Stephen King on the Existence of God
Posted: Wed Mar 14, 2012 2:05 pm
In rereading The Dead Zone last night, I stumbled upon two statements by author Stephen King relating to the existence of God, within ten pages of each other, but taking polar opposite positions.
The first is a thought from the protagonist, John Smith, who has just woken up from a four-and-a-half year coma after being in a head-on car wreck with two guys dragging down the road in the opposite direction. When he wakes up, he finds that his mother has become a raving religious fanatic. She has never given up hope on his recover, has been praying to God every day for him, and now wants to share with her son the plan God has for him.
He thinks, reflecting on the accident that caused all this:
Nine pages later, John Smith is having a conversation with one of his doctors (Weizak) about his other doctor, a brilliant neurosurgeon named Dr. James Brown, who is elsewhere at the time. John asks Dr. Weizak doubtfully whether Dr. Brown likes him. Dr. Weizak responds:
Because my favorite author did such an excellent job of stating both positions on the existence of God, I thought I would post them here for discussion.
Any thoughts?
All the Best!
--Consiglieri
The first is a thought from the protagonist, John Smith, who has just woken up from a four-and-a-half year coma after being in a head-on car wreck with two guys dragging down the road in the opposite direction. When he wakes up, he finds that his mother has become a raving religious fanatic. She has never given up hope on his recover, has been praying to God every day for him, and now wants to share with her son the plan God has for him.
He thinks, reflecting on the accident that caused all this:
Nothing but a quirk of fate, that's all. Five minutes earlier or later on that road could have changed everything. Now look at us, all of us screwed over royally. And she believes it's God's plan. It's either that or go completely crazy, I suppose.
Nine pages later, John Smith is having a conversation with one of his doctors (Weizak) about his other doctor, a brilliant neurosurgeon named Dr. James Brown, who is elsewhere at the time. John asks Dr. Weizak doubtfully whether Dr. Brown likes him. Dr. Weizak responds:
If you feel anything for Jim, feel a little pity. He is a brilliant man, and he will go far. Already he has offers, and someday soon he will fly from these cold north woods and Bangor will see him no more. He will go to Houston or Hawaii or possibly even Paris. But he is curiously limited. He is a mechanic of the brain. He has cut it to pieces with his scalpel and found no soul. And so there is none. Like the Russian astronauts who circled the earth and did not see God. It is the empiricism of the mechanic, and a mechanic is only a child with superior motor control. You must never tell him I said that.
Because my favorite author did such an excellent job of stating both positions on the existence of God, I thought I would post them here for discussion.
Any thoughts?
All the Best!
--Consiglieri