This isn't gloating. It's tragic and sad. And it's merely pointing out, to quote Al Gore, an inconvenient truth. God does not exist. Full stop.
A woman attends a Christian music festival in Wisconsin, and is killed on an amusement ride when a bungee cable snaps, causing her to fall nearly 50 feet.
A perfect opportunity for God miraculously to save a devout worshiper from an unnecessary death due to accident, incidentally doing the entire world of Christianity a huge favor by prompting public recantings from millions of atheists around the globe. Instead, God does nothing, because he is imaginary.
Undaunted, the festival went on, after a brief prayer service.
Prayer makes reality go away. I feel bad for her family, though.
ReplyDeleteThere's also that recent case of the Bible seller who was struck by lightening while selling Bibles! It's a safe bet if he was selling Hitchens or Dawkins the Christians would be the first to claim it as an 'Act of God'!
ReplyDeleteAnd, at the atheist about.com forum, an article was posted there just this morning about a Xian bookseller who was struck by lightening.
ReplyDeleteI'm just sayin'...?
I'm just curious. What does an Atheist hope for and where do you get it from?
ReplyDeleteAtheists hope for the same things most people do: a happy, healthy and successful life, good friends and family. Life doesn't owe you anything. You only get out of it what you put in. You get the things you hope for in life by working hard to earn them, and by being a person of integrity to deserve them. There's no one up in the sky eager to favor you with lavish gifts just because you're willing to kowtow and pray hard enough. Your success and contentment is your own responsibility, as is your failure.
ReplyDelete>Atheists hope for the same things most people do...
ReplyDeleteI know you're using "hope" in the sense of 'what I would like'.
But I want to share an interesting concept I heard once:
Someone asked the question: "Do you hope X?"
The response was "I don't hope."
I think it all depends on what one means by "hope." I hadn't ever thought of hope in this way before, but I did admire the sentiment: I put in the effort to go after the things I want. I don't "hope" for them.
Not everyone uses "hope" in this fashion, I understand. But if the idea is "wish"--the "hope" is fairly useless except for, perhaps, providing fodder for blowing time in daydreams.
If "hope" is used more pragmatically, more along the lines of "What are your goals--the things you are working to make happen for yourself?" Then it actually becomes something useful.
I remember hearing a girl talking about something she wanted once. She called it her "goal"; however, to obtain Goal X, it required that she first achieve Goal Y. She was not at all interested in doing anything whatsoever to obtain Goal Y, but still felt somehow entitled to Goal X. (Like wanting to be a brain surgeon, but refusing to go to medical school.) You simply can't have one without the other.
Finally someone said to her: Your "Goal X" is not really a goal. It's just a wish. You wish "Goal X"; but to call it a true "goal"--you have to have a plan with steps to get there.
I prefer goals to wishes.
If hope is goals--I absolutely have hope. If hope is wishes, it serves little purpose other than as mental entertainment (and depending on how much time one spends on it, it could even be a detriment).
"A perfect opportunity for God miraculously to save a devout worshiper"
ReplyDeleteWhat if he just did and took her to heaven where she will not have to suffer any more.
Isn't the goal Heaven. When a Christian dies it is a celebrated thing. When an atheist dies we all cringe.
It's not too late! Until it is.
Speaking of "blinders on," we got a live one right here!
ReplyDeleteWhat if he just did and took her to heaven where she will not have to suffer any more.
Why just her? Why not everyone else? And who says she was suffering? By all accounts she had gone to the fair to have a great time.
Isn't the goal Heaven. When a Christian dies it is a celebrated thing.
Among whom? Other Christians? You're telling me, at Christian funerals, nobody is weeping, and everyone is dancing around the room, cheering and clapping their hands in glee? Hmm. Doesn't sound like any Christian funerals I've been to. I've never heard a Christian "celebrate" the death of a loved one before.
Since you bring up the goal being Heaven, and Christians celebrating the idea of dying...why don't we see millions of Christian suicides every day? Oh, is suicide a little loophole that won't let you in? Oops. Tricky one, there. So why aren't Christians finding other ways to die as quickly as possible? There must be lots of them. Why, when Christians get sick, do they go to doctors? Why not just allow their diseases to get worse and worse until they finally die?
Could it be that you're just spouting a bunch of BS? Survey says...