Rebecca Ferguson, intercessory prayer, and 240,000 tsunami deaths…

I bought a CD for my partner the other day. it was by an X-Factor third place finisher from a few years ago, Rebecca Ferguson. Not something I’d usually buy myself, of course, but she’s got a rich and textured voice which sounds lovely.

Her theology, on the other hand, is shoddy.

I was reading her CD sleeve, in particular her thanks page. The first paragraph of the many thanks that she gives is devoted to who she deems requires the most thanks for the success of her album, and the turnaround in her fortunes as a result of the X-Factor. You guessed it, humanity’s best friend, God.

The statement reads something like, “First I must thank God for answering my prayers and giving me this opportunity….” – I paraphrase since the CD is in the car and my partner is at work. But you get the idea here.

The problem with her stating that is as follows. Firstly, she must believe that:

1) God has intervened on her behalf to change the state of affairs so that she became successful and scored a record deal.

or

2) God knew, in advance, her wishes and situation, and set up the world in such a way that she would see a change in fortunes, and would get the record deal.

Either, or. They are both ridiculous. Why? Well, this implicitly means (or maybe she explicitly thinks this) that God must think that intervening (or setting up the world) to bring about her record deal and musical career is more important than intervening (pr setting up the world) to save anyone, or all, of the 240,000 people who perished in the 2004 tsunami. And that’s not to mention the billions of organisms and countless ecosystems which were equally destroyed.

Apparently, Rebecca Ferguson’s successful start to her career is more important than the lives and welfare of the thousands of children who have been abused by the soldiers of Christ, the Catholic paedophile priests.

Apparently, Rebecca Ferguson’s musical career is more more important than the prevention or cure, or nonexistence, of malaria which has killed around 50% of all humans who have ever lived.

But Rebecca’s Ferguson’s fame needs are more important, it seems.

Perhaps I am being unfair – she seems a lovely person. But perhaps she needs to think about her faith more critically. That’s a schoolgirl error.