Freethought & Rationalism Archive

Kuu · 12-23-2002, 07:55 PM

Couldn't sleep last night so I turned the TV on. A couple were telling how rhey had prayed for a new car and God had given one to them. They said that they had prayed for a car that had to be less than 5 years old and have air-cnditioning.

They did not say exactly how God had given them the car, amybe they won it or something. I doubt that it just appeared outside their home.

Anyway I had to wonder at the mindset of people like these couple. How can they think that their prayers were answered when there are Christians around the world who are praying for their freedom or for their children's lives and such prayers are going unanswered? Do they think that their God would put their prayer for a new car ahead of a prayer of a Christain family facing starvation and persecution in Zimbabwe?

How many times did the rsther devout Catholics of East Timor prayer for a love one's life. Did their prayers go unanswered because God was busy fulfilling an order for a couple of selfish people in the USA?

Is this the way Christian prayer works?

thebeave · 12-24-2002, 07:27 AM

God works in mysterious ways. Get over it.
-said the fundy to the skeptic

Ab_Normal · 12-24-2002, 07:34 AM

My mom had her fundy neighbors over to dinner, and I was invited (for immoral support, I think). The husband is an engineer who was laid off last year and is having a hard time finding a new job. He said they received a "blessing" in the form of an unexpected government benefit payment that helped them meet some bills. I had to bite my tongue -- dude, that's not a blessing, that's my tax dollars.

lisarea · 12-24-2002, 08:11 AM

During my first recent stretch of unemployment (GAAAARRRRR!), I began receiving checks in the mail from the Unemployment Fairy. I got one for a refund on my old FHA loan, which I'd refinanced, some kind of dividend check on something I'd forgotten about completely, one for overpaying my insurance, and stuff like that.

Call it bad bookkeeping if you will, but I know that the Unemployment Fairy is watching out for me.

I recently prayed to her and had her cash out, at a significant penalty, a half-forgotten 401K for a couple of months' mortgage.

Well, you know. Prayed, and filled out the paperwork and stuff.

WWSD · 12-24-2002, 09:24 AM

Our sr lab tech has some xtian relatives who subscribed her two year son to a monthly tract type thing. I forget what it's called but it is probably the most sickly sweet little tract I've ever seen.

In any case, she's agnostic and brings the tracts to me becasue I am such a lover of fine xtian literature. OK, so I like to read the letters section and roll my eyes.

In any case, one month a man wrote in to say that he had lost his wallet in the river while he was raffting, and that it contained such things as his credit cards, ID, and his POLICE BADGE.

This fellow then called up the prayer center that is associated with the tract publisher, and they prayed together for the recovery of his wallet since it is an expensive penalty to lose ones badge, as well as all of the associated problems trying to get a new ID and credit cards.

Well, lo and behold, his wallet was found by a park ranger just downstream a couple of hours later and returned to him. Thank Jesus eh?

Meanwhile, thousands of children in Africa died from malaria, trypanosomiasis, hunger, <a href="http://www.diseaseworld.com/buruli.htm" target="_blank">Buruli</a>,
TB, leprosy, and a whole host of other diseases.

Yep, makes sense to me!

edited to add: The link to Buruli has some nasty images associated with it, in case you don't like seeing nightmarish diseases eating away human flesh.

[ December 24, 2002: Message edited by: WWSD ]</p>

thebeave · 12-24-2002, 04:35 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by WWSD:
<strong>Meanwhile, thousands of children in Africa died from malaria, trypanosomiasis, hunger, <a href="http://www.diseaseworld.com/buruli.htm" target="_blank">Buruli</a>,
TB, leprosy, and a whole host of other diseases.

Yep, makes sense to me!

edited to add: The link to Buruli has some nasty images associated with it, in case you don't like seeing nightmarish diseases eating away human flesh.

[ December 24, 2002: Message edited by: WWSD ]</strong>

I think I'll skip viewing the Buruli images, thankyouverymuch. I've seen photos of some of God's other handiwork that I'm sure are just as gruesome.

Strawberry · 12-24-2002, 09:11 PM

In their infinite wisdom, my parents dragged my 16-year-old self to the Mennonite North American Convention in St. Louis in the summer of 1999. Three sermons a day! Whoopee!

Anyway, one of the most revolting sermons I heard was a woman who talked about having met this really odd lady who couldn't control her kids and had scratch marks on her face. She talked about having not liked this lady, and implied that she had treated her badly. (As a preacher to a parishioner!) Then God spoke to her in prayer and told her to leave 2 bags of groceries on the odd lady's doorstep anonymously. So she did, amen.

Later, she was talking to the odd lady, who began telling her about her life. Her husband scratched her face across cinder blocks all the time when he was mad at her, giving her the weird scratch marks on her face. And there was this one weekend there wasn't any food in the house and there was no money and this lady was driving home, ready to kill herself and the kids, when she found 2 bags of groceries on her front porch. So she didn't kill anyone. God's will be done, amen.

What do you want to bet that story was made up? It's always bugged me. And anyway, the woman doesn't kill herself or her kids, but stays with her husband so that he can abuse them some more? Thy will be done, amen.

hinduwoman · 12-25-2002, 04:16 PM

Same in hinduism. Lots of people make vows to this god and goddess that they will give this and that if their prayers are answered. Sounds like good old bribes to me.

Amie · 12-26-2002, 01:38 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Kuu
They said that they had prayed for a car that had to be less than 5 years old and have air-cnditioning.

How strange to pray for specifics such as this...
If the car can get you from point A to point B then does it really mater how old it is? airconditioning? oh man

I am glad things worked out for them but making these type of requests just seem silly to me...

