Responding to the Response
By Eric Jayne
Back in April, on Good Friday, a tornado ripped through St. Louis, Missouri. There was some property damage but not one single person was killed or badly injured. Missouri Governor Jay Nixon credited divine intervention
for this fortunate circumstance. Sadly, Nixon’s omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent god failed to intervene five days later when tornados shredded through Alabama killing over 200 people. God also didn’t bother offering life-saving miracles in Japan the month before when over 20,000 people succumbed to a massively fatal tsunami. Nixon understandably didn’t bother invoking divine intervention when a tornado killed over 150 Missourians in Joplin one month after the St. Louis tornado. Victims included children like 10-year-old Shante Caton and her 6-year-old brother Trentan. Public mourning and national relief aid seemed to be the appropriate response, but Gov. Rick Perry of Texas offered a different kind of response. Perry invited other state governors, including Nixon, and the rest of the nation to Houston’s Reliant Stadium next month to pray and “call upon Jesus to guide us through unprecedented struggles.”
Back in April, on Good Friday, a tornado ripped through St. Louis, Missouri. There was some property damage but not one single person was killed or badly injured. Missouri Governor Jay Nixon credited divine intervention
for this fortunate circumstance. Sadly, Nixon’s omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent god failed to intervene five days later when tornados shredded through Alabama killing over 200 people. God also didn’t bother offering life-saving miracles in Japan the month before when over 20,000 people succumbed to a massively fatal tsunami. Nixon understandably didn’t bother invoking divine intervention when a tornado killed over 150 Missourians in Joplin one month after the St. Louis tornado. Victims included children like 10-year-old Shante Caton and her 6-year-old brother Trentan. Public mourning and national relief aid seemed to be the appropriate response, but Gov. Rick Perry of Texas offered a different kind of response. Perry invited other state governors, including Nixon, and the rest of the nation to Houston’s Reliant Stadium next month to pray and “call upon Jesus to guide us through unprecedented struggles.”
James Zimmerman interviewed Mindy Rhiger during June’s cable show taping of Atheist Talk. Rhiger recommended many freethought books during the show which are all listed here under one of two categories: Science and Religion. Happy Reading!
June is the time of year for high school graduation ceremonies, and the time for that annual battle of the culture wars when Christians try to turn them into religious services. This year the outcome was a distinct and disappointing setback for the separation of church and state.
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