San Antonio Off Topic Thread Part 3 (Austin, Orange: race, background, recent)

[Sweetie Pie]

Originally Posted by cr1039

I know, it is a disgusting situation, perhaps we would have opposite posts had our situation turned out different.

I am glad your daughter is still well to this day.

Thanks, and I am so sorry you had to lose your Mother in such a horrendously tragic way!

[ryneone]

Originally Posted by cr1039

Wow, wish I would have thought of this while my mom was dying on the floor of our home, while I was on the phone with 911 and Dad was giving her CPR. Maybe if enough people on the internet read about it she would have survived.









EDIT - Anyone ever think for one moment that there may be people who DID pray? "People" who paced back and forth while hearing the approaching ambulance in the background in the otherwise still of night while praying "please god, please god, please god - don't let this happen?"


And now what? This posters family members die and none of your prayers were quite strong enough to keep death from knocking on their door?

The point is the post was inappropriate. BN and others have the right to be offended or skeptical just as Wcat or Paka have made the choice to pray for a stranger.

The post was ill placed, bottom line.

You must have come from a mean breed of apes.

What part was inappropriate?

[kevcrawford]

Originally Posted by BenjaminNicholas

Moderator cut: off topic/personal

I kept the conversation clean, sympathetic and added my own personal opinion. You, kevcrawford, did not. If your own belief system is so fragile that you've got to respond immediately with this, then it's more than telling of the person behind the post.

And as for 'spouting rhetoric,' isn't that what organized religion has based itself on for thousands of years? I thought so too



BN

My belief system is strong enough to be proud that I'm a Christian and stand up for other Christians when they're hurting. Knowing what you do for a living, I don't really worry about a word that comes out of your mouth.

[catriona]

Originally Posted by cr1039
Wow, wish I would have thought of this while my mom was dying on the floor of our home, while I was on the phone with 911 and Dad was giving her CPR. Maybe if enough people on the internet read about it she would have survived.

cr1039, I'm sorry your mother died as she did. I know how traumatizing it had to be for you. You see, my mom died from colon cancer a couple of years ago. It is a horrible way to die. I almost wish she had a heart attack like my dad did and died quickly rather than linger on in the state she was in.
I don't know why she had to die like that. It's not mine to know, only mine to accept. That is my faith. It is what I believe.

I wish you could have heard the story a friend of ours told about how his last child was diagnosed with severe birth defects while still in utero. He told how the doctor counseled them regarding possibly aborting the child because it would be so disabled. He spoke of their decision that if a disabled child was their lot, they would face it head on. He also spoke of how he had been mad at God for a long time and this was just the latest in a long line of reasons why. He went on to talk of how his family, friends, and church gathered around his wife and prayed for her. How a chain of prayer circles criss-crossed Texas, holding his family up in their prayers. His wife's strong faith that God would help them through this trying time as well as in the future. As the pregnancy progressed, he found his own heart softening, to the point that he promised God that if he healed his child, he would turn away from those things that had separated him from God. When his child was born, there were no signs of birth defects what so ever. Our friend's life was changed forever and he has kept his promise to God. No one can ever convince me that the power of prayer does not work.

Originally Posted by BenjaminNicholas View Post
Maybe I'm being a d'bag for saying this, but I'm going to anyway...

It's yet to be proven that the 'power of prayer' does anything more than provide a mental pep-rally for those who buy into it.

If you want direction, YOU have to find it. Life (IMO) is about having the motivation to get the job done, finding success in doing it and having the hope that you can continue doing it year after year.

I don't say any of this in a mean-spirited way, but simply as an opinion from someone who's sick and tired of seeing people get backed into a corner (usually of their own creation) and fallback of 'the power of god, prayer, etc' as the crutch. If you spent less time wondering when god was going to give you your very own spiritual bail-out and more time figuring out a REALITY-BASED solution, you might already be moving forward.

Perhaps I'm too much of a realist for this thread, but it caught me off-guard and I felt the need to post. This is what happens when you watch Bill Maher's 'Religilious' the night before. Eek.
BN

BN, maybe you didn't mean for your post to be mean-spirited, but if you recognized that it may be taken that way, then maybe you shouldn't have posted it. Myip doesn't sound like she's one of those backed into a self-caused problem corner leaning on a crutch. Nor does she sound like she is spending all her time wondering when she is going to get the big G bailout. Myip1983 believes, as many of us do, that the power of prayer can help. She asked for those of us who believe as she does to pray for her family. She did not ask for criticism or belittling of her belief. She reached out to an online community for support, not to be cut down.

