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The religious context of the stem cell debate, and the issue of what comprises faith, makes me think of this joke. A man with an unshakable faith that God would deliver him from his trials and help him overcome every obstacle survived a catastrophe at sea, only to find himself treading water in the middle of the ocean with no land in sight and the wind rising. When a piece of flotsam from the his now-sunken ship floated by, he refused to grab hold of it, thinking happily that God would save him. A while later a raft with survivors came into view, but he didn't call out, waiting for God to save him. As he grew exhausted and cold and night approached, a rescue helicopter hovered overhead and sent down a basket to pull him out of the sea, but still the man held firm in his faith that God would save him and refused to climb in. So he drowned. In heaven later on, speaking with God, the man said, "I waited for you to save me, but you didn't. Why?" God said: "What do you mean? I sent you a piece of flotsam, a liferaft, and a helicopter! What more do you want?"