Jehovah had humble beginnings as an insignificant local god of the Hebrew tribes, and an especially petty, vengeful, jealous, and angry one.  He would manifest himself variously as a column of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night, as a flame of fire in a burning bush, and, in an especially elaborate production, as a voice accompanied by thunder and lightning, blaring trumpets, an entire mountain smoking and quaking, and a fiery flame reaching to the sky.

This god of Israel, showman that he was, but not exactly a jolly or amiable character, somehow evolved into a universal God of love and compassion in the New Testament.

This is much like the evolution of the Wizard of Oz, who first appears as a ball of fire, a horrible monster, a giant head, a disembodied voice, and, inexplicably, a beautiful fairy. Eventually, it is revealed that the Wizard is actually none of these things, but rather a kind, ordinary man from Omaha, Nebraska, who has been using a lot of elaborate magic tricks and props to make himself seem “great and powerful”.

Here’s how it played out with the Wizard.

• Imperious and intimidating: “Do not arouse the wrath of the Great and Powerful Oz!’
• Outed by Toto: “Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain.”
• Kindly grandpa who takes care of folks: “…Ain’t it the truth! Ain’t it the truth!”

Some people think that their Oz-God is very important to our country, exceptional as it is. They believe that we can find our salvation as a nation by closing our eyes, tapping our heels together three times, and thinking to ourselves, “There’s no place like the USA; there’s no place like the USA; there’s no place like the USA.”

Other folk say we can leave all these old fairy-tales behind. To solve our very real problems, all we need do is act with the heart, brain, and courage that we already have, if we choose to use them.