Freethought & Rationalism Archive

ex-preacher · 09-06-2002, 09:33 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by echidna:
Apologies to the other regular who I am plagiarising (consider it sincere flattery) :

Prayer + aspirin -> cures a headache
Prayer + 3 bucks -> buys a hamburger

I'm flattered!

Here's another riddle about prayer: How many prayers does it take to convince an all-knowing, all-good god to do the right thing?

Cappy · 09-06-2002, 12:14 PM

Quote:

Here's another riddle about prayer: How many prayers does it take to convince an all-knowing, all-good god to do the right thing?

Answer: 0, the big goose-egg, zip, zero, nadda, nothing.

Because there is no god.

And ,for the sake of argument, if there was, an all knowing god would have no use for prayer. He would already know what you wanted 1,000,000,000 years before you prayed about it. He would have plenty of time to prepare.

Walter_Mitty · 09-06-2002, 12:43 PM

Quote:

I've often thought people treat God rather rudely, don't you? Asking trillions and trillions of prayers every day. Asking and pleading and begging for favors. Do this, gimme that, I need a new car, I want a better job. And most of this praying takes place on Sunday His day off. It's not nice. And it's no way to treat a friend.

But people do pray, and they pray for a lot of different things, you know, your sister needs an operation on her crotch, your brother was arrested for defecating in a mall. But most of all, you'd really like to [expletive deleted] that hot little redhead down at the convenience store. You know, the one with the eyepatch and the clubfoot? Can you pray for that? I think you'd have to. And I say, fine. Pray for anything you want. Pray for anything, but what about the Divine Plan?

Remember that? The Divine Plan. Long time ago, God made a Divine Plan. Gave it a lot of thought, decided it was a good plan, put it into practice. And for billions and billions of years, the Divine Plan has been doing just fine. Now, you come along, and pray for something. Well suppose the thing you want isn't in God's Divine Plan? What do you want Him to do? Change His plan? Just for you? Doesn't it seem a little arrogant? It's a Divine Plan. What's the use of being God if every run-down shmuck with a two-dollar prayerbook can come along and [expletive deleted] up Your Plan?

And here's something else, another problem you might have: Suppose your prayers aren't answered. What do you say? "Well, it's God's will." "Thy Will Be Done." Fine, but if it's God's will, and He's going to do what He wants to anyway, why the [expletive deleted] bother praying in the first place? Seems like a big waste of time to me! Couldn't you just skip the praying part and go right to His Will? It's all very confusing.

-George Carlin

[ September 06, 2002: Message edited by: Bibliophile ]

Starboy · 09-06-2002, 02:22 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Starboy:

When people say they are going to pray for you it is a subtle form of coercion. It triggers a natural social response to feel obligated to someone who is doing something for you. It is just another aspect of the aggression of Christianity. It is not a live and let live religion, since they will pray for you even if you ask them not to.

Quote:

Originally posted by Vesica:
StarBoy-

Is the problem that they tell you they will pray for you when you have said not to?

Or are you actually saying that you have a right to tell me what thoughts to think and what I can and can not do in private, on my own time?? Even if you see prayer as a pointless psychological plecebo you object to that other person making themselves feel better and like they did something? Are you doing anything to relieve thier cognitive distress or just getting mad at them for doing after you told them it was stupid?!

Just checking...

I thought my post was clear. Praying for people whether or not it is welcome is a coercive tactic. It is the same tactic used by advertising people to get you to buy their products. I am sure you have received prizes that were really just thinly veiled attempts to sell you something. It makes use of the natural human response to feel obligated to people who give you something, even if it is something you don�t want. When a Christian you don�t know offers to pray for you they are giving you something in the hope you will feel obligated to them. If a marketing company does this, it is considered an aggressive and deceptive tactic, when Christians do it they are just being �nice�. It is part and parcel of their in your face attitude regarding spreading the faith. It is not a live and let live religion. If it were a live and let live religion they would make good examples of themselves and wait for people to come to them with questions about their faith. You would not see it blasted on TV, radio, in print, on billboards, in the public schools, or door-to-door.

What I was trying to do it in my previous post was to point out one of the many aggressive and deceptive tactics of Christianity.

Starboy

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