The man and the flood

Uglybaldie put a question to me although I don't know why he brings up religion again in a discussion that had nothing to do with it.

"Supposing you were thrown into a den full of lions. Would you pray to God to save you or would you get your brain and your body in first gear to get out of the situation?"

Well I'm sure any sensible Christian out there would know the answer to that. The answer : BOTH.

Anyway it reminds me of a story that best illustrates this problem that is often posed to Christians by Aetheists. I'll share it with you here.

A flood threatens a town, forcing everyone to evacuate, But Joe thinks, "I'm a devout man, God will save me," and stays put.

As the waters rise, Joe's neighbour comes by and says, "Joe come with me, we've got to go." Joe declines, "I'm a devout man, God will save me."

The waters keep rising, Joe scrambles to his second floor. A firefighter in a rowboat comes by. "Get in the boat or you'll drown," he says. Joe again declines, saying, "God will save me."

Finally , the flood waters force Joe to his roof. A police helicopter comes by and throws down a rope. "This is your last chance, climb up or you'll drown," the policeman yells. "No, I'm a devout man, God will save me," Joe replies.

Joe drowns and arrives in heaven and challenges God. "Why didn't you save me? I had so much faith that you would!"

"What do you mean?" God says. "I did try. I sent a neighbour, a firefighter and a helicopter."

The main issue is that most aestheist think of God "helping" as in miracles and great acts. I personally don't believe that it works that way most of the time.

Anyway I'm not trying to evangelize here. I'm just answering a question about my faith.