Seeing God

Yesterday in Tampa Bay we had some wicked thunderstorms. This is perfectly normal for this time of year around here. We are in the rainy season and afternoon storms are just a way of life. What is unique is that yesterday three different people and a plane were struck by lightning. Luckily no one was seriously injured. What I want to know, not that I want to experience it, is what it is like in that moment. You know that precise moment when the lightning hits you. Is it like a Divine moment? One of those moments when you see all of your life pass before you? There was an ancient ritual where they used to shock themselves thinking it brought them closer to God. Would lightning victims claim the same thing? It makes you wonder what that moment is like.

I happen to know two people who have been struck multiple times. The woman I know has been hit 4 different times. She cannot be near electronics and computers will go haywire near her. It is interesting but she doesn't fear storms. I would think she would be the one hiding under the bed. I have asked her if it was a Divine moment and she claims not. She claims that it always happens so fast that you don't know you have been hit until it leaves your body. She also said the pain is intense, like nothing that can be explained. But then again some people, for generations now, have flogged themselves in the name of Christ. How can pain be associated with God? For some, including Nuns and Monks, that is part of their daily regimen. It is part of taking the suffering of Christ literally. I pointed this out to her and she claims the only Godly thought she was having was "Oh God" as the lightning pulsed through her body.

This brings me around to an interesting point. What have people done in the name of Christ. The pain people have suffered claiming to have messages from beyond. It is an interesting thought. It made for a very interesting research paper I did in college. I was taking a religious studies course and did my paper on Pain as it relates to religious experiences. Here were some of my interesting find.

People believe that wrestling snakes helps them conquer Satan and the sins of temptation. Upon visiting one of these churches I came to a conclusion. These people, much like the so called marters of Islam, take one line of the Bible and have based an entire religion upon it. They claim that if you are bitten by the snake it is a sign from God that you are not being truthful in your attempt to overcome sins. These are poisonous snakes and some of the participants, at least upon my visit, were children. I really was amazed that people would find this an appropriate way to worship their God.

There is a religious cult like belief that the pain of wearing barbed wire around ones thigh, abdomen, or even upper arm will remind you all day the pains Christ suffered to save us from our sins. It is an interesting notion but one that has a very disturbing side effect. In doing my research I came across a young girl that wanted to prove she was so devoted to Christ that she proceeded to cut her palms and her feet to mimic the marks of being crucified. It was disturbing in the fact that her parents were fine with this behavior. I did some studying on being crucified and what that entailed, I can tell you now that was not a death worth mimicking. You talk about torture. It often was outside the city walls but close enough that it could be a constant reminder to the Jews not to question the authority of the Roman rule. Family and friends were not allowed to sit at the feet of their loved ones and often times the person was buried in a "criminal's tomb"- an insult to Jewish beliefs, if they were buried at all. Often times they were thrown into a mass grave filled with criminals. It was a horrid way of death. I pointed this out to her but it did nothing to discourage her self mutilation.

There are stories dating back centuries of Saints practicing self mutilation in the name of Christ. I am not sure what the sick fascination is with this act but it is disturbing to say the least.

Anyways I have ranted enough. What started as a brief question has turned into another ranting. I will find the research paper I did and add more at a later date. Again, thank you for looking and happy reading! I must go now for Book 7 of the Harry Potter series is calling me yet again to fall victim to the allure of its pages!