Wednesday, March 3, 2010

A runaway train car full of people is barreling down the tracks...

Y'know that age-old ethics question/thought experiment- the one that they ask in Ethics or Philosophy 101 classes (or maybe they don't, I don't know; it's been awhile for me) - the one that goes something like this? There's two sets of railroad tracks, one with a runaway car full of people that ends in a steep cliff, and one that continues on safely and unobstructed- except for a single person tied up on them. You're there watching and there's a switch that you can flip- if you do flip it, the train will switch tracks and run over the guy who's tied up, but it'll save the many who are in the runaway car. If you don't flip it, you'll spare the guy who's tied up, but allow the many in the car to go over the cliff. What do you do?
Obviously it's not a realistic situation; it's just a thought experiment designed to get people thinking and asking/discussing ethical questions about tough situations. But have you ever noticed (and I admit that this was not my original observation- I first saw it in the comments section on some other blog- Friendly Atheist, I believe) that noone ever asks what you would do if there was no man tied up on the tracks? Or if the runaway car was barreling towards the man, but the the car was empty, so that flipping the switch to send it over the cliff would (presumably) hurt no one? No one ever asks those questions because you don't have to- the answer is obvious. Any sane person would flip the switch. And any sane person who didn't would rightly be labeled as a psycho, or something similarly heinous. A very, very evil person, in other words. Anyone except God, that is. I mean, he's everywhere, right? Always has the opportunity to 'flip that switch,' as it were. Sometimes he does. Sometimes not. It's all very random, though (fits very nicely with probability and coincidence, no?). When something crazy happens, like a window washer falls from nearly 50 stories up and survives, it's considered a miracle, God saved him hallelujah isn't he powerful and loving amen?! But then you've got got things like the Haiti earthquake. I know, I know, they're part of the wages of sin and the end times and all that, but couldn't he have at least sounded some sort of siren or something? Maybe told a Christian or prophet or missionary living in Haiti what was about to happen so they could warn everyone else and lives could be saved? Then he could get even more of the glory that he seems to crave so much- 'Hey everyone, I had no idea that we were about to get hit by a devastating earthquake, but God told me so I could tell you all, isn't-he-amazing-praise-God-hallelujah amen!!' But nope. Never happens. He never flips that switch. Except when somebody survives something that seems unlikely, then, oh wait, I guess he did flip that switch so let's all sing his praises.
Needless to say (but I'll say it anyway) I've heard all the bullshit excuses that people use to try and stick up for him- how he's God, so he makes the rules and who are we to question anything he does or doesn't do? But those are just that- bullshit excuses that people use to try and rationalize God's actions and explain what's really not explainable (because it's a logical contradiction). People don't allow for the possibility that maybe God is evil or a tyrant or shows favoritism or whatever- the only option is that he's Perfection personified, so whenever there's that switch that needs flipping, then whatever he does is Right- if he flips it and saves a life/lives, glory hallelujah; if he lets the guy/car full of people die, again, glory hallelujah. For the life of me I don't know how it is that the stupidity of that sort of thinking isn't blindingly obvious to any mature adult. And yet, I will be (and have been) criticized for stating such things- 'My heart has been seared as with a hot iron/I hate God/I just want to live my life for myself and not him/I've been deceived by the devil (or just my own damn brain, with it's logical thinking*) etc, etc, etc.

*Somebody actually said to me once, and I've also heard it said in a more generic setting (church sermons) that 'God doesn't have to bow or conform to Man's logic.' In other words, he doesn't have to make any sense to us whatsoever. I don't think they realize that by using that logic, he doesn't have to let Christians (even the True, Faithful ones) into heaven. He could let all the Atheists and Infidels and Muslims and Mormons in, and send all the 'true' worshippers to hell, and noone could argue with it. Doesn't matter that it would be illogical and make God out to be a liar; that's only if you use 'Man's logic.' Using 'God's logic' he can do that; he can be a liar and not a liar at the same time. No logical contradiction there! Why should there be? It's only with 'Man's logic' that that scenario wouldn't make any sense.


I hope you can see my point of view here and understand why it is that I no longer believe.