coincidence, tragedy and other acts of gods
Having just spent some time with people of a religious persuasion, I’m struck by how often coincidences (or indeed any and all random events with supposedly positive outcomes) are desperately attributed to the machinations of the Christian god God.
Do you know anyone who died? If they died quickly and peacefully, that’s the loving work of the god God. If they died after years of suffering, that’s the god God taking away their struggle. If they died suddenly and tragically, the god God works in mysterious ways.
Did you find a place to park at the supermarket? That’s the work of the god God. If you didn’t and drove round and round wasting petrol, that’s the god God showing you how to be patient. If you gave up and went to another supermarket and spoke to any random person, or saw any random event, the god God stopped you from finding a parking place in the first supermarket so that anything that happened there could happen.
Did you want something to happen that actually happened? That’s the work of the god God. If it hasn’t happened yet, it’s because it’s going to happen at the right moment in your life according to the plan of the god God. If it doesn’t happen at all, it’s because it wasn’t supposed to happen according to the plan of the god God.
Because if the Christian god God didn’t exist, and wasn’t shimmering around invisibly making things happen in the petty little lives of all Christians, then clearly nothing would actually happen in the world. Petty little things that make Christians happy only actually happen because the invisible creator of the world loves them and has time to put the fridge they want on half price sale, or provide a parking place for them, or make them bump into someone who says something nice to them.
Us atheists can never find reasonably priced appliances or parking places. And I have never bumped into anyone at a surprising or convenient time, because the world is too big for random events like that to ever happen if the invisible, middle eastern god of the Jews isn’t intervening.
So, next time anything surprising or nice or interesting or useful or fun or tragic happens, don’t for one minute think that things just happen. Remember it must be the work of one of the very many mythical and invisible creatures that humans have imagined in the history of the world. And if you live in 2015 in Europe or the USA, it must be the work of Christian god God.
And don’t forget to thank him incessantly for this wonderful intervention in your petty little life, and wonder with awe what odd benevolent deity would revel in the petty little coincidences in your petty little life, while millions of other people are living tragically short, painful and brutal lives. What a comforting Christian life!
🙂
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this is so spot on
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No Christians disagreeing, so it must be. 🙂
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I am surprised CS or Som has not shown up to light your space with stupidity
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We have evolved to see agency where there is none – the Stone Age hunter who heard the wind rustle the grass and believed it to have been a tiger, lived to pass on his genes (and instructions), while the hunter who heard a tiger rustle the grass and believed it to have been the wind, did not.
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He’s teaching the vulture patience —
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From the Good Book:
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John – I’m amused at the clever way you’re managing to sneak excerpts from your book onto Colorstorm’s blog – I would say I’m surprised he hasn’t figured it out yet, but I’m really not.
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It’s not half obvious, right? 🙂
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That sounds entertaining, I’ll have to lurk round there …
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…and the ringmaster/magician/thief laughed all the way to the bank.
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Precisely!
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You may find this interesting: https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/reality-play/201207/being-amused-apophenia.I know that some personalities (like mine) are more prone to apophenia, or seeing patterns where there are none. There seems to be an evolutionary advantage to it. I think this phenomenon may explain some of why/how Christians can see God’s hand in every (meaningless) thing.
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Oh sorry. Figuring out new phone and accidentally added extra letter to the link so it won’t work. Here it is again: https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/reality-play/201207/being-amused-apophenia
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Thanks for the article, Quixie, and I agree that this plays a part in why Christians see the god God’s hand in everything. I assert that when apophenia is mixed with authoritarian religion, such as Christianity, it becomes patternicity on steroids. Natural disasters become associated with the god God’s judgement — fulfilled prophecy — signs of the end-times, thus apathy regarding environmental improvements.
http://www.pewresearch.org/daily-number/jesus-christs-return-to-earth/
Neurological disorders and mental illness become associated with demon possessions, so people end up having primitive rituals performed on them and don’t get the necessary medical treatment.
Increases in secular societies and social justices, such as LGBT’s human rights get associated with scriptures like Isaiah 5:20, sending conservative believers into a political frenzy — electing ultra-conservative, dominionist politicians who hope for a theocracy.
