As an atheist, it troubled me to hear the police officer (captain?) state, "It was only by the grace of God no one else was killed." Irrationalism is not something to be promoted by the department.
1 or 2 years ago there was incident at a Florida Airport. The Fire Department did a rescue, I think.
Anyway the commander was asked leading questions by the media about "god" saving the day.
The response was something like this:
"I am secular. The Fire & Rescue Crew, did our job through training and preparedness."
It’s comforting that there are some gods out there on the mean streets fighting for law and order.
I bet Thor and Shiva are having a wild time!
It's interesting to me that some local news outlets included it and some did not. I do not remember which station I was watching. The Santa Ana police captain? (4 stars on his collar) looked Latino maybe, so it might be his denomination. While it was indeed fortunate (acknowledging the role chance plays in the randomness of the universe) no one else was injured, it looks as if this might have been "suicide by cop" so apparently "the grace of God" didn't extend to someone hurting to this degree. Or maybe it did. Who the fvck knows?
Probably just a figure of speech
too many "figures of speech". more like ignorance and stupidity
It’s just a figure of speech probably. Even if the cop meant it literally, there are rational ways of understanding such a statement that don’t create inner turmoil.
I try not to let the utterings of my fellow humans destroy my serenity.
I do the same but, it sure diverts my focus!
Protestants being murdering catholics since england was england.
Well, England was England long before the reformation. Firstly we were murdering other English and Vikings, that unified the country. Then we murdered the Welsh, after that the Irish. With a few run-ins with the Scots and French along the way.
There is a cave in Scotland where over 200 Babtist men, women, and children were burned to death by Presbatirians
@273kelvin And that is the country that send their criminals to its colonies, Australia and ameriKKKa received a large proportion of england criminals... no better way to empty the prisons.
@GipsyOfNewSpain Quite correct, the history of early New South Wales is fascinating. It would be akin to the 2nd manned expedition to Mars, populated by inmates from Sing-Sing.
If only we had thought to privatize the prisons and turn them into an industry?
@273kelvin Just posted picture in the science section of nasa celebrating arrival of robot searching life in Mars... maybe by the end of this century we will hear of the Martian Colony of ameriKKKan inmates.
@GipsyOfNewSpain Expendable
If you're 'troubled' by public officials invoking God, first, where have you been? And secondly, welcome to the club! Attributing the so-called 'grace of God' for saving some, while allowing others to be killed, invites much scrutiny. And yet, this ludicrous acceptance of divine interference survives, and is nearly ubiquitous, to the extent that an assumption is made (on the part of some) that a belief in God is the default state. But the following famous, and rather awkward, example of such an assumption is instructive, not only to the viewing audience, but to the press corps! Not everyone is a sheep, Wolf!
It's always bugged me. It was just a recent instance of it.
In the first place how did he know that it was ‘by the grace of god that no one else was killed?’ What happened to doing the job that you have agreed to do? Passing situations off on God, seems so feeble to me! The Country has become more and more like the Wild West than the Wild West was, back in the day!