As a new member, I thought I would share a small story with everyone.

Brief history: I was raised in a Pentecostal cult... I feel I have never "believed" since I can remember. I remember reading the story of Noah's Arc when I was 5 and thinking "this is impossible, but YAY pictures!".

But the story I want to share is about the nonsense of prayer.

There was a very beloved member of our community who was, what some would call, a leader or pastor. He was in his 50's and developed throat cancer. The church community commenced a massive prayer effort. Thousands of people from around the world started praying; vigils, fasting, the whole kit and caboodle. This went on for about 3 months and, as you might guess, this person's condition only progressed and got worse. He finally succumbed to the cancer and passed away.

The most important part was the conclusions I was able to come to:

A) If god did exist, this proves that his mind is set and prayer is useless and you can't change his mind, and is therefore a total waste of time.

B) And, of course, god doesn't exist.

Their god didn't care enough about them and their prayers or the prostration of Thousands of people to pull the existential bunny out of the hat. This story happened when I was in my very early teens and was just conformation for me that I was wasting thought on this idiocy. As soon as I reached 17 I flew the coop! :)

Thanks for letting me share.