I’ve been interviewed more than once by airheads, so I know that what you say, or even the intent of what you say, doesn’t always make it into the final printed story. And, yes, sometimes people in the spotlight say stuff they don’t really believe.
But here’s a story in which comedian Tim Allen talks about God:
“For years, I just did not like this idea of God, church,” he said. “(I was) still a churchgoer, but constantly a cynic.”
But the cynicism didn’t last. Today, he calls God, “The Builder.”
“I always do ask…The Builder, what did you want me to do?” Allen said. “And I do ask it. But you got to be prepared for the answer.”
Allen, who has done work with several charities, jokes he’s always afraid the answer will be, “I want you to handle lepers 24/7.”
His own experiences — from his father’s death to a two-year jail stint on a drug conviction to his sitcom stardom — help inform his faith.
“Whoever built me, this is too much, too weird that it happened by accident,” he said. “It didn’t happen by accident.”
The story is obviously a pro-religion piece. But there’s one part that sneaks in something extremely negative:
Allen’s father died when he was hit by a drunk driver when Allen was just 11. The comedian says that after that, he questioned whether if he had prayed harder or had been with his father that fatal day, he could have prevented his death.
Here was this 11-year-old feeling guilty because he didn’t pray hard enough. In other words, according to his understanding of the way religion worked — something someone had taught him — it was at least partly his fault that his father was dead.