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According to a Christian, prayer is a way in which god will absolve all of your problems. All you must do is get on your knees, ask for whatever you want, and it shall be granted.
It's common for people to pray for their own well being, a job promotion, or for a loved one to get well. However, my question is, with all of the strife, death, and suffering going on in the world, what kind of god would grant most Americans' prayers over those of people in most third world countries (who, by and large have much worse problems than your average American)?
Wouldn't common sense dictate that god would end poverty, starvation, AIDS, and genocide (which unfortunately affects a large portion of the world population) before he'd grant you that promotion?
Furthermore, prayer just doesn't work, plain and simple.
In Mark 11:24, Jesus promises his followers that, "whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours."
In John 14:14 Jesus says, "if you ask anything in my name, I will do it."
So if that's the case, why do thousands of people die every day despite others prayers for them to live? Why hasn't the AIDS pandemic, or world hunger ended despite the seemingly millions of prayers begging for it to be over? Why hasn't god granted my devout, god-fearing 95 year-old grandmother the ability to walk again despite her daily prayers to do so for the last 15 years?
Clearly, religious people are delusional. They come up with excuse after excuse as to why some are spared and others are not, but the reality is that religion and prayer are nothing but superstition. Coping mechanisms that people employ when they can't and won't accept reality.
Jesus taught selflessness, yet in my experience, many Christians are quite selfish in their prayers -- either for themselves, their families, or their friends -- not to end world suffering, strife, and sadness. I think this is the very definition of hypocrisy, and I think for many Christians, that word is all too true.
This quote says it:
"Clearly, religious people are delusional. They come up with excuse after excuse as to why some are spared and others are not, but the reality is that religion and prayer are nothing but superstition. Coping mechanisms that people employ when they can't and won't accept reality."
When I was a Christian, I always made it a point to never pray for myself, though I can't speak for anyone else. My prayers were usually simple things like, "Please keep so & so safe tonight/tomorrow, etc." I never prayed for myself because I felt I wasn't worthy to do so. One thing that all my prayers had in common was that I always simply felt like I was talking to myself in my mind, instead of communicating with some deity. I never could shake that feeling back then, and now I can only assume it's because I was just talking to myself.
"According to a Christian, prayer is a way in which god will absolve all of your problems. All you must do is get on your knees, ask for whatever you want, and it shall be granted."
When you start your post with an inaccurate statement that demonstrates your lack of knowledge on the whole; I can't take the rest of your post seriously or even bother reading the rest of it.
"According to a Christian, prayer is a way in which god will absolve all of your problems. All you must do is get on your knees, ask for whatever you want, and it shall be granted."
When you start your post with an inaccurate statement that demonstrates your lack of knowledge on the whole; I can't take the rest of your post seriously or even bother reading the rest of it.
How's it inaccurate when Jesus himself said all a follower had to do was pray and their wishes/desires would be granted?
Seems like someone can't come up with an accurate rebuttal...
My personal position on prayer as a Christian (I can't speak for everyone else) is the opposite of what was originally posted. First of all, I look to The Lord's Prayer provided by Jesus as the example of what a prayer should be. This means that every prayer recognizes that my requests are only valid if they are in line with God's will ("thy will be done"). It also means that I pray for everyone and not just for me. Jesus said to pray to God as "our father" and to pray for him to give "us" our daily bread. Daily I pray for the world and the whole of humanity, not just myself. Last, prayer is not just about asking for things. It's also about worship because it's a sign of trust and recognition and faith in the Lord. Does this mean that everything will always go the way I'd like it to because I pray? No. But here's another key: I find that the more I try to follow Jesus the more my prayers get answered because the prayers change. They become about asking for God's comfort and the strength to comfort others rather than trying to solve specific problems, especially material ones which Jesus told us not to worry about so much. One thing that needs to be recognized is that Christians don't believe this life is all there is, so even though there is suffering, any pain is still temporary and faith in God means faith that eventually God will deliver one from that suffering, in this life or the next. I don't expect anyone else to believe what I do and I'm sure not all Christians would even agree with me, but these are my personal convictions.
