"Thank God!"
July 13, 2012 at 6:14 pm
(This post was last modified: July 13, 2012 at 6:19 pm by HappyHumanist.)
Anyone remember when that airliner hit a bridge, crushed several vehicles, and then crashed into the frozen Potomac river in the early 80s? Because of the crash location, news crews were there as quickly as rescue units.
The local news station where I lived was showing a room full of people watching live coverage of what was happening on a TV, then cutting back to "normal" live shots (don't ask me why). Anyway, the scene was pretty tragic. Most of the plane was submerged in the ice-covered river.
Only a few passengers had survived the crash. A helicopter lowered a rope to the few who were struggling in the water.
The camera zoomed in on a man who had escaped from the plane, struggling to swim through chunks of broken ice toward the rescue rope. He got it, but instead of putting it around himself, he struggled back toward the wreckage and put the line around someone else, who was pulled to safety. He did this again when the rope was lowered again, but the woman he'd put the rope around slipped out of it and fell back into the frozen river. He struggled toward her, obviously exhausted and nearly frozen himself, and managed to get the rope around her again. She was finally pulled to safety.
"Thank God!" exclaimed one of the viewers watching this on TV.
My immediate thought was: "Thank God!? God didn't save the woman, that man did! Where was God when the plane was crashing, when the babies and other passengers on board were dying horrible deaths? Are you thanking God for THAT?"
By the time the helicopter was able to return the rope again, that hero had drowned.
Anyway, I was never very religious. My parents were Methodist, my siblings and I went to bible school, but we only went to church on Easter Sunday. I think my mom liked being a member of the church because she enjoyed the Bingo games they offered every week.
But "not being religious" was one thing -- deciding I absolutely did NOT believe in God... and all the bullshit that goes with that... didn't happen until that moment when I heard someone exclaim "Thank God!" as people died.
Afterwards it was just "common sense" to me to grow up and leave God behind, as I'd left Santa behind years earlier.
The local news station where I lived was showing a room full of people watching live coverage of what was happening on a TV, then cutting back to "normal" live shots (don't ask me why). Anyway, the scene was pretty tragic. Most of the plane was submerged in the ice-covered river.
Only a few passengers had survived the crash. A helicopter lowered a rope to the few who were struggling in the water.
The camera zoomed in on a man who had escaped from the plane, struggling to swim through chunks of broken ice toward the rescue rope. He got it, but instead of putting it around himself, he struggled back toward the wreckage and put the line around someone else, who was pulled to safety. He did this again when the rope was lowered again, but the woman he'd put the rope around slipped out of it and fell back into the frozen river. He struggled toward her, obviously exhausted and nearly frozen himself, and managed to get the rope around her again. She was finally pulled to safety.
"Thank God!" exclaimed one of the viewers watching this on TV.
My immediate thought was: "Thank God!? God didn't save the woman, that man did! Where was God when the plane was crashing, when the babies and other passengers on board were dying horrible deaths? Are you thanking God for THAT?"
By the time the helicopter was able to return the rope again, that hero had drowned.
Anyway, I was never very religious. My parents were Methodist, my siblings and I went to bible school, but we only went to church on Easter Sunday. I think my mom liked being a member of the church because she enjoyed the Bingo games they offered every week.
But "not being religious" was one thing -- deciding I absolutely did NOT believe in God... and all the bullshit that goes with that... didn't happen until that moment when I heard someone exclaim "Thank God!" as people died.
Afterwards it was just "common sense" to me to grow up and leave God behind, as I'd left Santa behind years earlier.
