a recent episode of house on fox featured a priest who has lost his faith in God after he is wrongfully accused of molesting a young boy and is kicked from church to church, continually fired after they find out about his past. he has a vision of jesus after a night of drinking and so he checks himself into the hospital thinking there is something wrong with his brain.
house pulls his file from the clinic simply because he wants to mess with another doctors head for her religious hypocrisy. things start to happen to this priest (e.g. his toe falls off) and it becomes a legitimate case for house. the symptoms lead his team to believe he has AIDS and therefore assume the allegations against him must be true.
house eventually figures out that if he eliminates hallucinations from this list, then it fits that the priest has a genetic disease that can look just like AIDS, but is much less serious. when he tells the patient, (sarcastically deeming this genetic disorder another "gift from God") they have a very thought provoking conversation. house had become especially interested in this priest because the priest had become an atheist.
House: it explains all your symptoms- toe, chest, eyes, skinpriest: what about my hallucination?
House: scotch explains that...
priest: that was just a coincidence?
House: coincidences do happen...
priest: but that coincidence is what brought me to you in the first place
House: you promised you wouldn't go there
preist: einstein said that coincidences are God's way of remaining anonymous
house: a woman in florida said "look, jesus is on my cheese sandwich"
priest: you didn't even want to take my case, you didnt even think i was sick
house: the fact that i was wrong is not a proof of God... everything that happened to you can be rationally explained
priest: i know, its just... thats an awful lot of coincidences
it can be difficult for people who want to think logically and rationally about everything to deal with the issue of faith. the concept of God, who has always been around, without regard of time, spcae, or the confines of any facet of the reality we live in, can seem unfathomable. yet at the same time, ockham's razor can lead the same person to accept the existence of God as the most likely reality. I have so much to be thankful for, things just seem to work out for me. i cannot see all these coincidences happening around me and accept them as simply coincidence. the only rational explanation is that God has a plan for me and whatever happens is a contribution of what He wants me to be. i could see the universe, life, and the experiences i have had are pure chance, as many naysayer's would. but... that is an awful lot of coincidences.
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