
(380)   Fri 27 Dec 96  1:45
By: Richard Smith
Re: God misses victims . . .

 The following was posted by someone named Barbara Mikkelson,
 obstensibly from A World Of Luck, A Library Of Curious And
 Unusual Facts, by Time Life Books, ISBN 0-8094-7711-4, p. 59.
 I think it clearly opens up a can of worms about Xtians and
 their Deity . . . <G>:

 * Copied (from: alt.folklore.urban) by Richard Smith using
   timEd 1.01.

 >    Choir practice at the West Side Baptist Church in
 > Beatrice, Nebraska, always began at 7:20 on Wednesday
 > evening. At 7:25 p.m. on Wednesday, March 1, 1950, an
 > explosion demolished the church. The blast forced a nearby
 > radio station off the air and shattered windows in
 > surrounding homes.

 >    But every one of the choir's fifteen members escaped
 > injury, saved by a fortuitous coincidence: All were late for
 > practice that night. Considering the sanctified site of the
 > explosion, it was not surprising that some attributed the
 > near miss to divine intervention.

 >    They supposed rightly that the odds of unanimous tardiness
 > were slim indeed, especially when the reasons were examined.
 > Car trouble delayed two women. The minister and his wife and
 > daughter were delayed by a dress that needed ironing at the
 > last minute. Others were late because they paused to complete
 > homework, finish a letter, or hear the end of a favorite
 > radio show. One awoke late from a nap. Some could think of no
 > special reason; they were just late.

 >    It is impossible to calculate precise odds for all these
 > events occurring at once. But past performance indicated that
 > each person would be late for practice one time in four --
 > producing a one-in-a-million chance that the entire choir
 > would be late that night.

 ------------------------------------------------------------

 Skeptic's take on the above: Gads, the Xtian Deity doesn't
 have any better aim than Asmodeus does . . . <G>
--- timEd 1.01
 * Origin: Syr Undry BBS  ):>  Bendigaid  };>  (916) 922-9046 (1:203/9046)

