Yeah, that’s right, Quesday. That is the day between today and tomorrow that starts with the letter, “Q” so that it fits nicely with the word “Question.” Now that we got that out of the way, an old High School friend recently posted a video which brings up the question for Question Quesday: Does God cure cancer?
I hate when things like this happen. An old High School friend posts a super religious post and I have to decide whether to comment on it or not. In this case, I chose not… at least not directly. Instead, I am turning it into a Question Quesday.
So, the post was a very personal post where she shared a video she and her husband made about how God cured her husband’s cancer. Here is the transcript of that video:
“In August of 2013, it was a time that I just remember that my world just turned upside down.
The Doctor came out into the waiting room where we were. He said, ‘very strange, so young.’
‘But I’m sorry to say, you have, you have cancer.’
I couldn’t believe that he was talking about my husband.
I was told that I would have to undergo chemotherapy. I was given this whole list of potential side effects to expect from my oncologist. I remember him saying that, ‘expect to be very fatigued and nauseas, to have a high fever, to have a tingling in my fingertips and my toes, just a lot of discomfort among other things.’ Before I’d take the chemo I would take Psalm 91 – recite it, cling to believing that it was a direct promise.
In the mornings I would be sitting here, I would have my coffee and I would look over and he would be sitting at the kitchen table and he would be taking communion with Jesus and the disciples. He literally had his own moment with God receiving communion. And then he would get up, would stand facing the wall where I wrote Psalm 91 the scripture verse. He would take his pills of chemo, five pills, and he would stand up facing the wall reading the scripture and then I would watch him be brave and swallow the pills and you know, lift his hands and just receive form the Lord the peace.
You know, I never had any side effects. I can only contribute that to God.
It’s amazing. I’m grateful. I’m absolutely grateful. The song we sing in church, what a Beautiful Name, when we sing of what a powerful name it is, and nothing can stand against, that’s, when I’m singing it, that cancer had no hold on my husband.
Without a doubt, God healed me from cancer. He healed our marriage. He brought restoration to our finances, and made things a whole lot better than they were. As [Name redacted] says often, He took us out of the pit that we were in and rescued us from it.
He did.”
It’s important to note that God doesn’t exist. The pills cured the cancer, people don’t always suffer side effects, and for some reason religious believers never blame their deity of choice for giving them the cancer in the first place or seem to care that plenty of other religious people suffer and die from cancer and/or other diseases.
It just really gets to me that religious believers seem to think that the entire universe revolves around them. The view that God cured their ailment, but still seems to allow millions of others to suffer and die is the height of self-absorption. I don’t want to be mean about it. I mean the guy just got through cancer and that is a really tough thing to go through. I really do feel for their situation. But maybe instead of thanking God, they could thank their doctors, nurses, family, friends, and everyone who helped them through such a difficult time. Maybe even acknowledge that other people aren’t so lucky and it isn’t because God hates them or they are evil sinners or something. People suffer and die regardless of how religious they are or what religion they are. Atheists and believers suffer and die at the same rate from cancer.
The view that God saved them, implied that God didn’t save other people who have suffered and died from cancer. Why didn’t God save them? Does God hate them? Are they unclean? Are they not most-holy? This was the whole issue with AIDS back in the 80s. People (religious right) actually believed that AIDS was a plague that only affected “Them homosexuals,” because being gay was a sin against the righteousness of God. Surprise, that turned out to be bullshit. But it is this view that God saved one person and not another person that led to this type of thinking… or should I say believing.
This view is the view that God picks favorites. He has a plan. Well, if that plan includes the needless suffering and death of billions of people, then that plan sucks! If God picks favorites, then he’s an asshole. I believe it was Jules Renard who said, “I don’t know if God exists, but it would be better for His reputation if He didn’t.” Well, for the record, I do know and fortunately for his reputation, he doesn’t.
Okay, that’s all I got for Question Quesday. If you have a question and Google can’t help, feel free to e-mail your question to me at DangerousTalk@gmail.com and put “Question Quesday” in the subject line. Thanks!
Also, buy my new book, “Disproving God and 5 Adequate Reasons To Be an Atheist,” for only $6.66 – https://amzn.to/3dbEwxa
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