urge to pray - advice/help

[Minimalist]

I think the TItans showed up as actors on Charmed at some point... remakably smaller than I was expecting.

This is why they call TV the "small screen." I'm sure they are bigger in 3D at the movies.

[Epimethean]

"‘Debunked’? Last I read, debunked meant one actually has evidence against the claims. There is none. In all the historical writings around the time of Christ, no contradictions have been found. Not only that, but a high percentage of the people in the Bible have been confirmed elsewhere. "

The evidence is not in favor of the xtians once you get past a small amount of geography and demographics. The myths and fables have no verifiable support outside the text itself, which support any fantasy story must contain, from the the Odyssey to The Lord of The Rings, with the bible in between doing exactly the same thing.

[Ziploc Surprise]

As for the New Testament, this has been debunked.

‘Debunked’? Last I read, debunked meant one actually has evidence against the claims. There is none. In all the historical writings around the time of Christ, no contradictions have been found. Not only that, but a high percentage of the people in the Bible have been confirmed elsewhere. Here are just a couple archaeological finds: http://www.facingthechallenge.org/arch2.php Web search "archaeological evidence for the bible" for more.

You’d expect a fabricated document to weaken over time, but that is not true with the Bible. Every year archeologists and historians uncover more to back up Biblical records. We have no more contradictory evidence now than we had fifty years ago—that is to say, none. One might suppose the Bible is made up because they believe miraculous events cannot happen, but opinions do not debunk.

The authors probably were not the disciples that Jesus supposedly had.

What evidence do you have to back this up? All the gospels were written during the time the disciples were still alive, or should have been alive. Are you suggesting someone stole their identities? Many of the epistles confirm other writers and disciples as well. Paul mentioned Peter and Peter mentioned Paul, each recommending the other. Another good source:

http://carm.org/when-were-gospels-written-and-whom

The gospels have also been edited over the centuries.

Not true. We have portions of each all dated in the 1st century, and early church leaders quoting them as early as 40AD, meaning they must have been in circulation before that. They all match word for word, except for when meanings of words changed, which is about .01%.

There is little evidence to suggest that Jesus ever existed.

This link [http://www.sowhataboutjesus.com/existed.php] lists a couple documents that mention Jesus. Remember, science is about acknowledging positive evidence, not holding out in hopes of it being disproved. Jesus has more mentions of his existence than any other non-Roman in his time period. You would not accuse any other person so often referenced as not existing!
Most secular historians agree Jesus lived and was known as a polarizing figure, whether he actually is divine or not.

Also examine the motives. There was no power or wealth to be gained from fabricating a religion in tension with Judaism. All but one disciple became a martyr. And how can one explain the explosion of converts shortly after Jesus’ life? What moved his followers from mourning to boldly proclaiming him God? There wasn’t enough time to develop a convincing myth. Compare the Bible to other ancient documents. The earliest histories of Alexander the Great were written by Arrian and Plutarch more than four hundred years after his death. Yet they are still considered to be generally trustworthy, as are all of Plato's works. In fact, you’d be hard-pressed to find any originals of historical documents. The fact that we have physical examples of extended Gospel quotes as early as the 40s AD is remarkable. Other examples, first date is time written and second is earliest copy:

Herodotus (History) 480 - 425 BC 900 AD
Thucydides (History) 460 - 400 BC 900 AD
Aristotle (Philosopher) 384 - 322 BC 1,100 AD
Caesar (History) 100 - 44 BC 900 AD
Pliny (History) 61 - 113 AD 850 AD
Suetonius (Roman History) 70 - 140 AD 950 AD
Tacitus (Greek History) 100 AD 1,100 AD

Paul also includes creeds in his writings. In 1 Corinthians 15 he describes the beliefs he received upon his conversion. If the crucifixion is 30 A.D., then his conversion would be 32 A.D. and his first official meeting with the Apostles in Jerusalem would be 35 A.D.—far too soon for any legendary additions. “A.N. Sherwin-White of Oxford did a study of the rate at which legend accrued in the ancient world and concluded that not even two full generations was enough time for legend to develop and to wipe out a solid core of historical truth” (http://www.millennialstar.org/the-case-f...-scripture).

