So help me, George

Seeing how Hollywood has been big on remakes in the last few years, and the way the religious right takes themselves (and everything else) WAY too seriously, I think one remake who's time has come is the 1977 film "Oh, God!" starring George Burns and John Denver.

I don't know how old I was the first time I saw it, or how many times I have seen it in the past 28 years (maybe a handful), but it seems like many, many years since I have seen it. And now, more than ever, I think America could stand to revisit this movie. Maybe I was in high school, maybe college, or maybe even earlier - I credit this film with one of the most profound pieces of religious wisdom I have ever heard, and probably my first early experience with "thinking outside the box" (or cross) when it comes to religious dogma:

When Jerry (played by John Denver) asks if Jesus Christ was his son, God (played by George Burns) answers, "Jesus was my son. Buddha was my son. Mohammed, Moses, you, the man who said there was no room in the Inn, was my son."

That one line in that movie made me realize there were a lot of other ways to look at matters of religion besides the literal interpretationn of one ancient book. And now, looking back at quotes from the film, this one seems to be quite timely as well:

Jerry: If you're so involved with us, how can you permit all the suffering that goes on in the world?
God: How can I permit the suffering? I don't permit the suffering. You do - "free will". All the choices are yours.
Jerry: Choices? What choices?
God: You can love each other, cherish and nurture each other, or you can kill each other.

Amen, George