Does God have a complaints line?
I think not, as He takes a rather Devil-may-care attitude to my complaints.
Jennifer Rathbone, Toronto, Canada
• She does. It’s called prayer and various saints can even be approached for specific help. Ambrose of Milan helps beekeepers with problems and St Jude is useful for lost causes. If you feel you should appear in Notes & Queries, try the Archangel Gabriel.
Ursula Nixon, Bodalla, NSW, Australia
• Yes, but never on Sunday!
Terence Rowell, Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, Canada
• Complaints to God are fielded by a heavenly call centre, run by incompetent clergy who tell you that your call is important to Him, put you on hold and play hymns until you hang up and get on with your life.
Joan Dawson, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
• Yes, but to lodge a complaint with God you’ll have to charm your way past redoubtable receptionist Pearl E Gates.
Jim Dewar, Gosford, NSW, Australia
• Press one for Lucifer. For all others press zero to hold eternally.
Margaret Wyeth, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
• Alas, no. What God does or doesn’t do is “non-negotiable”, as Job himself found out.
Richard Orlando, Westmount, Quebec, Canada
• No, of course not. He’s too busy receiving compliments, with complaints only making him laugh.
Lizzie Wagner, Featherston, New Zealand
• This should read, of course, “Do Gods have complaints lines?” I’m not sure who responds to them, however. Perhaps they have some sort of roster.
John Benseman, Auckland, New Zealand
Creed: the root of all evil?
Could anything ever replace greed as the root of all evil?
Yes, the lust for power.
Derek Malpass, Hohenthann, Germany
• Maybe creed?
Inge Mehrengs, Putten, The Netherlands
• Indifference.
John Anderson, Pukekohe, New Zealand
• In the case of the multinational petrochemical idiocy, stupidity seems to be outstripping greed.
Rusty Hanna, Batchelor, NT, Australia
The witches or the wife?
Would the witches’ prophecies have come true without Macbeth’s acts?
Of course. Like all good prophecies those of the witches didn’t say how they would happen. There are numerous ways in which they could have occurred without Macbeth’s interference, especially with such an ambitious wife.
Gillian Shenfield, Sydney, Australia
• Without the (five) acts of Macbeth, there wouldn’t have been much of a play let alone have prophecies come true.
Stuart Williams, Kampala, Uganda
• What, and spoil a perfectly good play?
Pat Phillips, Adelaide, South Australia
• Yes, with pot luck.
David Price, Macmasters Beach, NSW, Australia
Dawn sounds like a griddle
What does the crack of dawn sound like?
The sound from the kitchen signalling preparation of the breakfast eggs.
Walter H Kemp, Terence Bay, Nova Scotia, Canada
• The yawn chorus.
Dick Stamp, Ravenswood, Victoria, Australia
Any answers?
Has a protest fast ever changed anything?
Barbara Goodwin, Ensenada, Mexico
What is rhetorical about a rhetorical question?
Martin Bryan, Churchdown, UK
Send answers to weekly.nandq@theguardian.com or Guardian Weekly, Kings Place, 90 York Way, London N1 9GU, UK
