My doctor asked me to pray.

[Jehanne]

No it does not. It is simply a superstition you fell for, and unfortunately that false perception can have a real effect on your brain chemistry which does release Endorphins. You can have the same intense feelings thinking about a loved one or pet. It is nothing real at all. It is the same false perception a kid gets thinking about getting presents from Santa at Christmas. If you want to believe in a god badly enough you will, just as much as any Muslim or Jew wants to pray to their god too.

The only thing god belief requires is gullibility.

 Sorry bubba, but I've seen answered prayer over and over and there is nothing as heart warming as to see God's power released through answered prayer. Just because you haven't experienced answered prayer doesn't mean it doesn't happen. No matter how badly you want God not to be real it want help.

GC

Would you please provide us with an example of "answered prayer"?

[Brian37]

Yeah, well I spent the better part of my life "praying" to release the power of your god. He didn't do shit for me other than provide nothing. It's all a sham and if you believe it, that's fine for you, but for me, that shit doesn't work.

You have to learn how and what to pray, the scriptures teach us these things, did you study about prayer? Did you just go and ask God for things. Were you ready for an answer, whether it be yes or no? Did you pray within God's will? Were you in a good relationship with God when you prayed?

GC

Siri comes with a bullshit translator, 

Siri, translate "You have to learn how to pray"

Quote Siri, " I want to believe it works so badly and I ignore all the other god claims and their prayers to their god/s and the fact that 50 million humans die worldwide every year."

Yea you pray, so what. Other people pray to Allah, others to Yahweh, others to Hindu god/s others to Buddha. So what.

Nope, this is appeal to emotion and your own brain falling for your own flawed perceptions.

[Brian37]

GC, we get you claim you had an "experience", we don't doubt that. We do doubt your interpretation of what you think happened. You merely gap filled and do not understand it is merely a desire on your part to gap fill with a super hero, and that stems from selection bias and sample rate error. If you go into thinking it works assuming it works from the start, of course will believe it.

[Crossless2.0]

 Sorry bubba, but I've seen answered prayer over and over and there is nothing as heart warming as to see God's power released through answered prayer. Just because you haven't experienced answered prayer doesn't mean it doesn't happen. No matter how badly you want God not to be real it want help.

GC

Would you please provide us with an example of "answered prayer"?

Allow me to help:

1) I (or Grandma or Uncle Joe or whomever) was sick and got well.
2) I was in debt to the tune of xxx dollars and someone was kind enough to anonymously help out.
3) I found my car keys.
4) I really, really hoped to get so-and-so to think and believe as I do, and it turns out he was feeble-minded enough to buy into my arguments and testimony.
5) Etc.

[FebruaryOfReason]

No it does not. It is simply a superstition you fell for, and unfortunately that false perception can have a real effect on your brain chemistry which does release Endorphins. You can have the same intense feelings thinking about a loved one or pet. It is nothing real at all. It is the same false perception a kid gets thinking about getting presents from Santa at Christmas. If you want to believe in a god badly enough you will, just as much as any Muslim or Jew wants to pray to their god too.

The only thing god belief requires is gullibility.

 Sorry bubba, but I've seen answered prayer over and over and there is nothing as heart warming as to see God's power released through answered prayer. Just because you haven't experienced answered prayer doesn't mean it doesn't happen. No matter how badly you want God not to be real it want help.

GC

Can you provide us with any examples of when you prayed and it didn't work, GC?

[Jehanne]

Would you please provide us with an example of "answered prayer"?

Allow me to help:

1) I (or Grandma or Uncle Joe or whomever) was sick and got well.
2) I was in debt to the tune of xxx dollars and someone was kind enough to anonymously help out.
3) I found my car keys.
4) I really, really hoped to get so-and-so to think and believe as I do, and it turns out he was feeble-minded enough to buy into my arguments and testimony.
5) Etc.

What does god have against amputees?  If he heals every other disease and/or condition, helps Uncle Joe, helps you find your car keys wherever you carelessly left them, helps you get out of debt due to poor spending choices and materialistic greed, and even convinces high school kiddos to "give their lives to Jesus," why not help-out a sincere amputee?

[Crossless2.0]

 Sorry bubba, but I've seen answered prayer over and over and there is nothing as heart warming as to see God's power released through answered prayer. Just because you haven't experienced answered prayer doesn't mean it doesn't happen. No matter how badly you want God not to be real it want help.

GC

Can you provide us with any examples of when you prayed and it didn't work, GC?

Oh, February, don't you know that any result is part of God's plan and unquestionable? My ex-father-in-law and I once had a conversation is which he informed me that God answers all prayers. The answers come in three forms: yes, no, not now. I said something to the effect of, "Well, what the fuck is that?"

"God's will," was his solemn response.

It's a closed loop of self-reinforcing BS that can't be cracked by reason until the believer is ready to reason. Sort of like a drunk hitting bottom.

[Crossless2.0]

Allow me to help:

1) I (or Grandma or Uncle Joe or whomever) was sick and got well.
2) I was in debt to the tune of xxx dollars and someone was kind enough to anonymously help out.
3) I found my car keys.
4) I really, really hoped to get so-and-so to think and believe as I do, and it turns out he was feeble-minded enough to buy into my arguments and testimony.
5) Etc.

What does god have against amputees?  If he heals every other disease and/or condition, helps Uncle Joe, helps you find your car keys wherever you carelessly left them, helps you get out of debt due to poor spending choices and materialistic greed, and even convinces high school kiddos to "give their lives to Jesus," why not help-out a sincere amputee?

Because amputees weird him out? Maybe he just likes salamanders more than people.

Nah, I'll stick with prayers = talking to oneself.

[FebruaryOfReason]

Can you provide us with any examples of when you prayed and it didn't work, GC?

Oh, February, don't you know that any result is part of God's plan and unquestionable? My ex-father-in-law and I once had a conversation is which he informed me that God answers all prayers. The answers come in three forms: yes, no, not now. I said something to the effect of, "Well, what the fuck is that?"

"God's will," was his solemn response.

It's a closed loop of self-reinforcing BS that can't be cracked by reason until the believer is ready to reason. Sort of like a drunk hitting bottom.

Yup. By rewarding pigeons randomly, you can get them to believe all sorts of bollocks too.
https://www.psychologistworld.com/superstition.php

One pigeon, in pursuit of food, believed that by turning around in the cage twice or three times between being fed, but not just in any direction; the bird learnt to turn anti-clockwise and appeared to believe that this would mean it being fed.

[Brian37]

 Sorry bubba, but I've seen answered prayer over and over and there is nothing as heart warming as to see God's power released through answered prayer. Just because you haven't experienced answered prayer doesn't mean it doesn't happen. No matter how badly you want God not to be real it want help.

GC

Can you provide us with any examples of when you prayed and it didn't work, GC?

That is the way it works, focus on the hits, ignore any real natural explanations, gap fill, ignore all the times it didn't work, and ignore all the other billions of humans who don't get so lucky.