This post comes to us from the “Alrighty then” files – on the Tigris school of theology.
James Ball reported,
“A 45-year-old eastern European philosopher died last year after lowering himself into a tiger cage declaring, ‘God, if he exists, will protect me.’”
Although I have not found confirmation of this story, let us just go with it.
I do not know to which “God” reference was being made but it was not the God of the Bible. If it was the God of the Bible then this is a condemnation of this particular philosopher’s peculiar philosophy and or peculiar theology.
“Then the devil took Him [Jesus] up into the holy city, set Him on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to Him, ‘If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down. For it is written:’He shall give His angels charge over you,’
and,’In their hands they shall bear you up,Lest you dash your foot against a stone.”Jesus said to him, ‘It is written again, ‘You shall not tempt the LORD your God” (Matthew 4:5-8 and Luke 4:9-12).”
Throw yourself down from the pinnacle of the temple or into a tiger’s cage-the point is the same, it is not God’s job to save your life in cases of tomfoolery.
This would make for interesting debates though: the atheist would make her opening statements and when it is the theist’s turn they could say, “Thank you for inviting me to debate this most important topic. For my opening remarks I will throw myself out the window.” This may be termed the argumentum ad suicidum.
It may seem cleaver but it was proposed and diffused millennia ago years ago.