Suing God
I had to blog about this. A Nebraska senator is filing a lawsuit against God in order to make a point about frivolous lawsuits. Among the claims is that God has caused "widespread death, destruction, and terrorization" of the earth's inhabitants.
Quite frankly, this could be a difficult lawsuit to defend. The lawsuit would likely boil down to whose expert witness gave a more convincing theological argument to the jury.
The senator's lawyer would likely call a theologian who will say that because God is omnipotent, God has the power to stop things like flooding, hurricanes, etc. which cause so much death and destruction. Therefore, God is liable for such acts under an "acts of omission" concept, wherein individuals are held liable for not acting when they should (such as when you see someone getting mugged and just watch and laugh - think Seinfeld).
God's lawyer would then call a theologian to testify that although God is omnipotent (assuming God is and would want his lawyer to argue it), there are still some things that God "allows" to happen, but doesn't cause directly. In other words, God didn't cause the flood or hurricane, but merely let weather patterns take their course. Needless to say, this argument isn't completely convincing, but neither is the other one. Who would a jury believe? Is there a better argument for one side or the other?
This is sort of the senator's point: plenty of bad things happen to plenty of people, but it doesn't mean everyone should go around suing about it. Some things are the way they are and you just have to move on.
There are plenty of other interesting legal issues here such as whether the senator has standing to sue, whether there is really personal jurisdiction over God in the court (he argues there is because God is everywhere), and who God would choose as legal counsel (God is probably already discussing the case with Cochran up in heaven - that man can defend anyone). Those can wait for another day...
A few related things:
Actual judicial opinion in a lawsuit filed against Satan. This is for real, folks. Someone filed the suit, but the court dismissed it. There will be an actual opinion in the case against God as well. Shoudl be fun to read.
Something related from the Onion.
Quite frankly, this could be a difficult lawsuit to defend. The lawsuit would likely boil down to whose expert witness gave a more convincing theological argument to the jury.
The senator's lawyer would likely call a theologian who will say that because God is omnipotent, God has the power to stop things like flooding, hurricanes, etc. which cause so much death and destruction. Therefore, God is liable for such acts under an "acts of omission" concept, wherein individuals are held liable for not acting when they should (such as when you see someone getting mugged and just watch and laugh - think Seinfeld).
God's lawyer would then call a theologian to testify that although God is omnipotent (assuming God is and would want his lawyer to argue it), there are still some things that God "allows" to happen, but doesn't cause directly. In other words, God didn't cause the flood or hurricane, but merely let weather patterns take their course. Needless to say, this argument isn't completely convincing, but neither is the other one. Who would a jury believe? Is there a better argument for one side or the other?
This is sort of the senator's point: plenty of bad things happen to plenty of people, but it doesn't mean everyone should go around suing about it. Some things are the way they are and you just have to move on.
There are plenty of other interesting legal issues here such as whether the senator has standing to sue, whether there is really personal jurisdiction over God in the court (he argues there is because God is everywhere), and who God would choose as legal counsel (God is probably already discussing the case with Cochran up in heaven - that man can defend anyone). Those can wait for another day...
A few related things:
Actual judicial opinion in a lawsuit filed against Satan. This is for real, folks. Someone filed the suit, but the court dismissed it. There will be an actual opinion in the case against God as well. Shoudl be fun to read.
Something related from the Onion.
posted by teirney at 8:35 AM
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