I pointed a couple of days ago toward a story now making the rounds amongst evangelicals. David Platt, the head of the SBC’s International Missions Board, is peddling the story that a couple of missionaries may have prayed a dead man back to life.
You can imagine what kind of reception the story is receiving: People like me are hooting, and credulous fools who will believe anything are beside themselves with joy.
One Southern Baptist pastor is reprising William James’ argument of The Will to Believe (which is just a variation of Pascal’s famous Wager).
Yes, it could be a hoax. I’m nevertheless inclined to rejoice rather than doubt. We who do so may be embarrassed later if someone is pulling the wool over our eyes, but there’s always some risk associated with rejoicing over some great thing that God has done. Missing out on the rejoicing is too high a price to pay for eliminating the risk of embarrassment. After all, we are confident, are we not, that ultimately He will not put us to shame?
And, besides — true or not, the nitwits in the peanut gallery are going to love it.
UPDATE — Go read the comments from pastors, and remember my rule: Never entrust important, grown-up stuff to some idiot preacher.