The Miraculous Event

In his memoir, Knife: Meditations After an Attempted Murder, author Salmon Rushdie chronicles the painful journey to recovery from multiple knife wounds on August 12, 2022. As he stood center stage, ready to begin his lecture at the Chautauqua Institution, a twenty-four-year-old man rushed up from the audience and stabbed him in the palms, neck, chest, face and eye. Severely wounded, he spent months undergoing emotional and physical healing marred with setbacks on his slow and precarious road to regaining a life. He talks with deep affection about his family, friends, and especially his wife, as the support system that buoyed him while doctors set the course to recovery. His story is one of resilience, courage, persistence, and, ultimately, of how love triumphs over everything bad that comes our way, even shocking or life-threatening events.
Without question, Knife is a retelling of an unspeakable act of violence, and Rushdie offers detailed descriptions and perceptions of what he endured. He spares no testimony of his physical and emotional journey. And, yet, I feel I know little more about the man other than he is certainly a card-carrying member of the literati who quotes several noted authors of classic works throughout his memoir to underscore his meditations. The audio book, narrated by Rushdie, at first, held the promise of great insight from a man who had known the threat of murder attempts for nearly four decades. In 1989, a fatwa was issued by Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini calling for the assassination of Salmon Rushie following publication of his novel The Satanic Verses. Rushdie spent years in hiding yet it seemed like, with the passage of time, the threat had waned, until the fateful day in August of 2022.
Rushdie’s reflects on the shattering incident and the many follow-up occurrences that stacked in his favor. He admits to being lucky overall as he describes the attack as “the irruption of the miraculous into the life of someone who didn’t believe that the miraculous existed.” He further, states, “No, I don’t believe in miracles, but, yes, my books do.” So, to me, the naïve or innocent listener, it sounds like there was something or someone working in his favor. But, no counting any blessings here. There’s no doubt he’s an atheist, as he clearly confirms. The stab that missed his brain by a mere millimeter is relegated to something of fiction that you’d read in one of his novels. But, it’s not fiction, right? The near miss of a brain injury really did happen.
And, here, what I initially considered a vivid account and thoughtful meditation, as referred to in the title, ultimately turned into emphatic statements against religion. I have no quarrel with Rushdie’s nonbelief in a creator. It’s his prerogative. But I’m left wondering if all those brilliant writers and their works that he references or quotes are also atheists. I won’t delve further into that territory, but I will explore a statement he made in support of his argument against religion that confounds me!
Let’s state first that Rushdie was educated in Bombay, India and in London, England where he graduated from King’s College, Cambridge with a Bachelor of Arts degree in history. There’s the rub! Yes, I understand that Rushdie is an atheist and believes that religion is an anathema to society, in general, and free thinking, in particular. And to prove his point, he quotes St. Paul, Apostle to the Apostles, in one of his most famous passages from 1 Corinthians 13:11 “When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me.” Well, here's my question: Why in the world would Rushdie subvert one of the most emphatic statements in support of religion to make an argument against religion? Questions abound! How far reaching were Rushdie’s studies in history? Mr. Rushdie, are you serious when you quote a passage to undermine religion from St. Paul, one of Christianity’s greatest promoters?
In my travels to Italy, Greece, Israel, Turkey, Jordan, and other sites of antiquity, I marvel at what martyrs suffered for what Rushdie deems as childish beliefs that threaten our liberties. Let’s consider the early Christian martyrs: Were they duped or brainwashed to the point of giving up their lives? I’m wondering how Rushdie would comment on their self-sacrifice to live out the new faith being spread publicly by the likes of St. Paul. And yes, St. Paul witnessed and testified to the faith in public arenas. Would a religious belief, based on the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, survived for centuries without a public platform from its very beginnings?
Let’s look at another quote from St Paul: 1 Corinthians 15:3-5, 8a “I handed on to you first of all what I myself received, that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures; that he was buried and, in accordance with the Scriptures, rose on the third day; that he was seen by Cephas, then by the Twelve. Last of all he was seen by me.”
Either St. Paul’s a delusional madman or witnessing to the truth like so many others who spread the faith in the first century A.D. When I walked in the Footsteps of St. Paul on pilgrimage in Greece, I was struck by all he endured to give witness to his beliefs, especially since his earlier years were all about persecuting Christians. St. Paul traveled over 10,000 miles throughout his ministry. Religion belongs in communal life. What remains private is a relationship with God, if you are believer. If not, it’s a relationship with, hmmm, your hubris? After walking in St. Paul’s footsteps, not 10,000 miles of course, I reflected, “Wow if this doesn’t somehow touch the heart or mind of an atheist, I’m not sure what would.”
And I’ll close with a personal story. Years ago, a colleague purported his atheistic beliefs. He argued with every scientific reasoning that there’s no such thing as one creator of the universe, a God, if you will. One day I looked at him and said, “Where’s your proof that there’s no God? All science needs some sort of proof, and you don’t have an absolute proof or answer.” I saw his eyes glaze over. He wasn’t ready to ponder what he may have considered an absurd statement on my part. I continued, “If I say there is no God, I’m saying I’m absolutely sure. I’m not allowing for any possibility.”
To believe is a choice, and there’s no convincing someone who believes they have all the facts. In answer to Rushdie, yes, private prayer and devotions are a good thing, but if we don’t allow public worship, we may be facing what the early martyrs did to spread the faith. And it makes me wonder if we would die for this faith if we were called to do so.
In closing, I believe if you hold the mustard seed of faith, you’ve got all you need. Nourish it, keep it alive, and spread the Word!