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Even when I was a christian I was kinda doubtful about prayer

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i dont wnat to seem pessimistic but, why would a higher being care to answer one human's prayers? in the grand scheme of things one person on earth is so insignificant.

 
Originally posted by: moshquerade
Originally posted by: Arkitech
Yeah I know, yet another thread about religion.

When I graduated high school I met a guy named Anthony through another friend. We had a lot in common and used to hang out quite a bit, he had a large family and unfortunately all of his siblings had a rare heart disease. He had a sister who died from heart failure on her way to school on the bus. He had a younger brother who died from heart failure as well at a skating rink. He had another older brother that I never met who also died from heart failure. His parents were very religious and they prayed constantly for their children, but yet out of 7 kids 4 of them died. So in a situation like that you can't help but to wonder what's the point of prayer.

Often times I hear people say that they got a job or a promotion because of prayer. Then there are the actors and entertainers who thank God for blessing them with their 15th grammy or emmy award. Forgive for me being doubtful but why would God answer the prayer for more money or some other material possesion as opposed to saving the life of a young child. Its things like these that has led me down the road of becoming an agnostic.
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here's my take: God can't answer all prayers. think about it, it's like in the movie "Bruce Almighty:. look what happened when Bruce just hit the "yes" button and answered all the prayers coming in. there would be dire implications if everyone got everything they prayed for.
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I know frivolous entreaties are likely not going to be answered, but it breaks my heart to see parents on the news praying for their abducted or sick children. And then later finding out some sick perv or rare cancer has ended their lives. Then it really boils my blood when some a$$hole actor or singer or rapper is thanking God for answering their prayers for a triple platinum album when just last week they were in the news about a sex tape that went public. I'm sure you get the point I'm trying to make here.

I once had a girl tell me she prayed that her car would start after it had stalled. She was convinced that had God answered her prayer, but in my mind if God is using his infinite power to start cars while people with real issues are being ignored then we're in real trouble.
 
Originally posted by: Siddhartha
I have seen no evidence of the existence of a god or gods and when people pray they are talking to themselves.
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an astounding number of people seem to believe in the existence of God on their deathbeds, and there they will pray to him.
 
Originally posted by: moshquerade
Originally posted by: Siddhartha
I have seen no evidence of the existence of a god or gods and when people pray they are talking to themselves.
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an astounding number of people seem to believe in the existence of God on their deathbeds, and there they will pray to him.
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heh heh this is true, there's a phrase that goes there's no athiests in a trench or something like that. despite my doubts I really do hope there's something better in store for us, it just seems like there's overwhelming evidence against it though
 
Originally posted by: moshquerade
Originally posted by: Siddhartha
I have seen no evidence of the existence of a god or gods and when people pray they are talking to themselves.
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an astounding number of people seem to believe in the existence of God on their deathbeds, and there they will pray to him.
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they then believe in a higher being becasue it would be depressing to think there is nothing left and they will just become dust.. its in their best intereast to believe that this isnt it.

 
Originally posted by: moshquerade
Originally posted by: Siddhartha
I have seen no evidence of the existence of a god or gods and when people pray they are talking to themselves.
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an astounding number of people seem to believe in the existence of God on their deathbeds, and there they will pray to him.
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Makes sense, as dying people in hospitals are often under strong pain medications which alter their perceptions. Also, as oxygen levels drop and the various systems in the body start to lose their functions, the mind can play tricks.
 
Originally posted by: Rudee
Originally posted by: moshquerade
Originally posted by: Siddhartha
I have seen no evidence of the existence of a god or gods and when people pray they are talking to themselves.
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an astounding number of people seem to believe in the existence of God on their deathbeds, and there they will pray to him.
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Makes sense, as dying people in hospitals are often under strong pain medications which alter their perceptions. Also, as oxygen levels drop and the various systems in the body start to lose their functions, the mind can play tricks.
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denial isn't just a river in Egypt, eh?

 
I'm honestly not sure. Though I believe in God's existence and we as a family (I'm 14, and this wouldn't have been my idea) help set up and tear down church every Sunday at a school, I never pray.
 
Originally posted by: Rudee
Originally posted by: moshquerade
Originally posted by: Siddhartha
I have seen no evidence of the existence of a god or gods and when people pray they are talking to themselves.
Click to expand...
an astounding number of people seem to believe in the existence of God on their deathbeds, and there they will pray to him.
Click to expand...

Makes sense, as dying people in hospitals are often under strong pain medications which alter their perceptions. Also, as oxygen levels drop and the various systems in the body start to lose their functions, the mind can play tricks.
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A lot of it has to do with fear. People don't want to die, which is why people pray that they are spared, for a quick death, etc. As an agnostic, I don't pray to god. However, in the case of a friend of mine who found out he got cancer, I hope for the best for him.

To me, hope is the same thing as prayer. Just no religious affiliation attached to it. I am sure all those soldiers were hoping or praying they wouldn't die when they assulted the beaches on D-Day. It was strictly chance or coincidence that the ones who survived actually made it through that day.
 
