(1207)  Mon 24 Jul 95 23:17
By: John Passaniti
To: all
Re: God Hated Them; God Wanted Them Dead
St:
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@MSGID: 1:2613/102@fidonet 6695dd24
@PID: FM 2.12.SW UNREG
     I posted the following message in a local message area.  I thought it may
offend some Christians outside the area, so I posted it here.

 * Forwarded from "anything_goes"
 * Originally by John Passaniti, 1:2613/102@fidonet
 * Originally to all
 * Originally dated 24 Jul 1995, 23:03

     Saw the tragic bus crash story this morning.  For those who missed it, a
Christian church choir boarded a bus and was going to travel to a concert
location where they were to perform. Along the way, it appears the brakes
failed.  The bus crashed, which as of earlier this morning resulted in the
deaths of (I belive) the driver, and a couple other people.  I didn't see the
evening news report, so there may have been other deaths.  And don't forget
that many others who were injured.

     The most touching part of the news report was an old man who was being
interviewed.  He said his wife and daughter were on that bus, and doesn't know
if they are alive.  You could tell that the man was on the verge of crying, and
any human who ever loved someone else could feel his pain.

     Then the man said something funny:  "I'm praying to god that my family is
safe."  I started to laugh.  No, I mean I *really* started to laugh.

     I'm sure you've seen the Norman Rockwell painting.  Dad's in his chair
with the Bible in his hands, reading it aloud. Mom, is sitting on the couch
with adoring eyes for her breadwinner.  Sis and Junior are on the floor,
transfixed with the timeless wonder that is the Bible.  After a rousing round
of infinite "X begat Y," references to circumscision, and pronouncements
against eating lizards, the family huddles together, to pray.

     They pray together, out loud, for the health and prosperity of their
family.  Then, each goes into a silent prayer to their loving creator.
Silently, Dad is praying that he can keep his hair and not have to go for
Minoxidil treatments.  Mom is praying that Dad can manage to get it up later.
Sis is praying that she doesn't miss her period this month.  And Junior is
wishing he had a bigger penis.

     Sorry, my cynicism is showing again.

     Anyway, I'm sure this old man's family prayed to their ever lovin' god to
look down favorably on them, and to grant them a long and happy life.  And,
after their time on this mortal coil, they would float up to heaven, strumming
lyres and dancing on clouds with Jeeeeeeezus.

     So it would seem pointless for this man to pray to god for his family's
well-being.  Clearly, god wanted these people dead, or at least seriously
maimed.  Review the Old Testament-- god is a sick fuck who enjoys inflicting
both physical and emotional pain (references available upon request) on humans.
 So why was this man praying?  Seems to me if he cared about his family, he
would *stop* praying.  Judging from past prayer, it results in a crimson wash
of death and gore.

     Of course, there is another possibility.

     The god of the Bible loves to punish humans.  He really seems to get off
on it.  Perhaps the Christians on that bus were really sinful bastards that god
wanted off the face of the planet.  Why not?  God has flooded the planet in the
past in response to mankind's sins, so why not snap the brake cable on the bus
and send these sinners on a one-way trip to hell?  If this theory holds true,
then the people who died were the most sinful, and the people who survived were
given a warning for their wicked ways.  See, god is merciful!

     The Christian mind is something that always makes me wonder. The old man
is praying to the same god that answered the mother's and daughter's prayers by
being the unfortunates who were on that bus.  If they died, the old man will
rationalize their deaths as "it was their time to go, god wanted them in
heaven."  If they didn't die, they will praise their god for letting them
survive (and presumably, letting the others in the crash die horribly).

     You know the old adage "be careful what you wish for because you may get
it?"  I think a fitting adapation of it might be, "be careful when praying to
god, he might answer."

--- GEcho 1.00
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