Question about prayer. (atheist, quote, Christianity, God)
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What is the purpose of praying? I'm not a religious man. I am pretty much an atheist, but at the same time I do don get offended at the word "God" in our Constitution or printed on our currency. But most Christians I know all seem to feel everything is God's work and that God has a plan for everyone. If God is in control then won't prayer just be a waste of time and energy. I just don't get it. To me the word "prayer" is just a nice gesture that is offered to some one in crisis. Kind of like "oh your father has cancer, we will pray for you". I guess it sounds better than "oh your dad has cancer, God really had a kick ass plan for him, he should be thankful".
What is the purpose of praying? I'm not a religious man. I am pretty much an atheist, but at the same time I do don get offended at the word "God" in our Constitution or printed on our currency. But most Christians I know all seem to feel everything is God's work and that God has a plan for everyone. If God is in control then won't prayer just be a waste of time and energy. I just don't get it. To me the word "prayer" is just a nice gesture that is offered to some one in crisis. Kind of like "oh your father has cancer, we will pray for you". I guess it sounds better than "oh your dad has cancer, God really had a kick ass plan for him, he should be thankful".
First off, if you don't mind a little criticism, God is not mentioned in the U.S. Constitution, as far as prayer goes it's not strictly a Christian thing, there are many different beliefs and religions that use prayer when addressing their Creator and basically it's used as a request for the Creator to use its powers to intervene on whatever situation that we as mortal humans cannot handle. Basically that's it.
What is the purpose of praying? I'm not a religious man. I am pretty much an atheist, but at the same time I do don get offended at the word "God" in our Constitution or printed on our currency. But most Christians I know all seem to feel everything is God's work and that God has a plan for everyone. If God is in control then won't prayer just be a waste of time and energy. I just don't get it. To me the word "prayer" is just a nice gesture that is offered to some one in crisis. Kind of like "oh your father has cancer, we will pray for you". I guess it sounds better than "oh your dad has cancer, God really had a kick ass plan for him, he should be thankful".
Guess that is why people pray with their eyes closed and head bowed, for it they dared to open their or look around they would see there is no evidence of whom they are trying to talk to.
Guess that is why people pray with their eyes closed and head bowed, for it they dared to open their or look around they would see there is no evidence of whom they are trying to talk to.
You imply sight is the only way to know if something is real. Surely, you know otherwise.
Understand God? People have been prayer for thousands of years and no one yet has come close to proving or fully understanding what they are praying to. This is one of the reasons why I don't understand.
First off, if you don't mind a little criticism, God is not mentioned in the U.S. Constitution, as far as prayer goes it's not strictly a Christian thing, there are many different beliefs and religions that use prayer when addressing their Creator and basically it's used as a request for the Creator to use its powers to intervene on whatever situation that we as mortal humans cannot handle. Basically that's it.
I'll add that often a prayer is asking for guidance. This isn't exclusive to Christianity or even any religion in general. People who are in tune with their natural intuition often "ask" a question as to what to do next about a given situation in life and then just "put it out there" and wait for a response. It isn't much different from prayer, except they aren't seeing a deity as source of the response.
Sometimes (the best way, IMO) is when prayer is without words, more of a lifting up of a part of oneself to the Creator/God/Universe/Whatever.
Some people also meditate, which is similar to prayer. And some do both, or rather the line between prayer and meditation is blurred. For example, some Christians pray a rosary, a set of repetitive prayers that serve to occupy the mind while the higher self can then reach a place where one communes with something larger than itself.
Understand God? People have been prayer for thousands of years and no one yet has come close to proving or fully understanding what they are praying to. This is one of the reasons why I don't understand.
How do you know what they've discovered or come to understand?
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