Today I was pacing the parking lot just outside of our offices—one has to do that to get privacy in our crowded spot—when I saw an odd sight:  A rather proper woman of generous proportions was squeezing herself between a railing and a ladder.  The ladder stood firmly at the edge of the asphalt and stretched some 25’ feet or so over the sidewalk until it rested gently against the summit of the office building we partially occupy.  To the right of it, there were no obstructions, only an open sidewalk; about a foot to the left of it, there was a sturdy iron railing.

What was she doing?  Couldn’t she see that she could easily flank the ladder to the right and walk under it to her destination?  Then it dawned on me...

“Hold on just a second,” I told my associate on the other end of the phone.  Then, catching the woman’s eye as she struggled to get the rest of her body through the gap, I asked:

“Are you that superstitious?”  My question was playful, but not without a serious note.  So was her reply.

“In this economy, I don’t need any more bad luck!”  She smiled, inhaled deeply and gave one last heave before moving on.

The story, though amusing, is rather telling.  And it is not an isolated incident.

A few years ago I was at Auburn University.  Sitting on a bench in the quad, I noticed students walking around a large university seal embedded in the concrete where the sidewalks intersect.  The most natural path would lead you over the seal.  But students walked around it.  Observing this for a while, I finally stopped a few and asked them why they did this.  Was it out of respect?  Was it slippery?  Why?  Student after student told me that it was due to the superstitions associated with the seal.  Some had it that if you stepped on the seal that you would not graduate; others that you would not marry; and still others, that walking over the seal would make you sterile.  (The latter version of the myth intrigued me.  It offered a potentially inexpensive version of the medical procedure Lauri and I had discussed.)

Seriously, it is rather curious that in a culture where authentic religion—that is, Christianity—is in decline, idiotic superstitions and spiritualism are on the rise.  Just take a look in any bookstore.  The Self-Help, New Age, and Spirituality sections are full of it.  G.K. Chesterton had it right.  “When men stop believing in God, they don’t believe in nothing.  They believe in anything.”*

Oh, and for the record, I did put the Auburn superstition to the test.  After all, already married, twice a college graduate, and three times a father, what did I have to lose?  In case you’re wondering, today I am the father of four.  Of course, number four was adopted, so…

*There is some dispute as to whether Chesterton really said this.  If not, he should have as it certainly reflects his views accurately enough.