A Miracle Story, Why I Don't See It That Way, and Acceptable Proof

[Dang MartinParticipant]

I have a personal story that was re-told on the radio 22 years ago by a few radio show hosts my ex-wife called. These hosts called our personal story a “miracle of god.” I’m going to share the story, cover why I do not see it as a miracle at all, and what kind of proof that I would need that a god exists.

THE MIRACLE BABY
I won’t get into the dynamics behind my relationship with my ex-wife in detail, as it is a lengthy and scary story that Stephen King is working on right now.

After separating, dating again for a while, and determining it was a bad idea, she invited me to go on a trip with her, and then she would “never bother me again.”

On this trip to enjoy nature, they had this thing where you could go horse-back riding. I thought it was a bad idea. This was confirmed by the “hands,” who asked her if she had riding experience. She said no, and they put her on a difficult horse. I said yes, and I got an easy one. They refused a switch.

Her horse got spooked, flipped on a trail, and ran against the others, dragging her, with her head going CLUNK CLUNK CLUNK against the granite mountainside. The helmets turned out to be a good thing. The horse threw her off. It also attacked two rescue personnel, one of whom wanted to shoot the troublesome horse, who had done this to other campers in the past.

The First Piece of the Puzzle happened when they gave her a pelvic X-Ray. Their machinery was too crappy to get a good picture, so she was taken to the hospital.

The Second Piece of the Puzzle was the second X-Ray at the hospital. They confirmed that she had nothing broken, and was just beaten up badly by the experience. They gave her narcotic pain killers.

The Third Piece of the Puzzle came after she was taking these narcotic pain killers for a while and started throwing up. She went to the doctor to figure out why.

Then came the news: She was pregnant.

I was in shock, as I had used a condom. I took the other condoms to the restroom, opened them up, and put them on the bathroom faucet. Sure enough, pin holes in ALL of them. The invitation to the trip was a set-up!

The Fourth Piece of the Puzzle was that she was in her mid-40s at the time. She said that she had no interest in raising “a Down’s baby,” so she agreed to get a CVS test at 7 weeks, and that she would abort if the tests came back positive for Down’s. This was nothing new for her, as she had five abortions with her first husband, like a good Catholic would. I have none to my name, as a dirty Atheist.

We get the test, and it shows no genetic abnormalities.

A RECAP: This fetus survived TWO X-Rays, exposure to narcotics, and a mother who was technically too old to be pregnant in the first place.

He was born healthy and has no mental health issues, no physical issues, and is now 22 years old.

A miracle?

TALK OF A MIRACLE
His mother would tell this story to anyone who would listen, especially female talk show hosts on AM radio. They called our son “The Miracle Baby” because he survived all of this. They said that it was obvious that god was watching over him, or that the hand of god was upon him that day.

HOW I SEE IT AS A NON-BELIEVER
I don’t know why the two X-Rays did not have a negative effect on him.

I don’t know why the narcotics did not have a negative effect on him.

I don’t know why his mother’s age did not result in some genetic issues for him.

In case you couldn’t guess, I don’t know, and I’m okay with that. There may be an explanation for it, but the outcome was a positive one, so I really did not care enough to look for reasons why.

WHY I DO NOT BELIEVE ANY GODS INTERVENED
Because I do not believe that any gods exist.

BUT A BEAUTIFUL BABY IS PROOF OF GOD
No, it is not. What about the ugly baby? What about that baby born with all of its internal organs on the outside of its body, or its brain on the outside of its skull?

HOW A GOD COULD PROVE ITSELF TO ME
Let’s suppose that a god showed up. It was visible to all, and it could telepathically communicate to everyone in their language. It says to everyone, “I am the maker of all that was, and of all that will ever be. Live your life in peace.” This occurrence is later scientifically confirmed via blind studies, resulting in the knowledge that everyone saw it, that it spoke to everyone telepathically in their language, that everyone understood what it said, and that it said the same thing to everyone.

The Christian would declare this proof of Yahweh; their god who is conveniently supposedly named “god.”

The Muslim would declare this proof of Allah.

The Hindu would declare this proof of Vishnu.

As an Atheist, I would want to know HOW they could say this was THEIR god. It did not say its name. It did not say it was affiliated with any religion. It was NOT wearing a name tag.

WHAT WOULD HAPPEN NEXT
If this happened, then I would have to concede to the clear and obvious fact that there is a god of some kind. At this point, I would no no longer be able to call myself an Atheist, because I would know that a god of some kind existed.

However, the Christians and others would still be at odds with each other, and with me, for they would be absolutely certain that this was THEIR god speaking, and that this was PROOF that THEIR god was real.

An event like this would only serve to make matters worse, as now every religious person would declare that they know for a FACT that it is THEIR god who appeared and spoke on that day. Confidence would rise. Gnostic snobbery would override any compassion. Armies would be fortified. Bigger battles would be waged.

All of this, as they ignore this particular, unidentifiable god’s message to “live your life in peace.”

It would just go to show that, even if a god did show up, and even if it were real, that religious people would not listen to a word that it said. They weren’t paying attention at all to what their make-believe god supposedly said, so why should they listen to a real god?

DAMN, YOU SURE REQUIRE A LOT OF PROOF
I don’t think that I do. Show yourself, state your name, and let me know which religion is truly representative of you. I don’t think that’s too much to ask, especially of a being who is supposedly all-powerful. If it can’t do that, then I have serious doubts about these claims to power.

COGNITIVE BIAS
When the baby survives and is healthy, god intervened.

When the baby dies, it’s part of god’s plan.

When the baby is crippled, remember that god challenges all people [and don’t forget the “plan”].

It’s an easy game:

1. See something happen.

2. Pull out pre-packaged “answer.”

3. Apply answer.

4. Feel comfort in the idea that you have all of the answers for everything.

There is no miracle baby. He’s just like every other baby. Sometimes things work out. Sometimes they do not.

Not everything in life has an answer.

This may cause discomfort for many. It does no bother me, and I really don’t know why.

Maybe it’s a miracle. /s

[JadeBlackOliveParticipant]

No such thing as miracles.

Baby born healthy is just that…..born healthy!

[Dang MartinParticipant]

JadeBlackOlive wrote:

No such thing as miracles. Baby born healthy is just that…..born healthy!

Indeed. I sighed, accepted it, and proceeded to move forward.

[JadeBlackOliveParticipant]

Yeah, may as well……..

[Author]

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