Is God so unimaginative?

On a recent televised broadcast in Australia, atheist Richard Dawkins was debating a Catholic bishop about the existence of God. Mr. Dawkins said something derisive. Well, he said many things derisive, but one specific thing he mentioned I'll paraphrase here: "Isn't it a bit unimaginative of your God to decide to send his own son to die on a cross to save you from your sins? Couldn't he have come up with a better way?"

As a result of his comment, I started thinking about salvation history.

First, God gave us heaven on Earth in Eden. We lost it though disobedience.

God gave us Joseph, who had the wisdom to interpret Pharaoh's dreams predicting years of plenty followed by years of famine. He provided Joseph the wisdom to store grain from the years of plenty to use in the famine years. Plenty that fed his brothers and their families, the Egyptian people, and many others.

Years later, God gave us Moses, who survived a slaughter of infants and led us to freedom following unimaginable curses on our oppressors. God led us with pillars of smoke and fire through the wilderness. God parted the Red Sea. God gave us daily bread from heaven in the form of manna. God gave us rules to live by, and we followed them. God gave us a country, and judges to guide us.

We asked for a king. God gave us David, and his son Solomon, who humbly asked for wisdom. God gave him wisdom, and he built God a temple.

We fell away. We followed other gods, and were taken captive to Babylon.

God sent us prophets. We ignored them. God provided miracles with Elisha, Elijah, and others. We condemned them. We stayed fallen away.

Then, God sent us Himself as Jesus. He taught, he rebuked, he led, he died, and he rose again.

I want to tell Mr. Dawkins that we finally learned. God gave us everything, and we threw it away. We came back, and God gave us rules. We demanded a king, whose line led us astray. We rebuked and ignored prophets speaking Gods word.

Was God unimaginative to die on the cross? I don't think so. Perhaps it's what it took to get us the message. It's certainly not the only reason he died on that cross. But, everything else he had done for us didn't stick.

And the fact is we can receive his body and blood at every Catholic Mass calls us back to remember his sacrifice, remember his teaching, so that we might not fall away again.