Prayer?

[C.W. Sims]

Does everyone know the difference between chanting, petition and prayer?

I read the rest of your post, couldn't have cared less, but had to respond to this. Chanting is not what you think it is, neither are you correct in your interpretation of "repetitive prayer". Go ask a priest what that phrase originally meant and get back to me. Hint: It had to do with people uttering prayers for no reason other than that they had been taught. Which is why it actually translates as "vain repetition". It also ties into the fact that they believed the other people were praying to a non-existent god or gods so their prayers could of course never be answered.

Chanting in any religion is supposed to be used to open the mind by helping one drown out distractions and focus only on that subject they wish to be focused on, i.e. God, Enlightenment, etc. You again were confused when you connected chanting with vain repetition. They are not at all the same thing and it is Christian arrogance to link the two. Chanting has been an integral part of religions the world over for much longer than the Jesus mythology has been around. It is a time honored tradition that has nothing to do with supplication but is a meditative tool.

Now you are bang on about petition and the fact that most people who are religious almost always pray only as a petition for special favor. I saw this time and again when I was going to church and it always struck me as funny and a little sad.

Since this is in the religion sub-forum I have no problem discussing this with you. But be prepared to hear a different opinion based on someone who has been involved with, and studied different religions since he was 13 and is now 27. I don't back down from a fight if I know I am right, but I am open minded and willing to listen to your side so long as you aren't trying to shove it down my throat. Also if I am wrong and you have valid resources I will be more than happy to learn. So if you would like we can discuss. It's up to you.