the title of the thread is "Bizarre moments in our times", and relates the sad failure of 'bulletproofing'

to me, some of the most 'bizarre moments' come from survivors....that is, those who endure & survive terrible disasters. You know what I mean..*pulled from a collapsed building after 12 days*....*one of 9 people to walk away from an airplane crash that killed 137*....etc, etc...and in the TV interview, they are repeating the different versions of "God was with me and protected me"

Just ONCE, I'd like to hear the interviewer ask them, "...and just what do you suppose God had against the ones who didn't make it? Were they all evil? The young children?, the Nuns?, the heroic ship captain?"

presumably, these fortunate survivors truly BELIEVE that there was some divine intervention in their rescue, and thus that some 'power' had both the ability and the incentive to keep them safe. It really, really bothers me that anyone can hold a position like that. I'm sorry if it offends anyone, but IF there were a divine power who could do such miracles and exercised the ability so selectively, I do not care to be a part of (its) followers.

Yeah, I have heard a thousand times, "we poor mortals just can't know God's purposes in the matters". All that translates to me is "My mind's made up, don't confuse me with awkward logic"

I am perfectly in agreement with the concept that there IS more to the human experience than 'scientific proofs'...music, beauty, love and many other things DO have a place in our experience, even though we can't measure and define them with science, but these are part of our response TO aspects of life, and can be debated reasonably, if not with absolute standards. But opinions based on a belief system which by definition refers to entities OUTSIDE our experience and comprehension simply cannot be approached except by metaphor and suspension of scientific concept.
Kierkegaard referred to the "leap of faith" that Abraham made when he prepared to sacrifice Isaac at the behest of God (who, it turned out, was merely 'testing')......at least Kierkegaard understood that it WAS purely faith.

Handling snakes, standing in traffic, and shooting a man to test some 'belief system' are merely extreme examples of flawed awareness of how things work, as is claiming that God protected YOU when the boat sank, and let the other 300 drown, or committing suicide so you can go to the holy spaceship behind the comet. There are many little things people do every day that are just as bizarre, as they are based on the same beliefs, but do not directly and immediately threaten life & limb.

A few superstitions even have some use, as they may help keep people alert to real dangers, and some are merely harmless habits from cultural history.......but the very bizarre thing about our times, is that so MUCH superstition and "true belief" can endure in a society that considers itself civilized, educated and enlightened.