marmot Posted July 7, 2012 Posted July 7, 2012 Last weekend my wife and I visited my wife's childhood friend and her family. They live in KY and they have a couple of babies. She is fairly intelligent and a textbook Christian fundamentalist/Tea Partier. I spent some time with the husband and while we were out he told me a story about a road trip he had taken to FL. On the way there the electrical systems started shutting off and his car eventually broke down at a gas station (he thought it was the alternator). A bunch of friendly Christians at the gas station who were seasoned gear heads took a look at his car, did diagnostics, and couldn't figure out what the heck was wrong with it. So they jumped his car and he took it to Walmart, bought a new battery, and it worked perfectly after that. This took a couple of hours. He got back on the interstate and there had been a massive 12 car pileup and several fatalities. He told me how thankful he was for God's providence and never complains about car problems anymore because he views it as God giving him an opportunity. I have seen these kinds of stories on here often before (usually in the Things Fundamentalists Say on Facebook Thread) but never of this magnitude and in person. I was seething under the surface but the only thing I said to him was "That's crazy! Man I feel bad for those people that died/were injured or had their cars wrecked." 1. I really hate this kind of reasoning/attribution to God because it means he either caused the accident, or allowed it to happen to those other people. What was the criteria for saving this guy and killing off the other people? How arbitrary and wicked is God? 2. How limp-wristed has God become in his old age? He used to walk with people in corporeal form (Adam, Moses, others). He had the Israelites wipe out entire cities that were in the promised land, killing everyone and everything. If they were outside of the promised land they could take the virgins, though. He used to send fucking fire and brimstone down on cities that were wicked. He raised people from the dead. He copied/pasted bread and fish for thousands of hungry people after a long boring sermon. He could heal people on command instead of sending them to trained medical professionals as he has to do these days. Now he has been reduced to inducing car trouble to save people from possibly being involved in car crashes? Is this really the best he can do? Is God infirm or senile, or is he asleep at the wheel and a novice is on the job? I want answers.
Exevolt Posted July 7, 2012 Posted July 7, 2012 I find that kind of blind tunnel vision about the world to be just plain DURR. The more and more religion gets pushed into a corner where god-based events are debunked the weaker his "aid" becomes and the more relative to the people involved it becomes. With this story there are a hundred different factors that could've decided if he would've been involved in the pile-up such as: The pile-up would've happened after he drove past the site, before and he could've easily avoided it, etc but they always fail to see this because it harms their faith.
hereticzero Posted July 7, 2012 Posted July 7, 2012 People who are successful often feel they are so special that they must be blessed by god or they would not be so successful. Then they get saved and give up their business or donate all their savings, usually at the expense of their family too, don't want to be too successful or it could turn into enjoyment which we all know leads to more and more enjoyment and move to Nebraska. Too keep people from moving to Nebraska, don't be successful for the Lord! Become dirt poor and cast sad eyes so everyone will know a pious Christian, fast too. My point is that chance favors anyone. Conceit drives Christianity as much as deceit. Being successful or having the appearance of being successful depends on how you dress in church and how much you donate to the church. There is a pecking order and the peckers start at the top. 1
Positivist Posted July 7, 2012 Posted July 7, 2012 Reminds me of that song, Jesus, Lover of My Soul: (words changed slightly) It's all about meeeeeeeeeeeee, Jesus And all this is for meeeeeeeeeeeeeeee For my comfort and my gain..... I agree, marmot; God seems to have been demoted from a slayer of nations and "ever present help in trouble," to a part-time parking lot attendant.
marmot Posted July 7, 2012 Author Posted July 7, 2012 Reminds me of that song, Jesus, Lover of My Soul: (words changed slightly) It's all about meeeeeeeeeeeee, Jesus And all this is for meeeeeeeeeeeeeeee For my comfort and my gain..... I agree, marmot; God seems to have been demoted from a slayer of nations and "ever present help in trouble," to a part-time parking lot attendant. That is fantastic. "God really came through for me when he helped me find a spot close to the entrance."
Guest wester Posted July 8, 2012 Posted July 8, 2012 As a KY boy meself, I knows this brand o' thinkin' right good. Them bluegrassians always confuse the verb "TO BE" with the gawd therefore we must felate it, moral considerations be damned. Logical positivism for the 21st sintury. "I pity the fools" - Mr. T
Kaiser01 Posted July 8, 2012 Posted July 8, 2012 This is really really off topic but since we are talking about Kentucky, I am related to the blue people. Distantly thought, not directly.
Inqui Posted July 8, 2012 Posted July 8, 2012 Did this guy watch the Kony video? God could have been impressed with his dedication to all that is good and decided he owed his old pal one. As for the people that died? Obviously they didn't watch the video and deserved everything they got for their wicked, worldly selfishness,
midniterider Posted July 8, 2012 Posted July 8, 2012 I find that kind of blind tunnel vision about the world to be just plain DURR. The more and more religion gets pushed into a corner where god-based events are debunked the weaker his "aid" becomes and the more relative to the people involved it becomes. With this story there are a hundred different factors that could've decided if he would've been involved in the pile-up such as: The pile-up would've happened after he drove past the site, before and he could've easily avoided it, etc but they always fail to see this because it harms their faith. Black or white: Either A) God makes the car break down or He would have arrived at the preciese instant of vehicle impact at the accident which would cause death. It might be fun to remind these types that their presence at the potential accident site before the accident occurred could have caused a chain of events that might have prevented the accident. Had he prayed harder to exorcise demons from his car battery those people might be alive today. :-) 1
3DollarBill Posted July 8, 2012 Posted July 8, 2012 You don't understand...your buddy HAD to be saved because god has a special plan for him that he has yet to fulfill. Wrecks happen because we have the free will to drive too fast and tailgate, and god can't interfere with free will, so he had to do something to delay that guy.
Paine Posted July 8, 2012 Posted July 8, 2012 WHITE religious selfishness, apparently. All those little starving black babies in the deserts of Africa, and GAWD thinks you are important enough that you beseech him with AID IN FINDING YOUR FUCKING CAR KEYS???? That always makes friends when I mention THAT little nugget to a Christian!
SilentLoner Posted July 8, 2012 Posted July 8, 2012 The people who died in the massive pileup were sinners who deserved it, of course.
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