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Atheists do you pray?
September 17, 2014 at 9:38 am
Prayer is not only for the theists, my time spent as a Catholic taught me how to pray. Whenever I prayed if I prayed sincerely I would feel something powerful rising within me and I would strengthen my resolve in what I had been praying for. Even as an atheist when I prayed the prayers of the Hail Mary and the Our Father I still felt that something. Why would I pray those prayers as an atheist? Simple my family was pressuring me to be confirmed a Catholic, and I will never admit to my family that I am an atheist, and least not while my grandparents are still alive. May they die in peace of mind.
Anyways I am an atheist now and I am very interested in praying once more, this time not prayers to honor a god, but prayers to honor humanity, and to constantly remind me to be respectful of others and not let my pride allow me to mistreat others.
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RE: Atheists do you pray?
September 17, 2014 at 9:44 am
Probably the reason you still feel something is because it's become such a habit that it just makes you feel better to do it. I don't pray. If I want to talk to something, I'll find another human being to talk to. If you want to continue praying, then I have no problem with that. I only have a problem with religious practices when they intrude on other people's lives.
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RE: Atheists do you pray?
September 17, 2014 at 9:44 am
I pray to Thor.
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RE: Atheists do you pray?
September 17, 2014 at 9:45 am
(This post was last modified: September 17, 2014 at 9:45 am by The Grand Nudger.)
I'd suggest that prayers do nothing to honor humanity.
"Two hands working can do more than a thousand clasped in prayer."
Do you imagine that your family would be bothered more by your atheism than they would be by your deception?
I am the Infantry. I am my country’s strength in war, her deterrent in peace. I am the heart of the fight… wherever, whenever. I carry America’s faith and honor against her enemies. I am the Queen of Battle. I am what my country expects me to be, the best trained Soldier in the world. In the race for victory, I am swift, determined, and courageous, armed with a fierce will to win. Never will I fail my country’s trust. Always I fight on…through the foe, to the objective, to triumph overall. If necessary, I will fight to my death. By my steadfast courage, I have won more than 200 years of freedom. I yield not to weakness, to hunger, to cowardice, to fatigue, to superior odds, For I am mentally tough, physically strong, and morally straight. I forsake not, my country, my mission, my comrades, my sacred duty. I am relentless. I am always there, now and forever. I AM THE INFANTRY! FOLLOW ME!
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RE: Atheists do you pray?
September 17, 2014 at 9:47 am
(September 17, 2014 at 9:45 am)Rhythm Wrote: I'd suggest that prayers do nothing to honor humanity.
"Two hands working can do more than a thousand clasped in prayer."
Do you imagine that your family would be bothered more by your atheism than they would be by your deception?
My family is hardcore Roman Catholics, definitely they would be more bothered by me being an atheist.
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RE: Atheists do you pray?
September 17, 2014 at 9:54 am
I pray to myself. I get a response every time.
"Well, evolution is a theory. It is also a fact. And facts and theories are different things, not rungs in a hierarchy of increasing certainty. Facts are the world's data. Theories are structures of ideas that explain and interpret facts. Facts don't go away when scientists debate rival theories to explain them. Einstein's theory of gravitation replaced Newton's in this century, but apples didn't suspend themselves in midair, pending the outcome. And humans evolved from ape- like ancestors whether they did so by Darwin's proposed mechanism or by some other yet to be discovered."
-Stephen Jay Gould
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RE: Atheists do you pray?
September 17, 2014 at 9:56 am
(This post was last modified: September 17, 2014 at 9:59 am by The Grand Nudger.)
Does that ever strike you as strange (and are you sure that this is the case)? Let me give you a little example from my life. I'm pretty handy in the kitchen so I cook the meals in my household. I like falafel so I fry that tastiness up all the time. I mean, I really really like it, I talk about how good it is, and jokingly say that anyone who doesn't like falafel is probably a -insert ridiculous psuedo insult here- (communist is one of my favorites). So my wife has eaten alot of falafel (and I mean alot). Here's the kicker, she hates it. I didn't know that until very recently. In fact, I thought she was as much a fan as I am. I thought that because she gave me that impression - for years.
When she finally did tell me that she only ate it out of courtesy (and love...the woman just loves me silly), do you think that I was upset that she didn't like falafel, or that I'd been putting garbage on her plate for all that time? That fried bean cakes didn't rock her world, or that she didn't feel comfortable telling me that I should just cook her a drumstick - something so simple? Are you sure that your family wouldn't find it more troubling that you feel that you cannot share something like this with them, that you have to play church - and as catholics....wouldn't -that- be troubling to them? That you're taking sacrament and kneeling in the pews and reducing their faith to theater?
I am the Infantry. I am my country’s strength in war, her deterrent in peace. I am the heart of the fight… wherever, whenever. I carry America’s faith and honor against her enemies. I am the Queen of Battle. I am what my country expects me to be, the best trained Soldier in the world. In the race for victory, I am swift, determined, and courageous, armed with a fierce will to win. Never will I fail my country’s trust. Always I fight on…through the foe, to the objective, to triumph overall. If necessary, I will fight to my death. By my steadfast courage, I have won more than 200 years of freedom. I yield not to weakness, to hunger, to cowardice, to fatigue, to superior odds, For I am mentally tough, physically strong, and morally straight. I forsake not, my country, my mission, my comrades, my sacred duty. I am relentless. I am always there, now and forever. I AM THE INFANTRY! FOLLOW ME!
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RE: Atheists do you pray?
September 17, 2014 at 10:06 am
It is just a simulacrum effect....I think most people pray including myself because it is habit. I still catch myself bargaining/wishing to ceiling jesus/deity.
![[Image: grumpy-cat-and-jesus-meme-died-for-sins.jpg]](https://images.weserv.nl/?url=1.bp.blogspot.com%2F-_GaCN-f8ZFo%2FUNfmimTyf4I%2FAAAAAAAANmk%2FoakT_wL319U%2Fs1600%2Fgrumpy-cat-and-jesus-meme-died-for-sins.jpg)
I would be a televangelist....but I have too much of a soul.
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RE: Atheists do you pray?
September 17, 2014 at 10:09 am
Try Joe Pesci next time.
I am the Infantry. I am my country’s strength in war, her deterrent in peace. I am the heart of the fight… wherever, whenever. I carry America’s faith and honor against her enemies. I am the Queen of Battle. I am what my country expects me to be, the best trained Soldier in the world. In the race for victory, I am swift, determined, and courageous, armed with a fierce will to win. Never will I fail my country’s trust. Always I fight on…through the foe, to the objective, to triumph overall. If necessary, I will fight to my death. By my steadfast courage, I have won more than 200 years of freedom. I yield not to weakness, to hunger, to cowardice, to fatigue, to superior odds, For I am mentally tough, physically strong, and morally straight. I forsake not, my country, my mission, my comrades, my sacred duty. I am relentless. I am always there, now and forever. I AM THE INFANTRY! FOLLOW ME!
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RE: Atheists do you pray?
September 17, 2014 at 10:19 am
(This post was last modified: September 17, 2014 at 10:20 am by Elskidor.)
Praying is kind of like thinking quietly by yourself or out loud. I'm an introvert so I'm always thinking, and talking out loud even, about what I want done and how to do it, but I'm not asking unseen powers to help me do it or show me some sign that will make my path easier. I use to meditate, but I didn't see much difference with that compared to taking a nice long quiet walk.
(September 17, 2014 at 10:09 am)Rhythm Wrote: Try Joe Pesci next time.
Pesci is a funny guy.
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