I had an experience this weekend that made me consider that there may be a God and he must hate me. On Saturday I was foolish enough to think to myself, possibly for the first time in my life, "Hey, I've finally got my act together". I felt pretty good about that barring the fact that I am 61 years old and should have done so much earlier in life. So on Sunday, I had food poisoning so bad that my doctor told me to go to the ER. I have never had anything so horrible come upon me so quickly. I've had food poisoning before, and it was miserable, but THIS food poisoning had me contemplating my mortality. So if there is a God, he waited until I had my act together and then made me so sick I thought about dying. What am I thinking? This is just one more more data point indicating that there really isn't a God. 
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28 comments
Feel free to reply to any comment by clicking the "Reply" button.I have only had food poisoning once, but it was a ghastly experience where I feared I might die, but also felt like it might be better than what I was experiencing. Got some bad spaggetti and meatballs from a grocery store deli that had been at room temp for too long. I came back there after I was ok with my receipt and complained about my experience. They believed me and said I had not been the only one, so they gave me a refund for the meal.
TomMcGiverin
Level 8
June 5, 2019
1
That would be the absolute least they could do. I got food poisoning from Subway in January 2013. It was the only time in my life I felt I was close to death (I didn't know your entire body could scream out that you need help NOW...or that's it). I didn't bother to get a refund, but I've never been back and have told hundreds of people this story. lol It's like ANTI-advertising.
@greyeyed123 I hear you. I guess I was younger and more forgiving back then. I had a young co-worker who got sick from some bad chicken at a local Hawaiian place a few years back and she damn near died. Her kidneys shut down, she had to be airlifted to the state uni hospital because it had the best trauma unit in the state, and was on dialysis for a while. The doctors said the only reason she lived was that she was really young and had always eaten such a healthy diet. Her family tried to sue the resturarant, but they denied that it was from their place even tho she had kept the receipt, because they said it could have been something else she ate that day. You can bet that I, her, her family, and her co-workers put out the word about that place, tho it's still in business from what I can see.
@TomMcGiverin Subway was the only thing I ate that day. I do remember all the doctors at the hospital steering clear of all my negative comments about Subway, lol. They probably thought I was going to sue and looking for expert witnesses. All I really wanted was confirmation of the cause. (I actually must have had five doctors ask me if I drank river water! And every time, I had to say, "No, I ate at Subway." )
@greyeyed123 Yeah, doctors and food places get very nervous once they hear the word lawsuit. In reality, about the only way most of us can make them pay is to go to the city health inspection folks and complain to them, hopefully getting them sanctioned or shut down at least for a while.
i'm 76 & have only had food poisoning once that i can remember; & it was a mild 24 hr case.
i've been fairly careful with food that i consume at home but the main reason which i attribute to avoiding food poisoning is that whenever we travel we always have some red wine with our meals. we were in europe for 3 1/2 yrs traveled all over from n. africa to britain & never once suffered from food poisoning.
no doubt about it the alcohol will kill the microbes.
callmedubious
Level 8
June 5, 2019
4
You figured it out! I usually enjoy a glass of wine (or two) with my meals, but I had been taking a new medication that said to avoid alcohol. That's where I went wrong
@Notpauyet @calmedubious There's some actual science behind that: [nytimes.com]
@Stephanie99 There is actually an evolutionary benefit to my tendency towards being a wino - this is fantastic
@Notpauyet , bad luck.
The jerk gets me with kidney stones. What an ass.
indirect76
Level 7
June 5, 2019
4
Those fuckers REALLY hurt. That's inexplicable pain. I have had lots of pain and that's the worst.
@morlll Yeah, I get one every couple years. It’s kind of the opposite of a good foot rub.
Consider it all you want. Believing in it without evidence is just foolish.
Yakimaatheist
Level 1
June 6, 2019
4
With blood poisoning, I didn't know which end to aim. Severe vomiting and uncontrollable diarrhea. Lovely.
Sorry you are going through this illness. I hope it's brief.
