moral dilema du jour

I've been asked -well, Sally and I have been asked - to be godparents to our neweat nephew Jessie. This is an honour and a privilige and all that good stuff and Sally said yes without asking me and that's fine because she does stuff like that and sometime does not think to ask me but assumes I'll just say yes.

So here is the dilema. The family are Catholic and I'm not and actually I have no fixed religion and am quite against organised religion. I went to a christening last year and sat in the crowd or should that be congregation as the parents, godparents and crowd or congregation were asked all sorts of questions about welcoming the child into the church and other stuff we agreed with about god. I sat silently as I did not want to be a hypocrite and you can probably see where this is going.

In all good faith if you'll pardon the pun I cannot stand up and agree to all this god stuff that the guy in the frock will ask. I can commit to look after and oversee Jessie and step in should the need arise and do my best to make sure he grows up into a decent sort which he will anyway cos he's got great parents.

Now the fact that I consider this I think is honourable and means that I have given it all the proper consideration and that I take it seriously so I would make a great god parent. Apart from the god bit. Of course if there is a god I am sure he is not the nasty vengeful bastard some think he is and as long as I live my life decently I've still got a shot at eternal paradise as long as I tread lightly upon the planet and avoid being a twat. And he should give me credit for not parrot fashion standing up and sprouting a bunch of stuff I don't believe.

So do I become the god parent? If I do then all the good stuff is out of th window as I...er...stand up and say what a good person I am.

And that is the dilema.

But I'll do it and risk eternal damnation for being a hypocrite because that will be nothig compared to the shitstorm I'll get in this life if I don't. Funny old world.