I found your post #107 to be both amusing and sad at the same time, because it reminds me of some folks with whom I made a passing acquaintance...and what I relay is their really convoluted view of God...
Many years ago, my older son, was diagnosed with a rare, usually fatal type of leukemia...the time I am speaking about, is when he was in a military hospital, receiving treatment, and was in a ward of the hospital, which carried a designation of being a semi-intensive care unit...it was not as strictly run as intensive care, but not as casual as the regular wards...
While my son was there, a soldier came in, who had been in a very bad traffic accident, and had internal bleeding, and several severe fractures....he had gone to surgery, all the bleeding was stopped, his fractures were set, and he was just in this semi-intensive care unit, for observation for a day or two, before going to a regular ward...
His family came in, accompanied by their pastor, and several other members of the church congregation...they were very vocal, very loud, and nearly hysterical over their family members accident and injuries...now, the soldier was fine, and just being observed...the family, the pastor and church members held a prayer circle around the man, and really carried on in such a manner, that they had to be told, to quiet down and that only two people at any given time could visit the man...well, they were quite unhappy about this, but complied(as they well had to), or risk being put out of the hospital....
So many of them came to the small waiting room...they were still carrying on...and all the while, assured one another and themselves, that God, had certainly saved this soldier from certain death, and that God had done this in response only to their prayers(no credit due to the doctors, who actually did the hard work of saving the man)...
They then wanted to know why I was there...I had spent the entire day with my very ill son, and was in the waiting room, just trying to drink a cup of coffee, and take a break from my vigil...I saw no reason not to tell them about my son..well, that was some mistake...because now, they wanted entrance into my sons room, to all pray over him, as they were convinced, that if they could form a prayer circle around him, they could instantly cure him...
They then went on to a most ludicrous supposition...they came up with the idea, that God allowed the soldier to be in the car accident, which would lead the family and church members up to the hospital to be with him, and this in turn would lead them to me and my ill son...and that this was Gods real purpose, in having them at the hospital...that they were called upon, to 'cure' my son...I could not believe what I was hearing...in other words, God allowed or caused something bad to happen to the soldier, so that these people could gain access to me and my son, and carry out some 'healing'...I was truly astounded that people actually thought like this...
When I refused to allow them access to my son, they got very upset, and quite angry with me...I was accused of a number of thing...they thought I was quite a terrible person to deny them access to my son, that I did not wish for my son to be cured, and that other bad things may happen to our family...
Well, that was it...I told them to leave me alone, and please not talk to me at all...I was quite appalled at how much influence they thought they had with God...and appalled at how they so casually accepted that God had caused the soldiers car accident so that they could be lead to me and my son...a classic example of folks believe that bad things may come from God(the soldiers accident)but that we should not question it, because after all God knows more than we do, and there was a greater good involved(curing my son of leukemia, by hands on prayer)...
Sadly, this was not the only group who tried to impose their 'religious' will on me, during this time...
Religious prosyletizers are often very cruel. They claim that their belief allows them to transgress every element of privacy and common decency. I think that if they are content with THEIR souls, they should leave mine alone.
And trying to turn a difficulty or tragedy into a 'missionary moment' is unethical and unChristian.
Thank you for a thoughtful and heartfelt post.