So, IMO, this combo does not render an evolutionary advantage.
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Yes, I do see your point however we humans are still around (and in large numbers) so…this IS working for us in some capacity even though we are going WAY overboard with it.
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😉
https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/is-your-brain-culture/200906/we-humans-have-fatal-biology
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Yikes! Well that certainly puts things into a different perspective.
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I’ll take my chances that, after 3.5 million years, it’s not entirely over yet.
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Well when you look at it in light of how many years we’ve been around there is less a sense of doom for the human race. I have a feeling we’ll make it for a quite a bit longer unless Jesus first returns by 2050, as predicted by 41% of Americans.
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Isn’t that the same percentage that elected George W. Bush?
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I’m ashamed to admit I was one of those people and back then I did believe Jesus would return by 2050.
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You had your counterpart in 0050 —
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Maybe he got stuck in traffic —
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Thanks for the link, that’s interesting. I think there’s also something incredibly egotistical about it – my life is important and everything I do is important.
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Hmm…I’m not sure I’d call it egotistical. Self-centered, yes.
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Ha. I guess self-centered and egotistical are the same thing, now that I think about it. However, I think self-centeredness is human and good and normal but it’s the EXCESS of self-centeredness I’m referring to.
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Yes, I was wondering what distinction you would make. We are the centre of the world for ourselves, everything does in fact revolve around us, but it’s getting perspective on that which clearly eludes some people.
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We are the heroes/heroines of our own life stories.
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I agree, although I wouldn’t say that Christianity is inherently self-centered. There are many Christians who are attempting their best to “die to self.” They are no more self-centered than the atheist or secular person. The difference is the superstition and attributing meaning to things that have no meaning.
So knowing that all people are naturally self-centered makes it easier for me to be sympathetic to the fact that some will attribute coincidental circumstances to the hand of their personal loving god.
I don’t even think it’s very egotistical to really believe to have found the Truth or to believe your way is the right way. Where is gets egotistical is when you are not willing to acknowledge the possibility that you might be wrong and you start to think of, and treat, others who believe differently thank you as idiots.
I guess the difference is that at least the non-believer is not making a supernatural claim that GOD personally talked to them and revealed this truth. I’ve seen so many examples of “spiritual abuse” that I can see where this can go really, really wrong. There seems to be something even more “evil” about someone doing something awful because God told them to than if the person did something awful because well, because they are just an awful person.
Sorry, my thinking is all over the place. Just sorta rambling. Hope that’s okay. 🙂
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Sometimes, Quixie, idiots are just idiots.
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Ha. Your comment made me laugh. I really appreciate people who say-it-like-it-is because it is so opposite to my personality that it’s refreshing.
Perhaps I am too kind and naive but I can’t believe “sometimes idiots are just idiots” because I have trouble defining the opposite. What makes someone NOT an idiot?
I mean, really, in my eyes EVERYONE is an idiot in some capacity or another (myself included).
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It is true, Quixie, that everyone I meet knows something I don’t.
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Except for Colorstorm and Wally —
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In my atheist blog lurking I have noticed your great affection for those two.
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Ah yes, my relationship with them just warms the cockles of my heart, and there’s nothing better than warm cockles.
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No, I should think not…
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So true. All good things are gods doing and perceived bad things are a test. They also throw around the ‘god doesn’t give you more than you can handle’ nonsense without thinking it through. For my dad, cancer was certainly more than he could handle.
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I hadn’t heard that one before. Truly awful in that kind of context.
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That out-of-context bible reference is supposed to be referring to temptation. God will supposedly provide a way for you out of temptation. I don’t understand how ANY Christian could possibly believe that “god doesn’t give you more than you can handle” unless they’ve had an easy, easy life. In my opinion that is probably one of the crueler platitudes that Christians use. It makes me livid.
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Stubbed my toe because, in anticipation of my shout, God damned-it.
