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ON TRYING TO RESOLVE A THEOLOGICAL DEBATE.

Four Rabbis would get together once or twice a week to discuss various things of God. What usually happened instead of discussion, however, was that the same three Rabbis would always disagree with the opinion of the forth. And, as they worked on majority rule, the same three Rabbis always felt that they came away from the discussion victorious. "Three to one," they would say.

Well, one afternoon, the forth Rabbi would not concede this one particular point. He knew, in his heart of hearts, that he was right this time and the three other Rabbis were simply wrong. So, out loud, he prayed, "Lord, if I am right about this, please let my fellow teachers know I am right by showing them a sign from you."

Well, right after he prayed that, out of the cloudless blue sky came a bolt of lightning that landed nearby, and the thunder shook where they were sitting. The forth Rabbi raised his hands and said, "A-ha! See what our Lord has shown you?" But the other Rabbis just laughed it off and explained that there really was no supernatural occurrence there; nothing truly unique happened.

So, the forth Rabbi prayed a second time, "Lord, please, if I am right about this issue, please let your approval of my teachings be known, in a MIGHTY way, to my fellow teachers." Then, dark clouds quickly began to form out of nowhere and soon an awesome lightning storm roared around them. When it was done, the forth Rabbi shouted, "NOW! Now you must know that the Almighty agrees with me!" Still, the other Rabbis would have none of it, adhering to the view that sudden storms are really not that uncommon, and that nothing overly unusual occurred.

The forth Rabbi was fed up now. He raised his arms to heaven and began, "Lord.." but was quickly cut short as the earth shook violently, the sky went dark, and a beam of bright light came down upon them. From the heavens boomed the very voice of God who shouted, "HE'S RIGHT!!!!!"

At this, the forth Rabbi simply folded his arms and stared at his friends. After a hushed discussion amongst themselves, one of the other Rabbis said,

"Ok. So now it's three to two."