The Oscars, Lincoln, coincidences — and God

Last updated on: March 13, 2015 at 10:09 pm by Richard Ostling

The Oscars, Lincoln, coincidences — and God 2015-03-13T22:09:10-04:00 Richard Ostling

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

CHRIS IN MASSACHUSETTS ASKS:

Christians and non-Christians alike announce that “there are no such things as coincidences” (so that e.g. getting a good parking space) is an act of direct divine intervention…. Are all of these coincidences “little miracles” that God hands out to virtually everyone?

THE GUY ANSWERS:

Good theme for the days between Lincoln’s Birthday and the upcoming Academy Awards ceremony where the movie “Lincoln” is up for 12 Oscars. Why? Historian Allen Guelzo’s magnificent biography “Abraham Lincoln: Redeemer President” concentrates on the president’s philosophy, not just political but moral and religious. Guelzo says Lincoln’s worldview, shaped by a hard-shell Baptist upbringing and other unknown factors, included fatalistic belief in some inexorable power — for him, probably not the conventional God — that totally controls events the human will is helpless to alter. Presumably that would include the coincidence, defined by Harvard University mathematicians Persi Diaconis and Frederick Mosteller as “a surprising concurrence of events, perceived as meaningfully related, with no apparent causal connection.”

Take these Lincoln coincidences: The only one of the president’s four sons to reach adulthood, Robert, nearly died as well in a Jersey City train platform mishap. He was rescued by celebrated actor Edwin Booth, yes the brother of actor John Wilkes Booth who later assassinated Robert’s father. On the fateful night of that shooting Robert skipped an invitation to join his father at Ford’s Theater, perhaps saving his life a second time, and was at the bedside as his father was dying. In 1881, Robert was at the Washington train station with President Garfield when he was shot. And in 1901 he was in Buffalo en route to meet President McKinley when he was shot. That’s three of history’s four assassinations of U.S. presidents!

And speaking of presidents, John Adams and Thomas Jefferson, who worked together on the Declaration of Independence, famously died on the same day, July 4, 1826, precisely the 50th anniversary of the original Independence Day. What are the odds? Such strange occurrences earned gazillions for Ripley’s “Believe It Or Not” media empire.

But do they stem from God? Seems to The Guy that when such tiny events are beneficial (e.g. a parking space) it’s quite harmless, and quite natural, for religious believers to attribute them to God’s aid. But there’s no particular reason to assume that’s the case, and believers’ actual prayer requests usually focus on more important matters — or ought to.

Chris’s full posting noted that statistics hobbyists Diaconis and Mosteller spent a decade collecting and analyzing thousands of reported coincidences. They concluded that some are explained by hidden causes or skewed perceptions, but most often they’re matters of sheer chance, easily explained by “the law of very large numbers,” namely: “With a large enough sample, any outrageous thing is apt to happen.”

Back to Lincoln. What really matters in life is not everyday trivialities but how God’s providence relates to major life events and world-historical changes. Theologians have long pondered this cosmic question and as a mere newsman The Guy has nothing to add. Lincoln addressed this in his Second Inaugural Address, which seemed to affirm belief in God after a lifetime of skepticism and spiritual struggle. The president sought to comprehend the unbearable injustices of centuries of human slavery and the unimaginable slaughter of the Civil War. Rather like the biblical Book of Job, he provided no snap answer but concluded that “the Almighty has His own purposes” and “it must be said ‘the judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether’.”

Sometime this week, read Lincoln’s brief and remarkable meditation at: http://avalon.law.yale.edu/19th_century/lincoln2.asp

Uncategorized

Previous Post

February 11, 2013

The Pope abdicates!

Next Post

February 23, 2013 Why do Christians ignore so many biblical laws?

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Uncategorized

Select a Month October 2026 September 2026 August 2026 July 2026 June 2026 May 2026 April 2026 March 2026 February 2026 January 2026 December 2025 November 2025 October 2025 September 2025 August 2025 July 2025 June 2025 May 2025 April 2025 March 2025 February 2025 January 2025 December 2024 November 2024 October 2024 September 2024 August 2024 July 2024 June 2024 May 2024 April 2024 March 2024 February 2024 January 2024 December 2023 November 2023 October 2023 September 2023 August 2023 July 2023 June 2023 May 2023 April 2023 March 2023 February 2023 January 2023 December 2022 November 2022 October 2022 September 2022 August 2022 July 2022 June 2022 May 2022 April 2022 March 2022 February 2022 January 2022 December 2021 November 2021 October 2021 September 2021 August 2021 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

What did Isaiah see in his vision in Isaiah 6?

Select your answer to see how you score.

The Lord seated on His throne A chariot of fire A burning bush A ladder to heaven