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But I’m a little disappointed that he finally sought medical help. I almost thought he was a true believer. He reached about 95%, I think. From a Christian perspective, this practice misses the point of the gospel, but if you are a fundamentalist thinker, this is the logical end of that sort of thinking.
Instead of god of the gaps it’s god of the gimmicks. As a matter of faith it would seem god judged him to be lacking. Not being mean here but when you claim god is your protector and here is proof and then die from said proof that kind of says god didn’t have your back. I know, I know, it’s all part of gods plan. People who die for god inspire others to god and the cycle repeats.
If the claims of christianity (any variety) are justified there is no reason to scorn this faith. Seriously. If our mortal lifetime is actually just a tiny rehearsal for an infinite existence and that the vital secrets to maximize the latter experience are to be found in the selective reading of some ancient text I see no justification whatsoever for mocking a practice like snake handling. One could say that its interpretation is mistaken or that its theology is flawed or that it fails to grasp some nebulous spiritual truth. But arranging ones regard for religious institutions based on the ordinary, mortal liabilities of their particular practices simply makes no sense. If there is a way to achieve eternal well being any cost we pay in this lifetime is justified. I see no detour around this. And it relates closely to why I find zero beauty in religious world views. No mockery intended.
You are right, Brick, they should not be mocked for their beliefs. Rather their pratices should be facilitated. Venomous snakes play a key role in the ecosystem and keep pests under control. Fundementalist christians should be encouraged to handle them. A box of rattlers for each of their churches would be a service I can imagine being persuaded to provide.
Die fröhliche Wissenschaft (Rob) - 03 June 2012 01:01 AM
You are right, Brick, they should not be mocked for their beliefs. Rather their pratices should be facilitated. Venomous snakes play a key role in the ecosystem and keep pests under control. Fundementalist christians should be encouraged to handle them. A box of rattlers for each of their churches would be a service I can imagine being persuaded to provide.
Hey, Rob, what about the WBCC of the innocent snakes?!
But I’m a little disappointed that he finally sought medical help. I almost thought he was a true believer. He reached about 95%, I think. From a Christian perspective, this practice misses the point of the gospel, but if you are a fundamentalist thinker, this is the logical end of that sort of thinking.
A serpent handler dying from a snake bite, while supposedly doing god’s work in battling evil, at least establishes that god is incompetent if not non-existent.
“Must have been his time to go.” Really? If the same idiot puts a gun to his head and pulls the trigger, is that the act of some external locus of control too?
If the claims of christianity (any variety) are justified there is no reason to scorn this faith. Seriously. If our mortal lifetime is actually just a tiny rehearsal for an infinite existence and that the vital secrets to maximize the latter experience are to be found in the selective reading of some ancient text I see no justification whatsoever for mocking a practice like snake handling. One could say that its interpretation is mistaken or that its theology is flawed or that it fails to grasp some nebulous spiritual truth. But arranging ones regard for religious institutions based on the ordinary, mortal liabilities of their particular practices simply makes no sense. If there is a way to achieve eternal well being any cost we pay in this lifetime is justified. I see no detour around this. And it relates closely to why I find zero beauty in religious world views. No mockery intended.
“If the claims of Christianity are justified”, indeed… but they’re not.
There was an odious report in the Washington Post in which the writer fawned over the fact that he must have had great faith. It is NOT a virtue, and the idiocy that led to the man’s death should be called what it is - idiotic.
If you hear a Southerner say, “Hey, y’all! Watch this!” stand aside, for they likely will be the last words he says.
Edit: I #$%#$% despise using an iPad to type because the autocorrect software changes my words unless I catch it and specifically tell it not to. Expect more errors since I won’t have the laptop this week.
There was an odious report in the Washington Post in which the writer fawned over the fact that he must have had great faith. It is NOT a virtue, and the idiocy that led to the man’s death should be called what it is - idiotic.
You beat me to it, I just saw this and was going to post the link. I hate to sound naive, but I was actually really shocked by this, the idea that in 2012 the Washington Post is printing articles with an “Oh, isn’t that sweet” flavor about deaths of this kind. The group in mention isn’t far from where I grew up so maybe it just hits close to home. Granted, it’s an opinion piece, but even so…