As for the "creation" of the earth it is more logical and reasonable to discover it's history through a provable, replicatable and peer reviewed approach -aspects of the scientific method.

I'll let J.P. Moreland explain it for me:
"Intelligent design theory really is science because (1) it generates positive and negative test results; (2) it actually explains facts in scientifically standard ways; (3) it can be confirmed by the facts; and (4) it solves internal conceptual problems that evolution doesn’t solve. These are four things that a scientific theory ought to do, and ID does all four. Thus, ID exhibits what a scientific theory ought to exhibit and should be counted as scientific theory and not simply a religious belief."

Wow, are you serious? Gosh darn I have been wrong all along. Wow, thank you Undeceived for undecieving me. No seriously, don't you think I have read into this stuff. After all I was a Christian for 30 years. I was the one who believed that if I didn't get my facts straight I would go to hell for eternity, and perhaps even sooner than that, face god's judgement here on Earth. I read what I could tolerate of Lee Strobel, I know the fundy spiel on the subject -been there done that. I've read how the Old Testament was fabricated. I've read enough about how the New Testament was created. It's a myth. You will never learn this for yourself until you look into sources other than those fed to you by the church. Wake up Neo! It's time to leave the Matrix.

[Reforged]

Being an atheist now, I seriously doubt that prayers work, it never did before. But I felt like its something imprinted in my mind from back then when I was extremely religious, praying was a daily everyday thing. Now everytimes I get anxious,nervous, scared, worried, or something horrible happened -which it does happen quite often with all of it together- I find myself having urges to pray because it brought comfort before, it was a temporary escape from reality. I refuse to do it now because it felt wrong, wont bring me comfort. I dont believe in it anymore, but now I find it hard dealing with my stress, over-worrying, paranoid and anxiety problem, it makes me feel like throwing up sometimes. Actually I dont know how to make myself feel like everything is going to be okay.

Meditation is an excellent replacement. It allows you to collect your thoughts and relax.
Focus on an endless void or a peaceful place that makes you at ease, it should take concentration but not be taxing. When a thought enters your mind acknowledge it positively then focus deeper on it or simply let it slip away should that be your wish.
Once you're done meditating you should feel centered, focused, constructive. You will be drawing strength from within while fostering new strength in the form of self-belief. This makes you better able to cope with what trials life may throw at you.
When life does go wrong, as it sometimes does, quietly acknowledge that while you may not always be able to control consequence or circumstance you can control actions and that in the end is what will define you.
Thats how I replaced prayer anyway.

[tackattack]

"When life does go wrong, as it sometimes does, quietly acknowledge that while you may not always be able to control consequence or circumstance you can control actions and that in the end is what will define you."
Funny, that's how I use prayer.

[The Grand Nudger]

It's good to see that you've re-tasked some part of your personal mythology that wasn't working as intending.

[Mister Agenda]

Pray if you want to. No rule against it. I don't, as I find the idea more confusing than comforting (what would I be trying to communicate with? Why would I think anything could hear my thoughts?), but if your mileage varies, go with it. The atheist police won't come along and revoke your license, and if you wind up believing again, it's not like you go to hell for being a Buddhist, we'll manage to live with the idea.

[reverendjeremiah]

Then again, maybe you should pray...if it makes you feel better...then do it

[passionatefool]

lol Nah. I find talking to people about how I feel works better than praying. I usually feel stupid after praying anyway. I'm getting a better hang of this day by day.

[tackattack]

It's good to see that you've re-tasked some part of your personal mythology that wasn't working as intending.

Prayer was never meant to be a cosmic vending machine. It is meant for a self-reassurance of what you already know you need in your heart, an acknowledgement and communication of who we are to God. Prayer isn't something God needs, it's something we do. My personal mythology is pretty wide-spread, maybe I should become a preacher and get paid for it?? [/end tired 2 cents]