LiterateHiker
Level 9
June 5, 2019
2
well, actually, the incident, awful as it is, and you have my sympathy, does not prove there is no god, and it also does not indicate that there is a god who hates you. it does not indicate anything at all about any gods. it indicates that something happened, for example someone didn't wash their hands before processing your food.
g
genessa
Level 8
June 5, 2019
3
Exactly! It’s all random.
All those ducks in a row and then you forgot to go to Mass!
brentan
Level 8
June 5, 2019
2
All those ducks in a row and then you forget not to eat foamy room temperature meat
This is me
I hope you are feeling better! I've only had food poisoning once, and it was miserable. Best wishes!
AtheistInNC
Level 7
June 6, 2019
2
I once had food poisoning so bad that I shit my bed, and all I could do was roll to the other side of the bed and ignore it. 3 days of hellish misery.
BitFlipper
Level 8
June 6, 2019
2
Ah Food poisoning. Something I hope never to encounter a second time in my life.
The first time I was the victim of a bad cook. (I'm not a bad cook - I'm so incredibly careful about kitchen safety that I always have disposable gloves on the counter - and something to clean the counter - and the cutting board... etc...).
My condolences on your experience. It like a reboot of the human system. An entire reboot..... Horrifying!
RavenCT
Level 9
June 5, 2019
2
I was already well on the road to being an atheist when one of my brothers (who LOVED Jesus, btw) was killed in a work accident. He was 43 years old; and, for the first time in his life, was getting his act together with a new wife and two step kids whom he was helping support. This event only solidified my non-belief in any kind of caring god. Learning more science led me to let go of belief in any kind of god.
Joanne
Level 7
Nov 7, 2019
1
Hey! Don't be so presumptuous! God hates us ALL equally.
COGITOERGOSUM
Level 6
June 6, 2019
1
Aw, and I thought I was special 
@Notpauyet On second thought: If god loves some peoples more than others, it is only logical that he/she/it hates some peoples more than others. Maybe you are one of "the few, the proud", in the list of god's "most hated". I certainly am.
I haven't experienced food poisoning since fifteen years ago, when I stopped eating fast food.The only exception was about eleven years ago, when I got strychnine poisoning from eating some under-cooked red beans, in my red beans n rice. But that was my fault! Always make sure your red beans are thoroughly cooked!
davknight
Level 8
June 6, 2019
1
Had salmonella poisoning from a lobster and chicken meal and a dose of dysentry from water in India - you have my sincere sympathy - hope you recover quickly
ShadowAmicus
Level 8
June 6, 2019
1
Sorry about the food poisoning. That is not a pleasant experience! No matter how good we have it...there is randomness still working in the Universe! Hope you are all well now!
Freedompath
Level 9
June 6, 2019
1
"God can't exist because of Eric The God-Eating Magic Penguin. Since Eric is God-Eating by definition, he has no choice but to eat God. So, if God exists, He automatically ceases to exist as a result of being eaten. Unless you can prove that Eric doesn't exist, God doesn't exist. Even if you can prove that Eric doesn't exist, that same proof will also be applicable to God. There are only two possibilities - either you can prove that Eric doesn't exist or you can't - in both cases it logically follows that God doesn't exist."
THHA
Level 7
June 5, 2019
1
Wouldn’t proving that God exists automatically prove the penguin does not exist, while leaving God immune to the same proof of nonexistence?
THHA:
If I can prove A does exists, B does not exist? How so?
@THHA It is from the premise.
“Since Eric is God-Eating by definition, he has no choice but to eat God. So, if God exists, He automatically ceases to exist as a result of being eaten”
If God exists, the the penguin can not exist.
THHA:
Context, one is to understand that . . .
So, if God exists, GOD automatically ceases to exist as a result of being eaten”
THHA:
I think you are drunk.
glad you survived
TheDoubter
Level 9
June 5, 2019
1
Me, too. At least I am NOW that I'm feeling better
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