On the lunacy of prayer

[vulcanlogician]

wrong thread

[Nay_Sayer]

wrong thread

Will this do?

[AFTT47]

Give me a fucking break.

I'm not Brian37s biggest fan but this is just bullying. If you don't want him on the forum anymore, why don't you just come out and say so?

I think we all know this forum is in decline. Much of that is because of people's misguided attraction to social media. You might want to rethink alienating those who chose to hang around here unless you want to hasten the death of Atheist Forums.

I don’t think it qualifies as bullying at all. In fact, it’s an attempt to keep him ON the forum. Accumulated warnings for spamming could get him ejected permanently. Nobody wants that.

Boru

Okay, I guess I stand corrected.

[Spongebob]

Prayer is a strange thing.  It seems that there is an appropriate time/place for it.  When I see a family at McDonald's holding hands, squinting their eyes and praying over their sodium filled, fat drenched gut bombs it just makes me laugh.  I'm pretty sure that when people do this in public it's mostly for show.  Perhaps its for others to see how pious they are or for god to see how pious they are.  Either way, it just looks stupid.  There's something to be said for discretion.  Jesus, himself advocated private prayer.

And some Christians certainly do expect prayer to accomplish things that they have no power to accomplish.  They expected prayer to get Trump elected a second time, for instance.  They've been organizing mass prayers to end abortion for decades.  It happens a lot in some Christian circles.

No it isn't "for show", it's sincere. These people have nothing to prove. It's fucked up that you would take something heartfelt and endearing like praying at McDonald's and turn it into something stupid and laughable.

It's for show, either for other people to see or for their god to see.  Always for show.  I could pray without anyone around me even being aware of it.  I could be praying right now as I type this.  It takes almost no effort and certainly doesn't require all this hand holding and eye squinting.  100% show!

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You guys would be better off continuing to say those prayers.

That sounds foreboding. Do elaborate

Stop encouraging that idiot.

[Ahriman]

I could pray without anyone around me even being aware of it.  I could be praying right now as I type this.

Nope. Prayer is like meditation, you can't be distracted while doing it. You are literally never right about anything you say.

[Spongebob]

I could pray without anyone around me even being aware of it.  I could be praying right now as I type this.

Nope. Prayer is like meditation, you can't be distracted while doing it. You are literally never right about anything you say.

I'm praying.  Hear me god as I pray.  No one here knows I'm praying but I'm praying.  See, told ya.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers won last yeas Superbowl.  Right.

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BTW, it's cute how you take my ID out of the quote, clearly hoping I won't notice and thus won't reply. Not working, dumbass.

[Ahriman]

BTW, it's cute how you take my ID out of the quote, clearly hoping I won't notice and thus won't reply.  Not working, dumbass.

Lol that's not why I did the quote that way, it was for brevity's sake.

[Spongebob]

I'm praying.  Hear me god as I pray.  No one here knows I'm praying but I'm praying.  See, told ya.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers won last yeas Superbowl.  Right.

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BTW, it's cute how you take my ID out of the quote, clearly hoping I won't notice and thus won't reply.  Not working, dumbass.

Lol that's not why I did the quote that way, it was for brevity's sake.

Well, if that's true then you failed again.  Removing the member ID does not shorten the post at all if you leave the quote bubble.  Makes you look even dumber.

Prayer is quite often stupid and selfish.  Just one example: the local high school football coach recently won a very close game against an important rival.  Of course the story in the local paper had him praising god and admitting to praying on the sideline late in the game for a turnover or some other big play.  Of all the things in the universe, praying for a high school football team to win a game is the dumbest concept of religion.  I could accept praying that his players don't get hurt or that they learn lessons of good competition, leadership or camaraderie, but not winning the game.  That's a selfish thing to pray for.

And btw, he probably didn't squint his eyes and hold hands while praying.  No one knew he was praying.

[Ahriman]

Well yeah that's selfish, and stupid, but not indicative of all prayer activity done by people. I come from a Catholic tradition, in which prayer is said for higher reasons than just winning a football game. So much higher, in fact, that you could consider Catholic prayer a kind of mystery in its own right, which I do. I prayed my butt off for many years, and eventually got tired of it, but I would like to think my past devotion to prayer is carrying me through life even unto the present day. I wouldn't say prayer is stupid and selfish, I think it's more the people who pray for stupid/selfish things, who are stupid and selfish.

[The Grand Nudger]

Catholic prayer isnt a mystery, or for any higher purpose than winning amatuer sportsball games. Don't be ridiculous. Catholics pray to find their keys, and pray that their daughters don't get knocked up while having the unprotected sex they insist on.