Faith does not require stupidity.
That was a conclusion that I arrived at some time ago. But I was reminded again this week that there are people who will still take their faith to the extreme — far beyond what God expects or even wants.
In a neighboring town to my own, two parents of a child were this week charged with murder, torture, and failing to provide the necessities of life to their daughter.
The reason?
Her parents believed that God would heal her from her Type 1 diabetes. Therefore, they stopped administering the insulin she required to remain alive about five days before her death and started praying instead.
When her condition predictably started to deteriorate, the parents didn’t call the emergency services. No. They called the other members of their congregation instead. Together they sang and prayed over the girl’s dying body believing in the providential healing of God.
And even as the girl’s heart stopped beating and her face turned blue, the Christian gathering refused to call for help. Instead, they prayed with increased fervor that God would raise her from the dead.
It wasn’t until the following day that the emergency services were finally notified. But, to be honest, I’m surprised they didn’t put her in a tomb and wait the full three days.
What a tragedy.
As the father of two little girls, my heart is heavy at the loss of this precious child. And my heart is angered that another life has been lost at the hands of religious zealots, who believed they were being faithful to their God.
The parable of the drowning man
The Parable of the Drowning Man is a modern-day cautionary tale that has some relevance here. You may have heard it before, but for the benefit of those who have not, here it is:
A devoutly Christian man who found himself caught in rapidly rising floodwaters scrambled up a tree to escape the torrent below. However, soon it became evident that the water would rise above the level of the tree and surely sweep him to his death.
And thus, he began to pray.
“Lord, please rescue me from this flood!”
Well, as luck would have it, a rescue boat happened to pass near the tree and spotted the trapped man. The boat came alongside, and the men inside invited the Christian to jump in. “No, thank you,” Said the Christian, “I’m waiting here for God to rescue me.” The Christian refused to get in despite their pleading, and the boat sped away.
As the flood continued to rise over the man’s feet, up to his legs, and all the way up to his neck, he prayed again, “Lord, please rescue me from this flood!”
Well, as luck would have it, a rescue helicopter emerged over the horizon and spotted the trapped man. The helicopter hovered above the man and dropped a rope. The men inside the chopper implored the Christian to grab the rope. “No, thank you,” Said the Christian, “I’m waiting here for God to rescue me.” The Christian refused to get in despite their pleading, and the helicopter sped away.
A short time later, the floodwaters engulfed the tree, and the man could hold on no longer. He was swept to his death.
When the man arrived in Heaven, he enquired of the Lord, “Lord, I prayed for you to rescue me, but you did not intervene. Why not, Lord?”
And the Lord replied, “I sent you a boat and a chopper in the expectation you would accept the help.”
Give the girl her insulin
I can imagine God saying something similar to these parents, assuming they make it into Heaven. “I gave you everything you needed to save your daughter’s life. It was sitting there on your kitchen bench the whole time. It’s called insulin.”
Christians who believe that science and medicine are the enemies of faith are not only asking for trouble; they are denying the rescue of God.
Mother Teresa once said, “I used to believe that prayer changes things, but now I know that prayer changes us, and we change things.”
Don’t get me wrong. I believe that the miraculous is possible. In fact, I have personally witnessed things that I would call miraculous. However, more often than not, miracles are delivered through God’s primary means of administering miracles. Miracles come to us through other people.
The fact that I can sit in a chair inside a flying metal cylinder and travel at thirty thousand feet from one side of the world to the other in a matter of hours — that’s a miracle. The fact that I can communicate with anyone, pretty much anywhere in the world, with a device that I carry in my pocket — that’s a miracle. The fact that it took only months to develop an effective vaccine to substantially reduce the lethality of a global pandemic — that’s a miracle.
You can sit there and pray until you’re blue in the face that God will protect you or heal you from COVID-19, but God is just as likely to point you to your nearest vaccination clinic and say, “There is my deliverance. There is my miracle. Take it or leave it.”
The final word
You might believe that advances in science, technology, and medicine have nothing to do with God. You might think it is all the initiative and ingenuity of people.
But I like to believe that God gifts, inspires, and guides people all the same. In fact, I like to believe that the fact that we have cures for diseases that we previously never had cures for is part of God’s unfolding redemptive story in the world.
So, by all means, pray for miracles.
Just don’t ignore the rescue chopper when it comes.
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This post was previously published on Backyard Church.
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Tragedies like children dying from faith healing, as well as from exorcisms, would not happen if people realized the Bible is not the word of God. Then they would not believe the Bible’s promises of faith healing and other ridiculous claims, such as getting whatever they ask for when they pray for it in Jesus’ name (John 14:12-14), are not promises from God.
God Gave Us Reason, Not Religion! Bob Johnson
https://www.deism.com