Divine coincidences

[WTL]

My post in the Jesus as a bee gee thread got me to think a bit about what I guess I can only call a divine coincidence.

Shorthand definition for such would be a coincidence so improbable, and weird, that it almost implies a practical joker behind the scenes making sure it is so.

A poor example of such would be Timmy Tebow passing for 316 yards vs the steelers last week. Parts of his season seemed to be touched, although it could just have been chance or attributed to a good defense...but it was still kinda neat.

But I have two better examples. From Wiki;
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Wilmer McLean (May 3, 1814 – June 5, 1882) was a wholesale grocer from Virginia. It is said that the American Civil War started in his front yard and ended in his front parlor.
The initial engagement on July 18, 1861 of what would become the First Battle of Bull Run took place on McLean's farm, the Yorkshire Plantation, in Manassas, Prince William County, Virginia. Union Army artillery fired at McLean's house, which was being used as a headquarters for ConfederateBrigadier GeneralP. G. T. Beauregard, and a cannonball dropped through the kitchen fireplace. Beauregard wrote after the battle, "A comical effect of this artillery fight was the destruction of the dinner of myself and staff by a Federal shell that fell into the fire-place of my headquarters at the McLean House."[1]
McLean was a retired major in the Virginia militia, but at 47, he was too old to return to active duty at the outbreak of the Civil War. He made his living during the war as a sugar broker supplying the Confederate States Army. He decided to move because his commercial activities were centered mostly in southern Virginia and the Union army presence in his area of northern Virginia made his work difficult. He undoubtedly was also motivated by a desire to protect his family from a repetition of their combat experience. In the spring of 1863, he and his family moved about 120 miles (200 km) south to Appomattox County, Virginia, near a dusty, crossroads community called Appomattox Court House.[2]
On April 9, 1865, the war revisited Wilmer McLean. Confederate General Robert E. Lee was about to surrender to Lieutenant General Ulysses S. Grant. He sent a messenger to Appomattox Courthouse to find a place to meet. On April 8, 1865, the messenger knocked on McLean's door and requested the use of his home. Lee surrendered to Grant in the parlor of McLean's house, effectively ending the Civil War.[2] Later, McLean is supposed to have said "The war began in my front yard and ended in my front parlor".[3]

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The other great, perhaps divine, coincidence that I thought I would point out is the deaths of Thomas Jefferson and John Adams. Both occured on the 50th anniversery of the signing of the Declartion of Indepenence, July 4, 1826. They had been very close friends, but had a falling out over politics, only to reestablish freindship through letters in their later years. John Adams last words are reported to have been, "Thomas Jefferson Survives." Such may or may not have been true - Jefferson the Man had died a couple hours earlier at Monticello. But his ideas could be said to survive even to this day. Some have also said that Jefferson mentioned Adams in his last words, but this has never been and probably never will be vefified. Even so, it is spooky.
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So, are there any other happenings that qualify as such an improbible coincidence that people can offer? I made this post not as an offer of proof of any divine being per se, but just because I find such coincidences completely fascinating.

[bassinbob]

Interesting info on the Civil War.

[basshunter21]

Very cool tid bit of information on the civil war, I love reading stuff like this. Ive always been so intrigued by the civil war. When you go to Gettysburg and look over that battlefield and try to picture it during the war its crazy.

The guys that fought in that war were some frickin TOUGH guys!

But as for the coincidences that is pretty wild. I dont know if I believe their is some type of reasoning for coincidences like this and many others but I dont denounce.

[woody]

WTL, here's one for you that I can only explain as being a "God thing".

I first heard of this from one of my pastors.

1. Psalm 118 is the middle chapter of the entire Bible?

2. Psalm 117, before Psalm 118 is the shortest chapter in the Bible?

3. Psalm 119, after Psalm 118 is the longest chapter in the Bible?

4. The Bible has 594 chapters before Psalm 118 and 594 chapters after Psalm 118?

5. If you add up all the chapters except Psalm 118, you get a total of 1188 chapters?

6. 1188 or Psalm 118 verse 8 is the middle verse of the entire Bible.

