How Kent Brantly survived Ebola: Intense medical care — and prayer

[AtheistCrusader]

13. I don't see anyone taking that position. Link?

I see people who examine the claim that god intervened on his behalf, to his benefit, and then subsequently want to know, what did the (updated 30 seconds ago) other 1,427 people who (we know so far who have) died do (if anything) to not warrant such intervention.

It's an 'IF/THEN' proposition.

It's the same dichotomy that upsets many or most non-believers, when a tornado chews a half-mile wide swath of death and destruction through an inhabited area, and one house more or less in the path seems improbably spared, people 'thank god' for being spared. Well, what did the other folks do to deserve the brunt of the whirlwind then? It seems the logical conclusion/next question in the chain. One possible answer, assuming that a god exists, is that god is not actually responsible for the safety of that house, nor the initiation of the whirlwind at all. So one might even assume that some believers would look at that 'god saved us' claim with a negative opinion, because it could ascribe responsibility for the destruction that did occur, to their reference frame of 'god', who they do not believe to be responsible for that destruction at all.

As an atheist, when I am presented with a datapoint (a 'thanks' to god in this case) I immediately examine it in context. Which must needs raise the question; If he warranted divine intervention, why didn't the 1,427 others, and further, does that mean god reached in and salvaged this man from a death not of his responsibility (meaning god did nothing to cause the infection of Ebola in this case) or does that mean god is actively spreading Ebola, but allowed this one to survive what would have otherwise been a deliberate death. And what would either outcome imply or mean about our understanding of the nature and purposes of god?

If-Then.

I don't believe that is 'being small' when considering that sort of thing. You might say, it's my substitute for religion, not having religion.
I feel this is a safe contribution to this safe haven, because I am not criticizing his faith, I am defending mine, from your attack, so to speak. Just as not all people of religious faith believe in intercessory prayer, so too do all atheists not necessarily automatically perform the sort of analysis I described above. But a lot of us do. It is our nature. Just as a lot of religious people, by nature, do believe in the potential of intercessory prayer. And others do not.