Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Nelson on March 13, 2011 at 9:50pm

i guess i'm probably somewhere in between. i mean, to use your example, if i was ill and in hospital and someone said "i'll pray for you" i'd probably say that i was an atheist and didn't see the value in that kind of behavior but that i appreciated the thought. regardless of the utter uselessness of the gesture the person making it is doing so out of kindness. that has to be remembered and it should count for something.

and, yes, it can be a replacement for actually doing something for some theists (or for all theists from time to time) but i would tend to the view that far more often people pray AND they do something also. people don't flake off at work while praying for that big promotion; they work hard. people don't (usually) refuse to the go to the doctor while praying; they go to the doctor AND they pray. and many other similar instances.

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Aksyon on March 20, 2011 at 12:36am

Sometimes. I feel frustrated. I was recently out with a friends who was having problems at her work with her boss.  After explaining to me the situation, she asked for my advice.  I gave her (what i thought was) valid advice , told her to talk to her boss and work things out.  She then replied, "ehh, I just really need to pray about it."  What a slap in the face, not to mention a waste a time.

 

Some, not all, people use prayer as a substitute for action, and that is when it boils.

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Greg Gorey on March 20, 2011 at 1:52am

i should point out the distinction of prayer (asking for supernatural assistance) and meditation (clearing your mind and inner-reflection). Meditation can be quite helpful and requires no ghosts. It allows us time to think things through. I (as Shelby Spong suggested) take time for solitary reflection in a serene place with my books and notepad. It really helps

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Tara on March 20, 2011 at 5:03pm

I think that prayer can be a fear tactic...People get into the habit of praying because they are afraid that if they don't, something bad will happen to them or to the people they love. Or, they think that if they plead hard enough, a bad situation will turn out okay, or that they will get what they want. I remember many nights when I prayed so hard, hoping that something in my life would finally change, and I never got a response...It's always been a matter of me working my ass off and rolling with the punches. I finally had to realize that I was doing it out of fear, not because it was "working."

• ▶ Reply