As a hardcore atheist, my answer is obviously no. Humans have an innate desire to work toward goals and have an active hand in our situation. When things are beyond our control, prayer can allow us to feel as though we have some of that control back. Prayers not being answered provide affirmation and are conveniently explained by saying we don't understand god's grand scheme, while "answered prayers" (luck) are affirmation for more obvious reasons. I'm sure there are many other factors, Orsorum brought up an excellent point in his post. YMMV, no offense, IMO, and all that stuff 😛
 
Doesn't the original question presuppose a fairly narrow view of prayer? To those that do pray: do we perceive that prayer "doesn't work" because we are busy looking at prayer in terms of "How often does God give me exactly what I ask for?" Wiser people that I have suggested to me that the purpose of prayer is not so much about getting the result of the prayer (i.e. getting God to do what I want), but about changing the interior disposition of the pray-er to make him more receptive to God's will. I don't object to the idea of prayers of petition, though I sometimes think of them as "gimme" prayers. I would like to suggest, however, that there are many other forms of prayer (from a Christian viewpoint) and most of them do not require an answer. Prayers of thanksgiving, praise, meditations, contemplative prayer (kind of a reflective silence), prayers of repentance, etc. The purpose of (Christian) prayer is to praise God, right?


(And to those of you believe none of this, well, relax and have a :beer: 😎 )



 
Originally posted by: Sophia
Doesn't the original question presuppose a fairly narrow view of prayer? To those that do pray: do we perceive that prayer "doesn't work" because we are busy looking at prayer in terms of "How often does God give me exactly what I ask for?" Wiser people that I have suggested to me that the purpose of prayer is not so much about getting the result of the prayer (i.e. getting God to do what I want), but about changing the interior disposition of the pray-er to make him more receptive to God's will. I don't object to the idea of prayers of petition, though I sometimes think of them as "gimme" prayers. I would like to suggest, however, that there are many other forms of prayer (from a Christian viewpoint) and most of them do not require an answer. Prayers of thanksgiving, praise, meditations, contemplative prayer (kind of a reflective silence), prayers of repentance, etc. The purpose of (Christian) prayer is to praise God, right?


(And to those of you believe none of this, well, relax and have a :beer: 😎 )
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Thats probably a good way of looking at it. Every prayer is'nt always a request, however some of them are. The fact that prayers are called petitions basically reflect the nature of them. And while logically each and every prayer does'nt deserve to be answered I would think individuals who have shown themselves to be faithful cheistians should be able to expect something from their supplications. Sadly this is'nt the case, although its possible that perhaps some do have their prayers answered.

Also its kind of interesting that prayers are horribly one sided, all the communication is coming from one side. In fact it's safe to say that most people who claim to have spoken directly with God are looked at as being a little loopy.
 
Originally posted by: aplefka
I've given up on religious threads in ATOT staying serious. Maybe someday, but not today.
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Actually I think this thread was fairly good, most of the people replied without religion bashing
 
Yes, God answers prayers. All prayers go into a hat and twice a day he picks out a prayer and answers it. Those that don't get picked from the hat he uses as toilet paper to wipe his ass.
 
Originally posted by: aplefka
I've given up on religious threads in ATOT staying serious. Maybe someday, but not today.
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Maybe we need a forum that is somewhere between OT's silliness and P&N's banality. Like maybe a Mac forum! 🙂
 
Originally posted by: Nik
Of course He does. He just doesn't always give the answer you always want.
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Quite true. All those parents who were praying that their kids wouldn't get molested by priests didn't get the answer they want, did they?

Try praying to a rock instead. It'll come through as often as God does, but it won't demand any of your money for it.

 
Originally posted by: GagHalfrunt
Originally posted by: Nik
Of course He does. He just doesn't always give the answer you always want.
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Quite true. All those parents who were praying that their kids wouldn't get molested by priests didn't get the answer they want, did they?

Try praying to a rock instead. It'll come through as often as God does, but it won't demand any of your money for it.
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priests aren't the only ones who've molested kids in the past, and i don't think people pray for that proactively.

 
Originally posted by: moshquerade
Originally posted by: GagHalfrunt
Originally posted by: Nik
Of course He does. He just doesn't always give the answer you always want.
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Quite true. All those parents who were praying that their kids wouldn't get molested by priests didn't get the answer they want, did they?

Try praying to a rock instead. It'll come through as often as God does, but it won't demand any of your money for it.
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priests aren't the only ones who've molested kids in the past, and i don't think people pray for that proactively.
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You don't think parents pray for the safety of their kids? They might not be saying "Dear God, please don't let Father Pedophile catch little Timmy behind the altar..." but they damn well are offering up an all-purpose "Please protect my kids from all those who would hurt them..." prayer. And not only did your impotent little God choose to ignore those prayers, he used his own supposedly hand-picked representatives to do so.
 
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