You’ll find none here. God saved the missionaries and lit a 15 year old on fire. Sounds like a good plan to me.

I tend to have that reaction whenever anyone says something like that. Clearly, you’re just that important. Conversely, God having a plan also explains unexpected deaths and hardships, so I’m not entirely sure of the explanatory power of a plan where every conceivable event confirms it.

On the other hand, this kind of thing does make me understand why people thank God for being blessed and all that. I’m pretty sure I’d go all paranoid if I believed in a god who consigns much of the world to terrible poverty with only a slim chance of hearing his message. Oh, and the rest of us are subject to random acts of violence, natural disasters, and fraud, with no apparent regard for the beliefs, actions, or responsibility of those victimized.

It certainly doesn’t sound comforting.

Disclaimer: the above paragraphs are snark, meant to attack a facet of Christian theology. I’m not actually saying Christians thank God out of fear. I don’t presume to know why religious people act the way they do. You people are confusing and I don’t need the headache.