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Well, he DOES work in mysterious ways —
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That’s one of the problems with an all-knowing invisible deity on the lurk …
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Oh my god God, this is EXACTLY what I needed to read today! Seriously, just a few hours ago, sitting in the hell fire and brimstone church of my youth while visiting family, trying not to roll my eyes, smirk, or chortle, I thought to myself how sad it was that wasted so many of my 40 plus years thinking this way. There were no coincidences, everything happened for a reason, everything was in the will of the Father. I even had a term for it: Godincidence. It seems so odd to me that since my faith left me last year, I find no reduction in the number of these events in my life. Once again you have totally nailed it, putting into words with humour and spark the truth of which I am just now becoming aware.
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“Godincidence” – I like that!
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I have impressed Arch. My life is complete, I can die happy ;p
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Oh shuddup!
Obviously you’re following the maxim, “Always be sincere, whether you mean it or not.“
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I’m so pleased you get it too. I’m also impressed you manage to sit through services so soon after seeing the light!
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Its funny. For years after leaving that church for more orthodox Christianity, I hated going to their services. They were so repulsive to me. I wouldn’t sing, I wouldn’t clap, & I would basically sit there with my lips pursed together until it was over. Basically I sat in judgement the entire service. Now? I go and I sit with my family and I listen critically to the things that are said and sung and I make notes. It’s become a sort of an anthropological study for me. I can even sing songs in church to make my mother happy without retching. I decided that since I sing and I sing well why not enjoy the music, make my mother happy, and the meaning of the song don’t matter to me anymore. Quite frankly it’s amazing to me I don’t get struck by lightning and no one stands up to tell how God reveals my apostasy to them!
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Classic! I agree completely. I quite enjoy the oddness of it all now, and having the opportunity to sing the songs that hurt my throat because the key is so high. But I don’t think I’ve sat through a whole regular service since my deconversion, it would be such a long hour!
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“…it would be such a long hour!” – Interestingly, for Christians, heaven consists of church that lasts forever —
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I don’t think any of them have thought about spending eternity plus 1 in prayer
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Over the past few years Contemporary Christian Music has really gotten under my skin. But now that I am no longer a Christian I don’t mind the songs as much. I actually quite enjoy listening to the music and analyzing them in light of my new perspective on life.
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I will be using “Godincidence” from now on. Maybe you should trademark that term, it is very clever. 🙂
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@
zanderwispandarchebringingperpetualandmusingnonsensense:
Blindness to spiritual truth is as stupid as saying that a rose emits no scent.
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Or that you emit any sense.
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Does the god God find you parking places and cheap appliances? Does he bring people into your life that you otherwise couldn’t have met?
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Ah, the will of God…………a theological truth that has frustrated man for ages, as well as been a balm to even more.
However, kinda hard to engage a conversation to this end if one does not believe He is.
So I’ll pass to your question.
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You tend to pass, CS, on every question – or delete them – when do you ever take a stand and substantiate your beliefs, rather than flinging scripture like monkeys fling poo?
Your invisible, non-existent god would be SO disappointed in you (if he existed) – as it is, you’re off the hook, except, of course, for feeling like a failure.
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And I DO hope that didn’t offend you – after all, I’ve been scolded —
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Well Arch, the difference is that ColorStorm addressed you initially here, and also while he’s always welcome to comment and say what he wants, he also wasn’t specifically invited here. I think I’ve ‘scolded’ you when you make rude comments to people who aren’t addressing you, or have been specifically invited to share their opinion. I don’t want to put any Christians off sharing their opinions, after all we may learn something from each other.
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You ALWAYS scold me, I’m getting used to it —
The first time, I was offended, and didn’t comment here for months, but then I realized, “…that’s just VW” – my skin thickened, and here I am.
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Well, synchronicities. I like synchronicities. They cheer me up. And the thought that God does not test me further than I can bear helps me get up after. Belief is useful. And God loves atheists too, so you are blessed even as you deny it.
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Blessed be the idiots, for they shall see god (where there is none).
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It matters what you call something.
I want to use names and words which give me maximum reassurance and comfort, without straying too far from objective reality- as if anyone could ever perceive that.
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And in light of my last comment, I don’t appreciate cheeky or rude comments to Clare, my oldest and best blogging buddy. Apart from anything else, she follows the least harmful interpretation of Christianity and her version should be encouraged.
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I find my own comfort and reassurance within myself, but that’s just me —
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And there it is —
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Here you are Violet, wrote you another post
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