a particular time? Why should he (or she?) be decent or only rational?
These doubts remain in my mind. Maybe, the graffiti's claim reaches well beyond the borders of the decent society and -in the way of provoking- carries some interesting question or even truth in itself. After all, in the Bible, there are also reports of writings on the wall that were not understood by the middle- or upper-class
then (refer to the excerpt from The Book of Daniel, Chapter 5):
5Suddenly a hand became visible that wrote something on the whitewashed wall of the king's palace. It was exactly at the spot that was fully lit by the candlestick. When the king saw the writing hand, 6he turned pale and was so frightened that his knees were shaking.
...
8The Babylonian wise men stepped forward but could not read the writing and not at all interpret its sense.
...
25What is written there, is "Mene mene tekel u-parsin." 26That means: God has counted the days of your power - and set an end to it. 27He weighed
you - and found that you are too light. 28He divided
your kingdom and gave it to the Medians und Persians.
...
30In just the same night, the king Belschazzar was killed.
Text (except bible quotation): Copyright © 2000 U. Messerle.
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