Long ago there was a skilled architect. He was often applauded by his peers for his craftsmanship. He was requested by some of the priests and prophets of his city to construct their god; they were all idol worshippers. The priests and the prophets told the architect about the love and compassion of their god, and how their god is a healer and also brings rain for the crops. They gave him a book that contained the holy writings of ancient priests and prophets which talked about the great acts of their god in the past. The architect was so moved by the acts of his god in the past, and the desires of the priests and prophets, that he gave into their request. So he constructed his god. He made it of wood and overlaid it with gold. He worshipped it alongside the priests, the prophets, and the citizens of his city.
One day, a passerby came. He was a Christian monk, and noticed the blasphemous acts of those idol worshippers. He said to himself, "I will speak to some of these people about the love and mercy of Jesus Christ to see who might be saved." So he went among the people and approached the architect. He said to the architect, "You fool, why do you worship that which cannot move nor speak?" The architect said, "I have created this god with my own hands according to my priests and prophets and ancient men who spoke of my god's greatness." So the Christian said, "There is only one god, the father, and one lord, Jesus Christ. He died for our sins so that we may live forever with him." The architect asked the Christian, "How do you know these things?" The Christian said, "Jesus is a healer, and the ministers and people of my god testify of him, and the ancient prophets of god spoke of his coming according to our scriptures." So the architect said to the Christian, "You called me a fool, but are you not also a fool?" The Christian baffled and appalled by his statement asked, "In what way am I a fool?"
The architect said to him, "I worship a god that I created with my own fingers. My beliefs and instructions came from my priests and prophets, both present and of the past, and I created my god accordingly." The Christian asked, "So how am I the fool?" The architect said, "You too worship a god whose acts are of the past. Your beliefs come from your priests and prophets and holy writings. But rather than create your god of wood and gold as I have, you create your god with the fingers of your mind. You are an architect as I am. You know how your god appears and how your god acts based on what you have read and heard, and you created your god accordingly. That is what you worship and call your creator. You have not seen your god move any more than I have seen mine move. As I have created my god, haven't you? Just as my god sits on the tree stump from where I carved him, doesn't your god sit in your mind?"
Then the Christian says, "But you obviously worship wood and gold, which does not move. Yet you associate power to your god and call him your healer." The architect said, "Do you not do the same? What does your god do in life that my god doesn't. My god heals through the hands of our physicians, and blesses us with rain in season, and protects us through the swords of our horsemen. Does your god do differently? I serve what I've made with my hands, you serve what you've made with your mind. So how do we differ, fool?"