My personal position on prayer as a Christian (I can't speak for everyone else) is the opposite of what was originally posted. First of all, I look to The Lord's Prayer provided by Jesus as the example of what a prayer should be. This means that every prayer recognizes that my requests are only valid if they are in line with God's will ("thy will be done"). It also means that I pray for everyone and not just for me. Jesus said to pray to God as "our father" and to pray for him to give "us" our daily bread. Daily I pray for the world and the whole of humanity, not just myself. Last, prayer is not just about asking for things. It's also about worship because it's a sign of trust and recognition and faith in the Lord. Does this mean that everything will always go the way I'd like it to because I pray? No. But here's another key: I find that the more I try to follow Jesus the more my prayers get answered because the prayers change. They become about asking for God's comfort and the strength to comfort others rather than trying to solve specific problems, especially material ones which Jesus told us not to worry about so much. One thing that needs to be recognized is that Christians don't believe this life is all there is, so even though there is suffering, any pain is still temporary and faith in God means faith that eventually God will deliver one from that suffering, in this life or the next. I don't expect anyone else to believe what I do and I'm sure not all Christians would even agree with me, but these are my personal convictions.
I don't really understand this. The bible DOES say that if you ask something in his name (Jesus) you will get it. But I know that most (99.9%) of prayers are not answered. If god only grants a prayer that is IN LINE with his will then what is the point of being told to pray at all? It doesn't make sense.
Location: where the moss is taking over the villages
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Quote:
Originally Posted by sans ersatz modelisto
According to a Christian, prayer is a way in which god will absolve all of your problems. All you must do is get on your knees, ask for whatever you want, and it shall be granted.
It's common for people to pray for their own well being, a job promotion, or for a loved one to get well. However, my question is, with all of the strife, death, and suffering going on in the world, what kind of god would grant most Americans' prayers over those of people in most third world countries (who, by and large have much worse problems than your average American)?
Wouldn't common sense dictate that god would end poverty, starvation, AIDS, and genocide (which unfortunately affects a large portion of the world population) before he'd grant you that promotion?
Furthermore, prayer just doesn't work, plain and simple.
In Mark 11:24, Jesus promises his followers that, "whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours."
In John 14:14 Jesus says, "if you ask anything in my name, I will do it."
So if that's the case, why do thousands of people die every day despite others prayers for them to live? Why hasn't the AIDS pandemic, or world hunger ended despite the seemingly millions of prayers begging for it to be over? Why hasn't god granted my devout, god-fearing 95 year-old grandmother the ability to walk again despite her daily prayers to do so for the last 15 years?
Clearly, religious people are delusional. They come up with excuse after excuse as to why some are spared and others are not, but the reality is that religion and prayer are nothing but superstition. Coping mechanisms that people employ when they can't and won't accept reality.
Jesus taught selflessness, yet in my experience, many Christians are quite selfish in their prayers -- either for themselves, their families, or their friends -- not to end world suffering, strife, and sadness. I think this is the very definition of hypocrisy, and I think for many Christians, that word is all too true.
i was taught that prayer is a form of communication. i wouldn't solely discount it on the basis that it rarely grants my wishes.
a prayer, for a believer, could simply be a thankful thought or thankful list. for some it's a recitation of words passed on for hundreds of years with a beads to keep track of the sequence of recitations.
you've oversimplified this concept. it seems you're simply bitter with people who enjoy putting their wishes in a context of communicating said wishes to their deity. i grew up understanding i COULD ask... there is the saying "ask & you shall receive" but you can't take it all so literally... the jews invented these words & MOST of them don't take it literally!!!!!
if you don't have to endure listening or watching or participating in the prayers you're describing, what's the big deal? as a child growing up in Catholic school, i endured countless hours of rosaries & whatever. i certainly was only paying attention enough to escape the wrath of my teachers though! there were some very pretty windows to distract me!
now, if those prayers YOU'RE talking about resulted in only rewarding SOME people & NOT ME... then i'd be v-e-r-y upset indeed....
kate
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