Exonerating God

When a telephone pole fell on his car during a storm, Rodney Bowman of Florin, Pa., suffered a broken back and sued the Columbia Telephone Co. for $10,830 in damages. In defense, the company argued that the accident was an "act of God." Last week, ruling against the company, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court suggested that it was time to abandon this venerable defense (the term dates back to 1581). "The loose use of the name of the Deity in the realm of the law should not be a matter of our approval," said Justice Michael A. Musmanno. "There is something shocking in attributing any tragedy or holocaust to God. The ways of the Deity so surpass the understanding of man that it is not the province of man to pass judgment upon what may be beyond human comprehension."

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