This week we were "treated" first, to more than a dozen "acts of God" - tornados that touched down in the DFW area causing many millions of dollars in property damage. Subsequently, with nothing else to fill the news cycle, we have been getting the expected "God saved me" from people who felt their lives had been in danger. Of course, we know that if anyone had been killed they would "be in a better place with Jesus." AND the always absurd cliche of "God works in mysterious ways." Would any court or judge or jury take that kind of defense from a criminal? "Your honor, I work in mysterious ways, so I deserve no blame and there should be no punishment for what I did."
The biggest problem with all this is not so much that it is theological nonsense (and it is!) but that it substitutes for thinking. And it is a very very poor substitute!