Infinity Lover · 12-26-2002, 02:08 PM

Oh Lord, would you buy me a Mercedes Benz?
My friends all drive Porches, I must make amends.
Worked hard all my lifetime, no help from my friends.
So Lord would you buy me a Mercedes Benz?

12-23-2002, 07:55 PM	#1
Kuu Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Tasmania Posts: 710	Prayers being Answered Couldn't sleep last night so I turned the TV on. A couple were telling how rhey had prayed for a new car and God had given one to them. They said that they had prayed for a car that had to be less than 5 years old and have air-cnditioning. They did not say exactly how God had given them the car, amybe they won it or something. I doubt that it just appeared outside their home. Anyway I had to wonder at the mindset of people like these couple. How can they think that their prayers were answered when there are Christians around the world who are praying for their freedom or for their children's lives and such prayers are going unanswered? Do they think that their God would put their prayer for a new car ahead of a prayer of a Christain family facing starvation and persecution in Zimbabwe? How many times did the rsther devout Catholics of East Timor prayer for a love one's life. Did their prayers go unanswered because God was busy fulfilling an order for a couple of selfish people in the USA? Is this the way Christian prayer works?

12-26-2002, 02:08 PM	#10
Infinity Lover Veteran Member Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: The Netherlands Posts: 1,047	Sing along everybody!! Oh Lord, would you buy me a Mercedes Benz? My friends all drive Porches, I must make amends. Worked hard all my lifetime, no help from my friends. So Lord would you buy me a Mercedes Benz?

Thread Tools	Search this Thread
Show Printable Version	Search this Thread: Advanced Search

12-24-2002, 07:27 AM	#2
thebeave Veteran Member Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Silicon Valley, CA Posts: 4,183	God works in mysterious ways. Get over it. -said the fundy to the skeptic

12-24-2002, 07:34 AM	#3
Ab_Normal Veteran Member Join Date: Aug 2002 Posts: 2,842	My mom had her fundy neighbors over to dinner, and I was invited (for immoral support, I think). The husband is an engineer who was laid off last year and is having a hard time finding a new job. He said they received a "blessing" in the form of an unexpected government benefit payment that helped them meet some bills. I had to bite my tongue -- dude, that's not a blessing, that's my tax dollars.

12-24-2002, 08:11 AM	#4
lisarea Veteran Member Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: Broomfield, Colorado, USA Posts: 5,550	During my first recent stretch of unemployment (GAAAARRRRR!), I began receiving checks in the mail from the Unemployment Fairy. I got one for a refund on my old FHA loan, which I'd refinanced, some kind of dividend check on something I'd forgotten about completely, one for overpaying my insurance, and stuff like that. Call it bad bookkeeping if you will, but I know that the Unemployment Fairy is watching out for me. I recently prayed to her and had her cash out, at a significant penalty, a half-forgotten 401K for a couple of months' mortgage. Well, you know. Prayed, and filled out the paperwork and stuff.

12-24-2002, 09:24 AM	#5
WWSD Veteran Member Join Date: Jun 2001 Location: Albucrazy, New Mexico Posts: 1,425	Our sr lab tech has some xtian relatives who subscribed her two year son to a monthly tract type thing. I forget what it's called but it is probably the most sickly sweet little tract I've ever seen. In any case, she's agnostic and brings the tracts to me becasue I am such a lover of fine xtian literature. OK, so I like to read the letters section and roll my eyes. In any case, one month a man wrote in to say that he had lost his wallet in the river while he was raffting, and that it contained such things as his credit cards, ID, and his POLICE BADGE. This fellow then called up the prayer center that is associated with the tract publisher, and they prayed together for the recovery of his wallet since it is an expensive penalty to lose ones badge, as well as all of the associated problems trying to get a new ID and credit cards. Well, lo and behold, his wallet was found by a park ranger just downstream a couple of hours later and returned to him. Thank Jesus eh? Meanwhile, thousands of children in Africa died from malaria, trypanosomiasis, hunger, <a href="http://www.diseaseworld.com/buruli.htm" target="_blank">Buruli</a>, TB, leprosy, and a whole host of other diseases. Yep, makes sense to me! edited to add: The link to Buruli has some nasty images associated with it, in case you don't like seeing nightmarish diseases eating away human flesh. [ December 24, 2002: Message edited by: WWSD ]</p>

12-24-2002, 09:11 PM	#7
Strawberry Senior Member Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Lancaster, PA/Toronto, ON, Canada Posts: 627	In their infinite wisdom, my parents dragged my 16-year-old self to the Mennonite North American Convention in St. Louis in the summer of 1999. Three sermons a day! Whoopee! Anyway, one of the most revolting sermons I heard was a woman who talked about having met this really odd lady who couldn't control her kids and had scratch marks on her face. She talked about having not liked this lady, and implied that she had treated her badly. (As a preacher to a parishioner!) Then God spoke to her in prayer and told her to leave 2 bags of groceries on the odd lady's doorstep anonymously. So she did, amen. Later, she was talking to the odd lady, who began telling her about her life. Her husband scratched her face across cinder blocks all the time when he was mad at her, giving her the weird scratch marks on her face. And there was this one weekend there wasn't any food in the house and there was no money and this lady was driving home, ready to kill herself and the kids, when she found 2 bags of groceries on her front porch. So she didn't kill anyone. God's will be done, amen. What do you want to bet that story was made up? It's always bugged me. And anyway, the woman doesn't kill herself or her kids, but stays with her husband so that he can abuse them some more? Thy will be done, amen.

12-25-2002, 04:16 PM	#8
hinduwoman Veteran Member Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: India Posts: 6,977	Same in hinduism. Lots of people make vows to this god and goddess that they will give this and that if their prayers are answered. Sounds like good old bribes to me.

Freethought & Rationalism Archive

The archives are read only.