Consider this story:Divine InterventionA woman was walking down a dark alley and a suspicious man entered that same alley heading toward her. She silently prayed to God to protect her. She continued walking, and amazingly the suspicious man did nothing to her.
As soon as she reached the street, in the company of other pedestrians and well within the comforting glow of the streetlights she called the police on her cell phone.
The police arrived and arrested the man. Later the police thanked the woman, telling her that that same man had raped and killed another woman that very night.
Months later when the woman testified in court, she had an opportunity to talk to the rapist. She asked him, simply, “Why didn’t you attack me too?” He responded, “Well, that wouldn’t have been very smart with those two big brutes on either side of you”.
The woman was confused as she was completely alone in that alley with the rapist -- but later the woman realized that the “two brutes” were guardian angels that God had sent to protect her.
Now, please consider this story:The DealA man and woman are having a major row over finances. It seems they’re going to be evicted from their apartment because they can’t make the rent. Just when their tempers were about to reach the boiling point, a knock was heard at the door.
The husband answers the door, and a well-dressed man greets the couple.
“I know about your financial problems, and I have a solution for you – that is, if you accept the deal I have to ofer”, he says, in a relaxed voice.
The husband and wife both seriously doubt the motives of the stranger, and they both move to close the door and send him on his way.
“You might want to look at this before you throw me out”, said the stranger, while he held out an open briefcase filled with what looked like hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash.
“Yup, that’s right. This case has five million dollars. It’s not stolen, it’s not marked, it’s not counterfeit – it’s pure, honest, real cash. And, you could have it all -- to spend anyway you like, that is, if you let me explain and you accept the deal.”, he said.
Exchanging suspicious glances, the man and the woman hesitantly let the stranger in, and he sat down.
“Let me explain how this works”, he said, now sitting comfortably, “What I said about the money is completely true, it can all be yours.”
“Yeah,” said the husband, “but there’s got to be some sort of catch, right?”
Upon hearing this, the man reached into his suit jacket and pulled out a shiny unmarked rectangular metal box the size of a pack of cigarettes. The only feature on the metal box was a large red button. He handed the box to the wife.
“All you have to do to get the money is press that button.”, he said, “When you press the button two things will happen… One: I will come to your door, and give the brief case with the money in it. You can spend it anyway you like. You can even keep the case – it’s a Prada case, very nice.” The man then hesitated, and continued in a grim voice, “and then, two:, someone will die.”
“Someone will die?!,” shouts the woman.
“Relax! Don’t worry, it won’t be anyone you know.”, he continued, “That’s right, the moment you press the button someone you don’t know will die, and I bring you the cash. It’s that simple. You have until midnight to decide, after that the deal is off.”
The man got up, and let himself out, closing the door behind him. The room was suddenly very quiet.
The husband and wife sat down and began to discuss the man, the deal, and the incredible need they had for that money. After many hour of discussion the midnight hour was rapidly approaching, and they had to make a decision.
The two had decided that pressing the button was the best choice for them. Sure, they were sad that someone had to die, but since it wasn’t anyone they knew, how much could the loss of that person affect them? The choice was made. With only a few minutes to spare they both, together, pressed the red button.
Before their fingers had even left the button a knock was heard at the door. The well-dressed man stepped in, and handed them the brief case.
“There you go. You can count it if you want, “ he said, “it’s all there. Now please, give me back the button.”
As the husband handed the button back to the man, the wife opened the case and began digging through the fortune at her fingertips – she was jubilant.
“Okay, we’re done. Enjoy your money,” said the well-dressed man as he turned on his heel, and went to leave.
The husband interrupted the man, “Thank you, sir, this cash will really save us…. I do have one question, though… what happens with the button now?”
“Well,” the well-dressed man said, “I’ll take it to someone else who really needs five-million dollars and I’ll offer them the same deal”
The husband looked at the well-dressed man with a slightly confused look on his face.
The well-dressed man continued, “Don’t worry, it won’t be someone you know”.
The first story is very popular and can even be considered inspirational. We feel good about the fact that this woman was protected from a terrible crime and perhaps even death by her simple, humble prayer to a receptive and loving God.
The second story leaves us thinking that the well-dressed man is either some agent of Satan, if not the very devil himself. It all seems like such a good deal until we realize that the very couple we had just gotten to know could very easily be the next to die. Surely this is a devil’s deal.
Now, let’s take a look at the hidden dark-side of the first story. It’s easy to miss it. Can you figure it out?
The woman who prays is saved from rape, but the rapist did indeed rape and kill another woman earlier that very evening. Yes, she was saved, but another woman was not. The “other woman” was brutally raped and murdered.
The woman who is saved by her two guardian angels doesn’t really dwell on that fact. She’s just happy that God heard her prayers and she was saved. The “other woman” is simply and conveniently forgotten.
Why is it convenient? Well, because if any person with a rational mind, and a considerate nature is to think through the blessing, they would realize that…
“in order for someone to be blessed, one or more other people must be cursed”
Richard Carrier is an atheist. He is a historian and the author of “Sense and Goodness Without God”. In the documentary “The God that Wasn’t There” he’s asked, “If you could just accept Jesus as your personal savior, then end up in heaven, it’s it worth it to do that?”
Carrier’s response left me dumbstruck. I’ll paraphrase…
“If I find myself in heaven, it couldn’t be a place I could enjoy regardless of what type of paradise it is. This is because all I would be able to think about would be all of the millions of people that were burning in hell for no good reason. How could I be happy when so many are suffering? And, over what -- simple belief? What sort of insane God would create an inequity of this magnitude? And how could I worship such a God?”How, I ask, could any person – especially a so-called “loving Christian” – accept this deal? How could any caring person ‘be okay with” millions if not billions of souls suffering in hell forever? How can anyone embrace a God that is this arbitrary – this insane?
Now, reconsider the second story – The Deal. In this story, the well-dressed man was in no way evil – he simply offered a deal. The “evil” comes from the couple’s inability to think beyond themselves. If they had thought about others, they would have realized that their own mortality hung in the balance, and they would have simply passed on the cash. It seems that at least with the devil, the insanity is in the hands of the humans, not the deity.
I found the documentary “The God that Wasn’t There” to be very thought-provoking. Through it I discovered:
- That the early founders and followers of Christianity believed in Jesus as a divine being – not a physical man who walked the earth. They were completely unaware of even the idea that Jesus had walked the earth.
- The entire story of Jesus (found in the Gospels) seems to be a new or reworked “hero story” which is highly derivative of well known hero stories of the day.
- The Jesus story is very derivative of several pagan savior cults which were widely practiced with the gospels were being written.
- Christian preachers intentionally avoid teaching any of the above facts to their flock.
The film also features interviews with:
- Sam Harris, PEN Award-winning author of The End of Faith
- Robert M. Price, Jesus Seminar fellow and author of The Incredible Shrinking Son of Man
- Alan Dundes, Professor of Folklore at the University of California at Berkeley
- Richard Carrier, historian and author of Sense and Goodness Without God
- Barbara & David P. Mikkelson, authors of the Urban Legends Reference Pages at snopes.com (I will credit them for the story “Divine Intervention” above)
I strongly recommend this film. It is currently available on DVD. I rented the film from Netflix. Here is a link to the
official movie website.
Happy blastphemy!
There have been plenty of articles about Apple finally introducing a maximum volume setting for the iPod. In France Apple was forced to do this because laws there require no device to pump more than 100 db in order to protect the hearing of the public. And, of course, there is a class-action lawsuit against Apple here in the US as well.
