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Grisly Miracles

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Dave_LF
Post subject: Grisly Miracles
Posted: Sat 04 Aug , 2007 1:48 am
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So the Minneapolis bridge collapse is being described as a miracle because only 6 people are confirmed dead so far:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20103360/

Does it not occur to any of these people that if we lived in a world of miracles, maybe these things wouldn't happen at all? Do they even stop for a second to think about how these kinds of headlines must affect the families of the 6+ people that the miraculous powers couldn't be bothered to save?

It gets even worse when they go on to list the reasons for this "miracle":
Quote:
Clack cited a list of reasons: A bridge design that minimized falling debris, a quick response by rescue crews
In other words. human effort. :rage:


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TheEllipticalDisillusion
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Posted: Sat 04 Aug , 2007 5:40 am
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No, purely divine! Who 'truly' designed the bridge? That's right, the Miracle Man.

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LalaithUrwen
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Posted: Sat 04 Aug , 2007 3:18 pm
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It is a tragedy that has some miraculous components to it. A busload of 60+ kids dangling over the edge did not fall and all the children survived. Many people survived because the bridge fell straight down somewhat slowly. Many people survived because the rush hour traffic was basically at a standstill and the cars did not have any momentum as the bridge went down.

I'm sorry; I'm not sure why you're angry. No one has said, "Wow! This was a fantastic thing that happened! Screw the families who lost loved ones--look at all the other people survived!"

No. I've heard, "We are heartbroken for the families who lost loved ones, but we are also grateful for the many lives who were spared, either by the heroic efforts of other people or the 'good fortune' that guided the way some other things happened."

People are looking at this and rightly thinking that it could have been a heck of a lot worse. And they are grateful that it wasn't--all at the same time as being sad for the people who died or were injured. That's the screwy thing about something like this; you can be sad and grateful at the same time.

And miracles don't have to occur just at the hand of the divine either.

So humans screw up and don't repair a bridge that they know is defective. But when it falls, hey, why didn't God keep that bridge from falling? :suspicious: Or you're angry because some people are calling it miraculous intervention that more people didn't die? Well, you know, whatever you want to call it, I'm glad that things happened the way they did and many, many lives were spared. Call it luck or God--whichever floats your boat.

Lali

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Axordil
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Posted: Sat 04 Aug , 2007 7:25 pm
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"Miracle" is used, or abused, or at least overused, in the same way as "hero" is these days. Any unlikely occurrence that helps someone out, or keeps someone from harm, becomes a miracle. Anyone who isn't a selfish prick in a tight spot is a "hero."

The bar has been piled lower. :neutral:

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vison
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Posted: Sun 05 Aug , 2007 4:02 pm
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Axordil wrote:
"Miracle" is used, or abused, or at least overused, in the same way as "hero" is these days. Any unlikely occurrence that helps someone out, or keeps someone from harm, becomes a miracle. Anyone who isn't a selfish prick in a tight spot is a "hero."

The bar has been piled lower. :neutral:
Yes, indeed it has.

On the other hand, up country here in BC, a man beat a cougar up with his bare hands and by doing so saved a little boy's life. That was kinda heroic. :D Concentrate on that one.

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ToshoftheWuffingas
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Posted: Sun 05 Aug , 2007 8:14 pm
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Does PETA know?

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TheEllipticalDisillusion
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Posted: Mon 06 Aug , 2007 4:40 am
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I've argued with people about the overuse of the word hero nowadays. Too many people are being classified as heroes without actually doing anything heroic. Joining the military does not make one a hero, neither does joining the fire department. Heroic deeds make one a hero, but then that begs the question.

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Dave_LF
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Posted: Mon 06 Aug , 2007 4:19 pm
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Why does this annoy me? I guess if the god(s) one believes in don't have the three omni attributes, I can see how a tragedy that isn't as bad as it could have been might be a miracle. But otherwise, what is the person implying? That God stood next to the bridge, let it fall, and then said "I'll save him, him, she forgot to pray this morning, he makes the cut (barely), his hair is a little too long..."? It's especially bad when it's one of the survivors making the claim; suggesting that the all-powerful creator of the universe for some reason selected him and deselected everyone else. There was a Jeopardy contestant the other week who talked about how a tornado came through her neighborhood and destroyed a bunch of houses, but since hers was left alone "my prayers were answered". I thought she'd get the standard religious free pass, but Alex actually called her on it! ~"So you prayed your neighbors houses would be destroyed instead of yours". It went over like a joke, but some of the smiles had teeth in them, I imagine.


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vison
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Posted: Mon 06 Aug , 2007 4:54 pm
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I'm with you, Dave.

Jeez. :rage:

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MariaHobbit
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Posted: Thu 09 Aug , 2007 3:25 pm
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I once came across someone who was convinced that all people choose the time and place of their demise, and doing anything to intervene was futile. Either they'd live through it or wouldn't- they'd already decided.

That attitude bothers me worse than anything listed here. There's nothing wrong with trying to help people.

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