This Isn’t a Miracle from God. I’ve written in the past about religious responses to disasters and the way they often invoke the ideas of “blessings” and “plans” to describe survivors. The recent shooting in Aurora, Colorado has left 12 dead and many injured, and the religious responses have been typical. They’ve ranged from, “Thank God so-and-so survived,” to accounts of seeing God’s glory through stories of heroic boyfriends dying to shield their girlfriends from bullets. There have been many conclusions that God did not have a hand in the shooting itself–that was free will, but that he did apparently choose survivors. And if he chose survivors, did he not also choose victims, including a vibrant, six-year-old girl?
No story of God choosing survivors has gone as far, however, as the story of Petra Anderson as told by Brad Strait. Petra Anderson was in the theater, along with dozens of other shooting victims, and was shot in the head. She remains among the living with what are described as minor injuries. About Sam Harris. The Blog. Malala Yousafzai A young man enters a public place—a school, a shopping mall, an airport—carrying a small arsenal. He begins killing people at random. He has no demands, and no one is spared. Eventually, the police arrive, and after an excruciating delay as they marshal their forces, the young man is brought down. This has happened many times, and it will happen again. After the Boston Marathon bombing, a journalist asked me, “Why is it always angry young men who do these terrible things?” But there are many sources of human evil. Chuck Lorre Productions, #240. Flying Cow Tavern. Hyperbole and a Half.
Three Minute Philosophy.