Maybe it's not God. Perhaps, as Buddhists believe and early Gnostic Christians believed, she is the reincarnation of one of the great masters such as Vermeers or Rembrandt. Or...could it be...SATAN? (kudos to Dana Carvey for the "Church Lady")
Lack of belief in a divine being takes none of the joy and meaning away from life. I am constantly amazed by the variety and diversity of life, and our ability to do good with it when we are unencumbered by the babblings of religion.
Ever wonder where you acquired that human trait of "amazement" about life's diversity? Was it learned? Some folks coming from some pretty pessimistic parenting seem to "marvel" about life, too. Surely their nurturing didn't spawn it? Oh it must have logically been a teacher or an uncle, but not divine intervention or innately placed by a Creator?
You'd find that your Creator in whom you refuse to acknowledge, endowed you with an uncanny interest in what, why, how, and whom made this and everything, yet most are taught to reject, or "stuff" this endowment as subjective drivel. (Romans Chapter 1, N. Testament.)
This little girl grew up with an atheistic mother......no "God" interest nurturing, yet somehow this little, young, human being, is attributing this remarkable ability to a Creator. Your reaction is that she's a prodigy. At least the great Greek Philosophers had the cajones to consider beyond their own sphere of belief and consider other possibilities; even super natural one's.
Even Paul, the great Apostle that opened Christianity up to the Gentile world, approached Greek philosophers at Mars Hill. They had been debating about the various Gods of their culture/nation, yet they said their explorations brought them to a point where they believed that
there was an unknown god, that "pulled the strings" and far outshined their known Greek. Paul said, that this unknown God that answered and far exceeded all of their statuesque gods, was easily at hand........He then proceeded to explain to them the life of the Christ, and the God of the Jews. Many on Mars Hill were so intrigued that Paul was invited back to share more about this new and mystery god, otherwise known as Yahweh. Many Greek philosophers were so taken back with Paul's address, that myriads of Greeks dropped their polyistic faith and became Christians, or followers of Christ. Paul made sense to them. Even the analytical could accept this God.
Granted, most folks don't become followers of God/ believers, as this little child, but all the more the way it has happened here with this tyke, shows the omnipotent ways of a Creator. Most of the time God allows us to live in the folly of our own self-righteousness, and waits on us to crash and burn with dissolutionment in the end. Sooner or later, we realize that so much of our lives have been just foolish drivel and folly, trying to project an image to others that we are "captains" of our lives, and just more complex molecular lattice-works than the Banana slug, and with that we see ourselves endowed with an advantage over that shell-less molusk.
Sadly, some wait until it's at their death bed. Many accounts of self avowed atheists, in their last breaths have finally resolved their adversion to a Creator, and thus entered into the presence of God, with their names written in the Lamb's book of life. For others, their last gasps were that of horror as they realized that death was not the end, but also a continuing eternity for them also, but not an eternity of bliss, but of loneliness, and separation from all the measure of grace from God that they willfully ignored in their earthly life. Sadly, they willfully raised the perviabial "Stalin" salute to God, and entered an eternity of lonely absence from God's presence and provision.
Death beds times are real "ego" leveling times for us humans, yet for some mysterious reason, this free-will that we are endowed with by our makers ultimately places our destiny in our human wills.
Stalin's last expression on his death bed, as attested by his daughter was a rebellious, raised fist in the air, and then he departed earth's realm.
My mother, who suffered for years with Lupus, had a much different time seconds before her last breath.
As she lay in bed, emaciated, and only weight 70 lbs., she some how miraculously lifted herself up to a sitting position in her hospital bed, and opened her eyes so wide. She pointed towards the ceiling, and started to smile, as I hadn't seen her smile in months. I asked Mom what she saw, and she just quietly whispered some words that I couldn't hear. I said to Mom, "Do you see Jesus, Mom?". She nodded to the affirmative. She then slowly lowered herself back into her pillow and took one little breath and died before my eyes. She died to her earthly life, but she saw an awakening life, and a real presence into another.
Now for the skeptic.......She was just hallucinating, but I won't believe that one bit. My mom believed in Jesus as her Saviour. She was self-deluded at the point of death? In fact, I saw a clarity in her, that I hadn't seen in months since all of her painful suffering. She smiled at what I couldn't see. She was clearly conversing with some one or ones that I could not see.
Science wants to explain away all of these testimonies as just chemical renderings in the dieing brain. They have to. If they don't. Their only alternative is to become accepters or believers, and they can't possible see how they can be analytical and be believers all in one soul.
When a skeptic says they are happy without believing in an Almighty, they are not realizing the vistas that go beyond earthly, godless happiness. The actual realms that open up to human achievement in science, music, the arts, in all professions....etc, are not stifled, but in fact enhanced beyond reason when Godlessness is replaces with Godliness in one's soul.
The Mother Teresas, Washington Carvers, Michael Faradays, etc.........that have left countless positive impacts on human culture for both atheist and Christian to enjoy, are countless. The numbers of Christian, bible believing scientists that have rendered unto mankind so many blessings for mankind's present-day comforts, in life are countless. Christianity, or belief in God, does not stunt the human psyche, but actually awakens it!
God doesn't harden man's soul. Man does it adequately on his own. What God does do, is allow the hardening to continue in the hope that man will become so sick of his/her self-enamorization, that he/she wil finally see where they started and where they have ended up.(Romans Chapter 1, N.T.). This is not unlike the perverbial frog placed in the slowly heating pot of cold water, who finally starts to realize that it's being slowly cooked to death, but then, alas, it's too late by the time of realization, and clarity, to make a life rendering decision.
This little girl says God did it in her life. Bully says she's just a prodigy. It's Bully against the little girl's testimony. Maybe it's even Bully versus this little girl's advocate, called God? Who's right? Will Bully have a smile on his face on his death bed or a frightful realization?
I'm sure that I will be categorized as a stereotypical bible thumping, hell, scaring, deluded, problem that the world and the U.S. would be best served with diminishing from it's presence.
Never the less, I'll take my chances.
Bully: I don't look down at you. I really understand your position, as once I once was there myself. I thought I was happy too. I come from an extensive scientific knowledge/education in the college system myself. I used to literally make fun of those Bible believing Christians.
Then one day, I really started letting that inert, inner endowed part of my humanity start thinking, about how, when, what, whom, ..........? At the other end of those questions, was an concrete, answer. I lost nothing, but gained more than I can count.
