WOTM: Small Miracles

Did I leave that last comment with my position unclear? Sorry: that anecdote was just a coincidence. It's memorable and interesting, but that's just the kind of thing that happens now and then.

I was a fan of the “Skeptics Guide to the Universe” podcast in the summer of 2007 when Perry, one of the hosts, died at about age 44. I was listening to a memorial podcast of Perry’s contributions as I walked through Seattle’s streets, on my way to an Alpha group meeting. (Alpha is a series of classes that discuss various aspects of Christianity, so God is in this story somewhere.) One of the quirks of the show was an ongoing argument over whether birds or monkeys were more impressive animals (don’t ask). Perry would often spar with another regular on the show, enthusiastically arguing for the monkeys. So there I am, listening to this touching retrospective as I walk to my Alpha meeting to talk about arguments for God, and I turn a corner onto Queen Anne Avenue in Seattle. There, I see a company sign that says “Monkey Love Rubber Stamps.” This sign didn’t have just any name, but a name with an animal. Not just any animal, but a monkey (not an ape or a chimpanzee). Not any common monkey idiom (monkeyshines, monkey business, monkey’s uncle, monkey see no evil) but monkey love. What more is necessary to indicate a celestial blessing on the memory of a departed friend?

We had planned all week to go to our favorite karaoke bar. But God had other plans. A Hollywood thriller was shooting in the downtown area, trapping my bus. My wife was unable to leave work. I had to take the train, with no way to get home from the station (4 miles from our house). Yet The Lord provided. My daughter happened to be in town, and like magic was able to pick me up at the station. At home, I thought to check the bar's Facebook page. Rats! Karaoke was cancelled! But God was looking out for us. We instead ended up watching a ridiculous Christian movie on Netflix (Holy Ghost, 2014) about - you guessed it - small miracles. Instead of being disappointed that our night out was pre-empted, we got something so much more meaningful: tons of laughs and a great conversation about arrogance, narcissism, con artistry and filmmakers squandering Kickstarter money. It was pre-ordained we find this movie! He is indeed a God that hides from us (Isaiah 45:15) but those who seek shall find (Matt 7:7).

Thanks, Brian! ... Don, Yeah, I guess there was, but that was before my time. 🤣

Wasn't there a talking horse on TV years ago Mary??

I wrote an essay on this topic for Infidels.com several years ago. https://infidels.org/kiosk/article/the-god-of-coincidences-210.html. I’m glad to know I’m not alone in this. 👍🏻

Not sure if you've ever tackled the subject, Brian, but your video brought the concept to mind. When I read "miracles" in the title of the post it made me think again about the words attributed to Jesus in the Christian bible where he said something to the effect of "if ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed ye can accomplish anything." Or, was it "move mountains?" Maybe it was "move mountains." Anyway it should be obvious to even the truest of believers that humans haven't been able to pull off that specific feat... at least in any kind of telekinetic way. Nobody has been able to simply close their eyes, go "ommm" and levitate Mt. Shasta. And we know this because mountains are large and noticeable. If one of them shifted position suddenly, we'd damn well know about it. And you can bet that the "God Isn't Dead" crowd would be woofing and tweeting about the miracle incessantly. I guess it just goes to show that nobody since the time of Jesus has even had the most miniscule amount of faith (as a grain of mustard seed). Nobody. Nobody has had any faith. Maybe you'll get a few swift apologists saying something about using steam shovels or backhoes to move mountains. But then that kind of takes the whole miracle out of moving mountains via faith, doesn't it? And it kind of implies that faith itself really isn't as useful as a steam shovel. Anyway, nice vid. Thanks!

Yes, the narcissism of religion is never revealed more clearly than it is when people start talking about how God helped... THEM. And thanks for the link. I love that song!!! I got to hang out with Tim one night. He's super cool!

The "miracle" part of such stories are so small even a microscope would be insufficient. What strikes me about such tales is that the tellers must really think their something special, gawd's "chosen people." Talk about ego! So gawd intervened for them, helped them, saved THEM —but lets millions die in tsunamis, earthquakes, floods, famine, wildfires, tornados, hurricanes… pandemics. And we're not just talking about adults, even faithful believing adults, but children, toddlers, infants, animals. All I can conclude is that their gawd must be a whimsical, cruel, capricious, friggin' sadist. The irony always makes me think of Tim Minchin's song in which he give thanks for "fixing the cataracts of Sam's mum": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IZeWPScnolo