Here's the verse, "It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in man." - Psalm 118:8


-Mark

[bamabassman]

Very cool billy. And i am sure if we all give it some thought and go throught our lives we too can find such things in our ives as well. History repeates itself. And it'll keep repeating itself until we learn from it.

and thank you mark. very interesting.

[joedog]

WTL, great thread.
Woody thanks for sharing. I enjoyed the insite.
Woody, I was fortunate as a young boy to have studied the Bible (didn't feel that way then ) As young boys (no Catholic Jokes Please ) we would have a contest to see who could stump the Brothers and Priests.
One day, when I was in the 5th grade, the Monsignor along with the the Bishop were having a question and answer session, which happened often.
Here was my question,

If God made Adam and Eve, as the first and only humans to inhabit the Earth, dosn't that make all of us off-spring of incest?
I will never forget the answer!
When I read man's writings about Gods actions, The Bible, I often think about the answer I was given that day.

Thanks again, everyone.
Great fishing to all!

[bamabassman]

so we supposed to ask for the answer joe?

[joedog]

Originally Posted by bamabassman

so we supposed to ask for the answer joe?

When your dealing with nitwits (me) you have to have patience.
I guess I really didn't realize my error.
But would of been a great idea, if that was my intention.

The Bishop explained that the Bible is the work of man, not God!
It was written as a guide to becoming a better person based on man's interpretation of God's/Jesus' actions and words. He then said it was similar to FABLES, the lesson learned is the important part, not the story itself. He said man wasn't even made till the sixth day, so man's ability to accuratly detail the first 5 days may not be as accurate as man would like to believe. Then he said thats why there are so many stories in the Bible. Each apostle was sent to tell the same message to a different group of people. If you wanted to get a point accross to someone who never had or even heard of an automobile you wouldn't reference cars because the whole idea would get lost in the confusion. You may want to reference horse and buggies instead because these people would understand and the lesson was about transportation not how you were transported.
He then said, "If you go to China and say Merry Christmas, the Chinese person says Merry Christmas back, even though you are saying the same thing and have the same intentions, niether one of you understood the other even though your intentions were good and the same. Now if both of you gave each other a card that was beautifully hand made even though you can't read Chinese nor they English you would understand that the intention was to bring happiness to each other.
He then told a story about little boy and matched each of us up with a 6th grader and had us tell them the story. A week later he than had the sixth graders write the story that we told them and read it to the class. The stories were so different but in the original story the boy gave a puppy to an old homeless man. Every single story from the 6th graders included the boy giving the man the puppy, without exception.
Even though everyone was telling the same story and arrived at the same conclusion, most sounded different. But in the end we all knew it was nice to give the man the puppy.

[Bassboss]

Originally Posted by woody

WTL, here's one for you that I can only explain as being a "God thing".

I first heard of this from one of my pastors.

1. Psalm 118 is the middle chapter of the entire Bible?

2. Psalm 117, before Psalm 118 is the shortest chapter in the Bible?

3. Psalm 119, after Psalm 118 is the longest chapter in the Bible?

4. The Bible has 594 chapters before Psalm 118 and 594 chapters after Psalm 118?

5. If you add up all the chapters except Psalm 118, you get a total of 1188 chapters?

6. 1188 or Psalm 118 verse 8 is the middle verse of the entire Bible.

Here's the verse, "It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in man." - Psalm 118:8


-Mark

Wow. Really glad I found this when I did Mark, thanks so much for sharing buddy! Really what I needed to hear right now.

No such thing as a coincidences in my opinion... happened to be listening to the song - Sinners like me by Eric Church.

[WTL]

A new coincidencene -
Bear Bryant set the record for most career wins in college football by beating illinois in his last game. He died 4 weeks later.

Joe Paterno set the cfb record for most career wins in his last game. He also beat illinois to set the record, then died 12 weeks later.

Bear Bryant famously once said hed croak within a week of retirement.

Joe Paterno once told brent Musberger that the actual reason he wasn't going to retire was cause of what happened to Bear Bryant.




The last team to beat Paterno? Alabama.

[bamabassman]

yes i was thinking about this when i read the news of joe's passing billy. wierd huh?

[WTL]

Adding a new layer to the Bryant-Paterno deal:

Bear Bryant died just after Penn State won the national championship.

Now, Joe Paterno has died just after Alabama won the national championship.