faith in god ?

[anneasquith]

watching the rescue of the chillean miners, some have thanked god and their faith for assisting them in coping underground for such a long time and being rescued. would you thank god ?

[squarebear]

No. I would thank the people who rescued me.

[bibblebub]

Did any of them curse their deity for getting them trapped there in the first place?

[squarebear]

Exactly

[China Doll]

Well I couldn't thank someone I didn't believe in. But I'd thank everybody else who worked so hard to rescue me and who kept their spirits up.

[jomifl]

I doubt god could have rescued them without a little help.

[jake-the-peg]

Ah well you see that's the great thing.

All good things happen through God's grace but all bad things happen because of man's sinful nature.

God's like a junior manager in that sense - taking the credit for all the good and passing the blame for all the problems.

A bit like a heavenly David Brent

[naomi24]

I tend to agree with bibblebub and Jake.

[McMouse]

I wouldn't thank God in a literal sense, but might say it as an expression of relief. I'm sure the Chilean miners have all been brought up as catholic's and for them it is a sincere comment based on their faith.

[Zabadak]

Curiously, you don't hear the legions of rescuers complaining that giving thanks to God takes away from their contribution; rather, most of them seem to be glad to have been involved in something that that drew its inspiration from faith and trust in God as well as their own skills and commitment.
I think the bit about God getting credit for good things and dodging the blame for bad things rather works the other way round. We see things like this, where courage, commitment, working together, hoping and believing even against the odds, shared patience in suffering, mutual support in community, the joy of reunion, a sense of life out of death are values which we accept as good and positive. In a universe which seems indifferent to such things, and treats us so often to disasters and catastrophes (to which humans add with great enthusiasm in the name of tribe, religion, politics or just for the hell of it), we dare to make this distinction that says these things are good, they have real value. And yes, for some of us at least, those are the values we see in God.
Of course, it might just be that we project these things onto the blank screen of the idea of God. Or (in a determined way) don't bother even with the idea of God except to ridicule it. But it may also be that our understanding of these values is derived from, or is a reflection of, the reality of God.
I'm with those who are quite happy to give thanks to God for the safe rescue of a few trapped miners, the efforts, determination, skills and commitment of their rescuers, and a few moments of joy and exuberance in an often much darker world.

[wildwood]

Good on you for having the courage to go against the flow zabadak. Now, I wonder if you would you care to commend on bibblebub's observation.

[society]

That's the work of el diablo, Wildwood. :-)

[Zabadak]

I can resist anything but temptation, wildwood: probably some of them did - at least one of them saw his ordeal as some sort of penance, but most of them seem to be a bit more sophisticated than that and are suing the company and the government for getting them into the mess in the first place. People often confuse God and Fate. I don't think anyone thinks God pushed the rocks around.

[Booldawg]

The cursing/thanking God thing is subjective; you often hear people saying 'how can God let this happen or that happen' but do they thank God for small miracles? vice versa.

your approach to whether to curse or praise is dependent on your religious stance. As this is a personal thing its hardly a valid arguing point. Its a bit like debating your feelings on the colour yellow.

[Hopkirk]

I often say 'Thank God' for good things that happen.

A bit of a nonsense really, since I don't believe in one.

[keyplus90]

People will see few hungry and suffering due to that and would blame God for that, but they would not see others eating so much that they have to have treatment for obesity. Still there is pick and chose as they may blame God for his/her obesity and suffering due to that instead of thinking that God had given him/her more than what they needed so that he/she should share with the others who die of hunger. Had he/she done that then both would have been happy and out of suffering.

Globally majority of the people are happy, prosperous, and have enough (if not more) to survive but still few will blame god when a fraction of people (compared to whole population) would die of Earth quake, tsunami etc. So in that regard I would say that few people put blame on God for bad things but do not give God credit for good things that are obviously outnumbering what we call “bad”.

[mibn2cweus]

As humans, we survive, live and thrive by the grace of reason . . . not by abandoning it or relegating it to a 'higher power'. Heaven forbid everyone had stood around or fell to their knees waiting for a miracle from God.

[naomi24]

I think mibs made a rather good point on the other thread. Where would the miners have been without the people who kept them alive? If they'd have relied on God - curtains!! So much for God.

[beverleymot]

id thank god and the people who rescued me