I was reading Why Atheists Don’t Turn to Religion When Faced with Death or Disaster on AlterNet this afternoon. Greta Christina did a fine job of capturing the truth behind the myth. Atheists don’t typically turn to God when faced with death. Christians think we do, but they are mistaken. I’m often pelted the foxhole myth when talking to Christians who think they hold some secret knowledge because the believe in some an afterlife. They don’t know anything really.
I’ve often wondered if Christians say the same think to people of other faiths. Greta nails it in her article.
What would you think if someone made this argument to a person of a different faith? "Sure, you believe in Judaism now -- but when your plane is going down, you'll turn to your Lord and Savior Jesus Christ."
Is that an appropriate thing to say? Or is it religious bigotry, pure and simple? Regardless of what you personally believe about Jesus Christ and his ability to comfort people during plane crashes ... would you renounce this argument as insensitive and tone-deaf at best, callous and inhumane at worst?
My story:
I faced death once. Seven years ago a stern-faced oncologist said I should, “…put my affairs in order as my time was short.” He said my preliminary test results were bad, so bad that he suggested I talk to my priest. I left his office stunned, numb, and scared. As another round of tests started, I did not turn to God. The thought never crossed my mind.
I sought comfort from my wife and a few friends. I looked into funeral arrangements and how to take care of my family after my death. I did things to keep my mind busy, but I did not go to a priest. Three weeks later the same oncologist and my primary physician met me together to tell me they had made a horrible mistake. Some other bloke was going to die. I was fine. I did not scream “Thank God.” Instead, I walked to my car and cried. As tears rolled down my face I called my wife and told her the good news. I gave my mom the same call. Then I went to work.
I found out later the other person died four weeks after my clean bill of heath. There was nothing they could have done for him.
Logging you in...
No2Religion 85p · 796 weeks ago
Baconsbud 96p · 796 weeks ago
john_poson26 93p · 796 weeks ago
Thanks for sharing such a great personal story!
TexasHeather · 796 weeks ago
Sorry you had to go through a scare like that, but definitely sounds like you handled it well. Glad it was a false alarm.
Jack 119p · 796 weeks ago
TinaFCD 62p · 796 weeks ago
Bill 69p · 796 weeks ago
I contrast that with an employee at the company for which I used to work. He and his wife had momentarily left their toddler unsupervised in their kitchen with a large pot of boiling water, and the child pulled it over on himself.
The first spam from the employee was explaining what had happened and asking for everyone's prayers. I thought it was a bit tacky, but I don't imagine that I'd be thinking too clearly after almost letting my child die.
After a lot of free work at the magnificent burn unit at the local Shriner's Hospital, the toddler's prognosis became very good for a reasonably normal life. Then came the second spam letter to the company.
In this second spam, the child's recovery was SOLELY attributed to the prayer/God combo. Thanks to the prayers and gods the surgeries and grafts were successful. It was ONLY because of God's mercy, blah, blah, blah. Not one mention of the training and skill of the fine people doing the work, not even a nod and a plug for supporting the free work provided by the institution employing those fine people.
That second spam was highly offensive, much like the Star Jones comment that God personally saved her from the tsunami by having her trip to the area it hit end a few weeks before the tsunami. It's the opposite side of the same problem: in one, the problem is supposed to lead to delusional god feelings. In the other, a resolved problem is held up as the outcome of delusional god feelings. (And, of course, the third one, that unresolved problems are really well resolved, you just don't have sufficient delusional god feelings to understand that.)
Baconsbud 96p · 796 weeks ago
Bill 69p · 796 weeks ago
But even if religion is your drug of choice for assuaging your guilt (and according to Brit Hume the best way to do that is to pick Christianity), that still doesn't relieve you of the debt you owe to the people actually helping your child.