Nothing else to say: "Oh my God"

Discussion in 'Religion Archives' started by Tiassa, Jul 4, 2003.

?

Uh ....

  1. Um ....

    4 vote(s)
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  2. Er ....

    3 vote(s)
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  3. You know ....

    3 vote(s)
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  4. Well now ....

    2 vote(s)
    16.7%
  1. Tiassa Let us not launch the boat ... Valued Senior Member

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    Lightning hits preacher after call to God (BBC)
    Praise the Lord.

    :m:,
    Tiassa

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  3. SG-N Registered Senior Member

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    I would better say "Pffff... unlucky guy!"

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    In fact it depends on the way you see it : he could be said to be a lucky man if you believe that it was a sign or if you think "well, he is still alive!"

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  5. everneo Re-searcher Registered Senior Member

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    of course it is a chance accident, for atheists.
    its a sign to firm up the belief, for theists.

    Agnostics have the chance to investigate further.
     
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  7. DJSupreme23 neocortex activated Registered Senior Member

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    Pessimists will deny it as a hoax, and optimists will say "I TOLD YOU SO!".

    Islamists will say that it was staged and that there is no heathen god - it was Allah playing with the infidels.

    Buddists will shake their heads and say "lightning is Buddha nature".
     
  8. airavata portentous Registered Senior Member

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    Hilarious. I started laughing when I read this. Oh, yes there is a god.. thats why he would burn down his church.
     
  9. Raithere plagued by infinities Valued Senior Member

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    Boy, penance usually consists of a few “Our Father”s and “Hail Mary”s, this guy must have done something really bad.

    Be careful what you ask for…

    ~Raithere
     
  10. Cris In search of Immortality Valued Senior Member

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    My first thought was why this event is being reported by the British, I couldn’t find any further details to this in the US press. Curious, but then the British have a real and healthy penchant for laughing at the Church, Americans are nearly always far too serious about such things.

    The local newspaper reference - http://www.thecourier.com/

    So was this preacher being very clever or was he just stupid? Churches tend to be taller than surrounding buildings especially if they have towers or steeples. And I hope most people realize that lighting tends to find the nearest and highest places. Churches are prime targets and are hit far more often than other lower buildings. So it should come as no surprise when Churches are hit. But churches spend most of their time empty with services only active during a fraction of the time in any given week. Most lightning strikes will therefore occur when services are not in progress. So did this preacher remember that churches are hit by lightning frequently and notice there was a severe storm outside during his service and play the percentages and ask for a sign? The fact that it occurred and he was injured indicates he was probably more surprised than anyone else.

    So was this just a coincidence or was there a divine answer to a mortal request? A divine event would have been more believable if there hadn’t been a convenient storm in progress and the lighting came straight out of a clear blue sky. But preachers rarely call for signs unless they have previously contrived some answer, and I think the bible warns against testing the lord. They are also painfully aware that if no sign is forthcoming then they have to deal with the awkward and embarrassing silence while waiting for God to deliver and doesn’t.

    But the article doesn’t give us the exact words that were used which is very suspicious. Was there a clear and deliberate call “oh lord give us a sign”, or was it something far less direct like, ‘and the lord will show us the way as always’? And the article says the lighting struck moments after the call, so was everyone waiting in silence during those moments while God gave the request some considered thought, or did the preacher continue preaching and was rudely interrupted when the lightning hit?

    It looks like the article seriously failed in terms of objective journalism and is playing to the gullible by implying a clear call and answer. It would also be nice to know how often that church has been hit before, the real severity of the storm and how many other buildings and tress etc were hit at that time, and whether the preacher did take a gamble or not.

    But here are some other articles I found that you might find of interest concerning churches and lightning.

    http://www.halfbakery.com/idea/Concealed_20Lightning_20Rods_20for_20Churches

    Nice article on Franklin's Unholy Lightning Rod -
    http://www.evolvefish.com/freewrite/franklgt.htm

    A Christian message to ring your bells to prevent lightning? http://www.justchristians.com/abundantLife/052003/3.html

     
    Last edited: Jul 4, 2003
  11. Tiassa Let us not launch the boat ... Valued Senior Member

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    Er ....

    I didn't pause on the why British issue; I just fell over laughing.

    Did it occur to nobody to check the building for damage before the fire made itself known to to the bedazzled congregation?

    I suppose there is something else to say, but "Holy f***ing s***!" still involves the notion of holy something ....

    But this story reads like a parody, a creative work. "It was awesome, just awesome!"

    I tend to think that the Beeb has generally admitted that American Christianity is a fertile ground for "human interest" jokes. Every time American religion makes the Beeb as a headline, it's some ridiculous chapter from the modern American experience. Pedophiles, televangelists, lightning strikes, odd stains shaped like the Virgin ....

    Maybe I should have put pedophiles and odd stains next to each other in the list; that would have had some (minor, vague) humorous effect.

    :m:,
    Tiassa

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  12. Cris In search of Immortality Valued Senior Member

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    Tiassa,

    I have to admit that during my first visits to the US in the mid 80s I discovered televangelism and initially mistook it for a comedy. There is no equivalent on British TV, it just couldn’t survive.
     
  13. Tiassa Let us not launch the boat ... Valued Senior Member

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    Sad analogy

    That kind of makes it a Monty Python institution, doesn't it? I mean, how many years before the US gets to a genuine Monty Python moment? Henson was the closest we had, but that's a different class entirely.

    :m:,
    Tiassa

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  14. doom Registered Senior Member

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    Too right,we also think americans are all nuts.
     
  15. Crunchy Cat F-in' *meow* baby!!! Valued Senior Member

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    Eeney a adomi a. Een i a es requium. *thunk*
     
  16. doom Registered Senior Member

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    Well i might agree with that if i knew what the hell you were saying.
     
  17. Crunchy Cat F-in' *meow* baby!!! Valued Senior Member

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    Watch Montey Python's 'Holy Grail'. You will then understand
    my child.
     
    Last edited: Jul 5, 2003
  18. Michael 歌舞伎 Valued Senior Member

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    To funny!!
    caveman --to--> modern Christian.
    Not much has changed

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  19. doom Registered Senior Member

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    Oh right i see now,classic,theres that good bit with the guy getting his arms and legs chopped off and still wants to fight.

    And the knights of the ni,ni ni ni!
     
  20. Crunchy Cat F-in' *meow* baby!!! Valued Senior Member

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    We are no longer the knights who say 'ni!'. We are now the
    knights who say 'icky icky potang thpppppt!'.
     
  21. everneo Re-searcher Registered Senior Member

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    Its funny to read the atheists' responses. Conveniently side-stepping the issue and dwelling on their sense of humor. Go on live with your own belief system. When you get a comfortable evidence, i am sure this would suddenly become more important then, bounce on theists as if they are morons. Hypocrites.

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  22. doom Registered Senior Member

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    whatever

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  23. Zero Banned Banned

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    Y'know, you could say the same exact thing, taking off the 'a' in "atheist" and make it a lot truer.

    Oooooh, doesn't the blinding light of truth just HURT? Lol, loser.
     

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