God's Debris: A Thought Experiment

Scott Adams, creator of the popular comic strip "Dilbert," has written a modern-day parable about a young man and an unlikely mentor. God's Debris starts with a young deliveryman trying to hand over a package to a man with a San Francisco address. But delivering the package to this old man proves to be as difficult as trying to understand the meaning of God.

"It's for you," the old man tells the narrator, gesturing to the package.

"What's in the package?" the narrator asks.

"It's the answer to your question."

"I wasn't expecting any answers,"

the deliveryman admits. About this time, the narrator begins to realize that he's not dealing with a feeble-minded old man; he's dealing with a situation that could alter his life. The sincerity and metaphysical complexity of this fable will surprise those who expect comedy, but Adams is following a tradition set by such writers as Dan Millman (Way of the Peaceful Warrior) and Richard Bach (Illusions). As in many parables that have come before, the deliveryman learns the meaning of life from an illusive mentor who seems to arise from a wrinkle in time. The cleverness of the God's Debris concept is original and bound to leave readers pondering some altered definitions of God, the universe, and just about everything else. --Gail Hudson