"Did David really need God's help to kill Goliath?

*          *        *

Teacher-Mom and I look at each other,  mulling over the best answer. To buy time I say:  "Johnny, how do you know he had help?"

Mom forgets about mulling: "The Bible tells us that Goliath was 9 feet tall, clad in full armour and had been victorious in many battles. David was a mere boy with strong convictions and not much else. He had to have help!"

Before we get to scary deep waters, I'm going to try a red herring: "King Saul had a problem. He was afraid of failure.  He knew that he or any other man in the Israelite army would be killed in a fight with the giant Goliath. It was simply suicide and the end of the Israelites to accept the challenge of the Philistines. So he consulted his trusted advisors: 'What can we do?'

The High Priest was very clear: 'Israelites do not ask for God's Help, now, or at any other time. We must have sinned, so we will offer Him a sacrifice and ask His Forgiveness, and hope for a miracle .....'

The Chief Physician was less clear: 'There are some herbs which give the strength of ten men and some which take away fear,  but they also take away judgment, and the berserker  will try and kill anything that moves. No Israelite can knowingly enter such a state.....'

The Head Scholar spoke very nicely: 'After analyzing all constituent parameters it is clear that there is a deficit of reliable data. Maybe Goliath is less than 9 feet tall .....'

As usual it was the King's oldest slave, the ex-chief of the household, who was given the last word: 'When one finds fear in oneself - in other words if your heart beats louder than the King's Drum, your head becomes too small and your imagination runs riot - you must first of all accept it, know it is normal to have fear, and know it is an opportunity to show 'admirable resolve'. Hoping for a miracle cannot be contemplated when the fate of the whole tribe depends upon it. Rather find somebody who is completely fearless and so confident that our giant opponent will be surprised into defeat. Find somebody young and still 'invincible', or find  a fool.

And so it came to pass."

*          *          *

Little Johnny knows about red herrings: "You can't answer my question, can you.   And what is admirable resolve?"

That is a equestion I am not afraid of: "Admirable Resolve is having fear and not letting it rule you. It is acting with Common Sense even when knowing that there is reason for fear.  And it definitely helps to believe in kismet, in fate, in 'What will be, will be', or if you prefer, in 'Que será, será'."