Hedwig

Just tell him next time "If God really wanted to bless me you would have transferred long ago."

bonduca

I tell them thanks, but I'd rather have cash.

wordsmyth

Prayer doesn't scare me. I just think its a silly waste of time.

If a person tells me they are going to pray for me, I usually ask them if they will put in a good word with Santa Claus for me too because I didn't get what I wanted last year. That gets a confused look every time.

emotional

"I'll pray for you..." inherently has the implicit ending of "...you poor deluded hellbound fool", even without saying so.

Pensee

One of my professors knows I'm an atheist. Ever since she found out, she keeps telling me that she's going to be praying for me the rest of her life. It really doesn't bother me. If she wants to waste her time like that, then so be it. Prayer doesn't scare me because it's meaningless. Plus, I know that in her mind, she is trying to help (after all, she doesn't want me to go to hell). I know she has good intentions at heart. She can pray all day to her sofa for my "soul" if she wants to. It doesn't bother me.

RufusAtticus

Stardust,

You seem to be completely in fundyland, including at school. What college do you go to? Do you have a major problem being the atheist on campus?

-Curious Rufus

Panta Pei

"I tell them thanks, but I'd rather have cash. "

Now I'm going to have to use that one on my sister-in-law...thanks, bonduca, another night in the garage for me

IvanK

I'm not offended if someone tells me they will pray for me if by that they mean they are concerned about me and my welfare and believe that their prayers will help.

I am offended if someone tells me they will pray for me if by that they mean they think I'm damned to hell and believe that their prayers, while they may not help me, will help them personally to a soft seat in the afterlife.

I see no value to prayer greater than the value of talking to yourself or quiet meditation.

scarmig

"Prayer" is just the Xtian brand of "spells", or "I'm going to do a ritual so that my god will come down and jack you up good!"

If you ask a Christian how they would feel if you got some of your pagan friends to do a spell so that they "see the light of Mother Earth", they'll get pretty pissed off and offended that you even mentioned it. Just point out that it's basically the same thing and they are holding you to hypicritical standards.

emotional

Hahaha... nay, nay, it's not the same thing... the one is "holy and godly" whereas the other is "demonic and satanic". I've tried so many times to put the idiotic practices of the monotheists on an equal footing with other idiotic practices, only to have this antithesis slapped in my face. Therefore, having tired of fighting antithesis with equality, it is better to fight antithesis with antithesis. Nowadays my reaction to prayer to God is that it is a demonic and satanic practice, whereas worshipping nature is holy and godly. That they may have antithesis slapped on them for a change!