I recently wrote an article about the vengeful nature of God. Yesterday, a terrible and tragic incident provides credence to such a supposition.Five Mexican children were killed while praying before a large metal cross when it was struck by lightning.
Lightning, is the archetypical manifestation of the wrath of god. The god “Zeus” of Greek antiquity wielded the “thunderbolt” as his weapon of choice. The Norse god “Thor” wielded the magical lightning hammer “Mjolnir”. The chief Norse god “Odin” carried the spear “Gungnir” which is also a representation of lightning.
If we are to suppose that the god that the children were worshiping did in fact exist and is omnipotent in the characterisation of the Christian religion, what are possible conclusions from this act of divine retribution?
- God is cruel and/or sadistic and/or vengeful;
- or God is unwilling to intervene to be merciful to even his most pious and innocent of devotees.
Or perhaps the “real” God is not the god of the Christians and is punishing the children for being infidels in a twisted reversal of Mark 16:16 (“He that believeth not, shall be damned”). In any case, the same two characterisations apply to this non-Christian god.
Such an event brings forth the “Ockam’s razor” application on the existence of God. The question: is it more likely that God is vengeful or uncaring, or that there is no God and this was simply an awful and tragic accident – explainable by bad luck and the fact that lightning is attracted to metal.
I believe in the latter.
Religious devotees will use their god or religion to explain the fortuitous and happy events in their life. If God exists, however, the same system of application must also explain all the misery and injustice. He is either vengeful, blind, irrelevant or doesn’t exist.
Morals, ethics and virtue are not the exclusive domain of any particular religion or the religious in general. Truth is not diminished by the lack of a supernatural authority. Indeed, it is enhanced.
From: MSNBC
Lightning kills 5 Mexican children in prayer (excerpt)
...Five Mexican children were killed when a large metal cross they were praying at was struck by lightning in central Mexico, local media reported Monday.
Five children between 9 and 16 years old died and several others suffered burns when lightning struck a white-painted metal cross set on a hill in the town of Santa Maria del Rio early on Sunday...
...A photo showed charring on the cross’s turquoise-painted cement base, although the cross was still standing.
Several families had been participating in a midnight ceremony as part of a local religious festival that centers around the cross...
7 comments:
Or perhaps it is simply a case of whoever installed the large metal cross forgot to ground it? Your post reports there was charring at the base, so this would lead me to believe this might be the case.
If a devout person sticks a screwdriver in an electrical socket, is God supposed to intervene there too and save the devout fool from being thrown across the room?
Why does God allow an innocent newborn to come down with a life threatening disease then? I believe God created man (and all of nature) through evolution. He simply allows evolution (or nature) to take its course.
Even my own family (me the one who claims to have received "signs from God") has a number of health issues. Since God has decided to give me signs, I figured it wouldn't hurt to pray to him for improvement in my family's health. Since modern medicine seems to have given up on them, I figured it couldn't hurt. While there has been some improvement in my wife's condition (which some might call miraculous - even you cast doubt on that it could just be the natural vitamins and minerals she has been taking) the health of my oldest son has continued to decline.
By the way, you sure do like "Ockam's razor" don't you? Grin.
Ah... the Christian god paradox.
He simply allows evolution (or nature) to take its course.
Where it is convenient for Him to be so, the Christian god is remarkably reclusive - the ultimately non-interventionist to the degree He may as well not be around.
And yet, it is common for ordinary Christians who believe in the above (which is also the standing ideology for most Christian theology be it Catholic or Protestant, though perhaps not the Evangelists/Fundamentalist) to also believe:
... me the one who claims to have received "signs from God"
The usual variations include being given a vision/sign by God, or seeing an angel, or some personal miracle.
Sorry, but that is wishful thinking.
To reconcile the "bad" things that happen in the world with the omnipotence of the almighty, the only explicable doctrine that is consistent (and which again, is also one supported by majority Christian theology) is the principle that God does not intervene in the affairs of man. The primacy of the gift of free will is vital and each man is an individual moral agent.
Thus, "bad" events are not directly caused by the will of God... but neither are "good" events.
Signs, angels, "small miracles" have nothing to do with the intervention of the Christian god according to its own teachings - though it is perhaps easier for the Church to let the "common man" revel in their religiosity. It annoys me no end to hear people "thank God" in a public speech.
