[The Wisdom of a Distracted Mind] What the...?!?

This just bothers me:

Security Guard: 'God Guided Me And Protected Me'
Jeanne Assam Stopped Gunman At New Life Church
Thomas Hendrick, News EditorP
OSTED: 4:46 pm MST December 10, 2007
UPDATED: 8:25 pm MST December 10, 2007

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. -- Jeanne Assam appeared before the news media for the first time Monday and said she "did not think for a minute to run away" when a gunman entered the New Life Church in Colorado Springs and started shooting.

There was applause as Assam spoke to reporters and TV cameras saying, "God guided me and protected me."

Now, don't get me wrong. It's fortunate this woman was there in the New Life Church with a gun doing her security guard duties when a crazed maniac arrived and started gunning down people. Of course, I'm still baffled that a church would need to employ an armed security guard. Does this sort of thing happen often enough to justify this? Is it death threats from the super wonked-out fundies?

Seriously... None of the churches in my town have armed security guards.

Aside from that, however, am I the only one who thinks it's a little odd that god, with his supposed omnipotence, couldn't just, you know, keep this guy's gun from firing so that nobody would have had to die?

I mean, if you believe that god guided this woman's shots to kill the madman, you've also got to believe that god guided the assassin's shots which snuffed out the lives of two teenage girls. After all, everything must have a purpose according to god's wishes, correct? Did these two girls not pray hard enough that day? Did they commit some grievous sin on their way to their car?

Or, does this god of theirs just work in mysterious, albeit sadistic ways, but if god is guiding all these bullets around a parking lot, why isn't he being charged with murder?

This is where I have a problem with religion. Not only can this security guard not allow herself to be viewed as something of a genuine hero whose instincts during a moment of extreme chaos are beyond admirable and take pride in the fact that she is someone who truly deserves applause, but every event also needs a reason which conveniently exists beyond the scope of question from mere "mortals."

From this atheist's perspective, my appraisal is rather simplistic without the supernatural. I see an armed lunatic, unhinged and distressed for reasons known only to himself, and I see an unbelievably brave woman whose training is matched or surpassed only by her ability to quickly assess a dangerous situation and react accordingly.

Seriously. Humans are capable of some very amazing things.

Nonetheless, it's genuinely sad to throw these two deaths upon any god's shoulders. Doing so will always imply that those who were killed somehow deserved to have their lives taken away from them. And just how can anyone draw any comfort from that? You'd think, if anything, it would only lead to more and more painful, unanswerable questions.

I think that's one of religion's great failures. Under the auspice that it somehow brings more "meaning" to one's life, it actually diminishes the value of life. When these two innocent girls' parents say that god took their children because he needed them, or some such platitude, they are simply saying that they only borrowed or rented their children, and that's sad. After all, I know if I had a child, I would be willing to kill god to protect that child. Because, any god that would kill my child for no reason whatsoever, is no better than a crazed gunman in a parking lot squeezing a trigger.

On a personal note to a wonderful friend: I'm sorry Rachael. I won't deny that religion does do good works in the community. But, you also have to admit that there is a psychology at play in religion which can, quite often, diminish the meaning of life and death. These girls died at the hands of a sick bastard, and we should focus upon what drove this sick bastard to do this so that we may be able to figure it out and possibly prevent it in the future. We should not simply shrug our shoulders and accept the fact that these girls were killed in accordance with god's wishes and leave it at that. Those deaths will have meant nothing if nothing good comes from them.

Ah well... These are just some late-night thoughts compiled into a collection of poorly-written, sleepy-headed babble.

-DP

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Posted By Dan to The Wisdom of a Distracted Mind at 12/10/2007 10:31:00 PM