Myip, I will pray for you and your family.

Sweetie Pie, your story brought tears to my eyes.

cr1039 and BN, I guess we have to agree to disagree on the religious aspect of this post. I just question if it is good judgment to use someone else's painful situation as the steps leading to a soap box.

[Deep Forest]

Excellent post catriona...

[Sweetie Pie]

catriona ~ you just rocked my world!!!

[BenjaminNicholas]

Originally Posted by kevcrawford

My belief system is strong enough to be proud that I'm a Christian and stand up for other Christians when they're hurting. Knowing what you do for a living, I don't really worry about a word that comes out of your mouth.

Ah, more judgment coming from the 'proud Christian.' If you had even bothered to comprehend the bible, you'd know that Jesus had love for EVERYONE, no matter what they did, who they were or where they came from. Overall, it's a nice story, but if you're so concerned with your Christian belief system, it might be best to practice what you so-routinely preach.

You knowing what I 'do for a living' isn't something I really care about: It's my choice in life. Period.

You can continue to throw any barb in your bag, but it doesn't take away from the fact that not ONCE have I name-called in this discussion, to which you've repeatedly dealt low-blows back. Frankly, I think it's tell-tale of your own sense of ego, self and your level of comfort with the open discussion of faith.

I don't see this back-and-forth getting any more civil, so I'll leave this at an agreement to disagree.



BN

[sapphire]

Someone asked for prayer, that's it. If one isn't willing to pray, why not move along? Some people act like she asked for this week's lotto numbers, or a pony from Santa. She asked for PRAYER. If one doesn't believe in prayer, why would one even feel a need to respond to her?

[wCat]

Originally Posted by cr1039

Wow, wish I would have thought of this while my mom was dying on the floor of our home, while I was on the phone with 911 and Dad was giving her CPR. Maybe if enough people on the internet read about it she would have survived.

EDIT - Anyone ever think for one moment that there may be people who DID pray? "People" who paced back and forth while hearing the approaching ambulance in the background in the otherwise still of night while praying "please god, please god, please god - don't let this happen?"


And now what? This posters family members die and none of your prayers were quite strong enough to keep death from knocking on their door?

The point is the post was inappropriate. BN and others have the right to be offended or skeptical just as Wcat or Paka have made the choice to pray for a stranger.

The post was ill placed, bottom line.

CR....frankly, I'm not surprised by your post. I'm sorry for the loss of your mother. I still miss my father beyond my own understanding. There is a point missed here, whether you believe in prayer or not. It is an outward show that human beings care for each other....and when a situation is out of their control, they reach to a place they believe in and ask for help from someone greater than they are. Have you really thought about how you would have felt if those people who were pacing and praying, just shrugged and said "too bad...nothing can be done" and then just walked out? They were there because they cared. They were praying because they loved your mother....and you and your family.

I have a Jewish friend in Boston who is an atheist. He is suffering from stage 4 colon cancer. I asked him if he minded if I prayed for him since he didn't believe in God. He said there is a saying that evolved out of the trenches in WWII "There are no atheists in foxholes."

I think you're smart enough to understand that he is facing his mortality and he is not going sit here and debate whether God exists or not. My prayers were of comfort to him because he knows I care for him.

[Sweetie Pie]

Originally Posted by sapphire

Someone asked for prayer, that's it. If one isn't willing to pray, why not move along? Some people act like she asked for this week's lotto numbers, or a pony from Santa. She asked for PRAYER. If one doesn't believe in prayer, why would one even feel a need to respond to her?

My friend!

Originally Posted by wCat

CR....frankly, I'm not surprised by your post. I'm sorry for the loss of your mother. I still miss my father beyond my own understanding. There is a point missed here, whether you believe in prayer or not. It is an outward show that human beings care for each other....and when a situation is out of their control, they reach to a place they believe in and ask for help from someone greater than they are. Have you really thought about how you would have felt if those people who were pacing and praying, just shrugged and said "too bad...nothing can be done" and then just walked out? They were there because they cared. They were praying because they loved your mother....and you and your family.

I have a Jewish friend in Boston who is an atheist. He is suffering from stage 4 colon cancer. I asked him if he minded if I prayed for him since he didn't believe in God. He said there is a saying that evolved out of the trenches in WWII "There are no atheists in foxholes."

I think you're smart enough to understand that he is facing his mortality and he is not going sit here and debate whether God exists or not. My prayers were of comfort to him because he knew I care for him.

I knew there was a reason I love you two!!!