I find most religions logically inconsistent, morally schizophrenic, and steeped in superiority and self-righteousness. When called to provide a justification, it always eventually comes down to "my God states this and I believe in my God". To quote myself in the original article:
Truth is not diminished by the lack of a supernatural authority. Indeed, it is enhanced.
The first path to enlightenment is the realisation that any particular "truth" may well be wrong. Dogma is the antithesis to "truth".
Regards,
Michael Tam
Let us take a look at global warming.
Would it be "correct" for God to intervene on the side of man to thwart the effects of global warming? Is it wrong for a "just God" to allow the effects of global warming to be visited upon mankind? After all, we're electing to do this to ourselves.
I pray to God to help me with that which I can do nothing on my own to improve.
Is it correct for God to cure all of mankind's diseases when mankind itself might already have the potential to find the cures for these diseases themselves?
I think God created the world for his amusement. He created an imperfect world with imperfect creatures to inhabit it. If he created perfect human beings and a perfect world, just how amusing would that be?
I think God created the world for his amusement. He created an imperfect world with imperfect creatures to inhabit it. If he created perfect human beings and a perfect world, just how amusing would that be?
God is toying with us for his amusement? I see you've come around!
Furthermore, your above sentiment is incredibly heretical if you consider yourself a follower of Christianity. I believe the Christian mythology goes that God created a perfect world (Eden) to which to place man. He did, however, give man the gift of free will and man lost the grace of God in eating from the Tree of Knowledge (to try to become God) in the Original Sin and was hence cast out of Eden.
However, I'm pleased that you cast doubt on such creation mythology as it makes no more sense than the creation mythologies of the Classic Greeks, or Hinduism or even the Scientologists.
Regards,
Michael Tam
Have you ever heard me claim to be a Christian? As a child I was raised as a Christian, but I believe most Christians would call me an apostate.
I might love Jesus, but I am not sure he was himself God (I settle for calling him Rabbi, although I am certainly not Jewish). That disqualifies me from being a Christian. Also I do not think I am worthy of thus describing myself.
As for the creation story, you are painting all Christians with the same brush. The Roman Catholic church does not have a problem with evolution. They do not teach the Bible is infallible, and in fact teach evolution in science classes in their parochial schools. You will not hear Catholic priests or nuns preaching against the teaching of evolution (or if you do they are going against the official position of the Roman Catholic church).
Christianity comes in many flavors, and apparently your opinion of Christianity has been formed after experience with only one or two of these varieties. My guess is they leaned towards conservatism. Not all sects do, some are fairly liberal. Of course conservative Christians preach at these liberals that they better repent or they are going to go to hell - grin.
As for the creation story, you are painting all Christians with the same brush. The Roman Catholic church does not have a problem with evolution.
This I know and I have posted several blogs to this effect. ;-)
They do not teach the Bible is infallible...
Umm, yes they do. They, however, state that Genesis is allegorical as opposed to be taken literally.
...and in fact teach evolution in science classes in their parochial schools. You will not hear Catholic priests or nuns preaching against the teaching of evolution (or if you do they are going against the official position of the Roman Catholic church).
And so it should be.
However, I think you are missing the point.
The creation story is of prime importance because it provides the justification of the Christian world view. All sin originates from the "Original Sin" -- as such, all men are born as sinners. Thus the justification for Christian morality in life to enter heaven.
I am well aware that Christianity comes in many flavours and I have a sense that I have perhaps studied it in somewhat greater detail than you have.
Furthermore, perhaps you should examine your own beliefs. Are you sure you have not simply formed a "cult of personality" around an idealised version of Jesus?
Regards,
Michael Tam
Hmmm, well I guess the learned Roman Catholic priest who I heard on broadcast radio state that his church does not teach the Bible is infallible does not know his own religion then (he was discussing evolution). If this is so I am surprised some Bishop or Cardinal has not ordered him off the air.
You will hear Evangelical preachers condemn the Roman Catholic church for teaching that "good works" are required to get into heaven. At least some Evangelicals think "it is grace alone" that gets you into heaven and after you receive the grace, the deed is done. Catholics evidently teach you still must be a good person.
You can slap any label on my beliefs that you want. If you want to describe them as "cult of personality" have at it.
I do examine/think about my beliefs quite abit. I base my opinion of Jesus on the known history we have of him, as imperfect as that history might be.
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