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RE: urge to pray - advice/help
February 2, 2012 at 3:34 pm
It was all the futility of prayer which made me abandon it and was one of the reasons I became an atheist. I would pray for little things which may or may not happen, seemed like more often my prayers wouldn't be answered. After I realized what a crock religion was, I realized that prayer was just a futile hope that you can magically change random events in the universe that you apparently have no control over. Needless to say, even when I was religious I didn't ever really feel much comfort in prayer. It was more like, "here I go again, praying for something which may or may not happen."
Christian apologetics is the art of rolling a dog turd in sugar and selling it as a donut.
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RE: urge to pray - advice/help
February 2, 2012 at 6:42 pm
(February 2, 2012 at 12:55 am)passionatefool Wrote: 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.
Praying is so therapeutic for a lot of people because it is like having someone to talk to. If you have a serious problem with anxiety/paranoia then you should perhaps find a good therapist that you can vent to and in turn, she/he can help you to deal with the emotions you are feeling. 
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RE: urge to pray - advice/help
February 2, 2012 at 6:47 pm
(This post was last modified: February 2, 2012 at 6:49 pm by The Grand Nudger.)
If you feel like praying, you should pray.
(matter of fact, I think I'll pray to this canister of Clorox wipes right now. So, pray if you like, but don't expect better results than my invocations to a bottle of bleach. My house will also be cleaner at the end.)
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: urge to pray - advice/help
February 2, 2012 at 7:31 pm
(This post was last modified: February 2, 2012 at 7:31 pm by phurgawtin.)
"Well, you know, when you want something really bad and you close your eyes and you wish for it? God's the guy that ignores you."
-only worthwhile quote in a movie not worth mentioning
"I get angry when believers say that the entire unimaginable hugeness of the universe was made entirely for the human race, and atheists by contrast say that humanity is this infinitesmal eyeblink in the vastness of time and space, and then religious believers accuse atheists of being arrogant."
-Greta Christina, Skepticon IV 2011
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RE: urge to pray - advice/help
February 2, 2012 at 9:33 pm
(This post was last modified: February 2, 2012 at 9:34 pm by Undeceived.)
"Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you." 1 Peter 5:7
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RE: urge to pray - advice/help
February 2, 2012 at 9:49 pm
"Pray in one hand, shit in the other.
See which fills up first."
--Author unknown.
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RE: urge to pray - advice/help
February 4, 2012 at 7:33 pm
I was a Christian for 30 years and the urge to pray comes frequently. Sometimes it's just because I need a sounding board so to speak. I used to talk things out with god and it made me feel good. I actually figured things out this way. Talking things out helped straighten things out in my mind. Now I realize that all those times I thought I was talking to god I was actually talking with myself. With this in mind I still talk things out in my mind, I just know now that I'm just talking to myself not to god. No harm done. The results are the same.
Some times I want to pray simply because I want to abdicate responsibility. I don't want to be responsible for a bad decision therefore I let god decide. If the decision turned out to be a bad one I could blame it on myself for not listening to god properly or I could believe that god really wanted me to make this bad decision and in the end it will work out for my benefit. Either way god is now responsible for the decision not me.
Other times I feel the urge to pray because of situations that are out of my control. After praying I'd get a feeling that god had things under his control and, good or bad, things would just work out. Some times I just needed to let go of the anxiety. Other times I just wanted to believe that god will answer my prayer and supernaturally fix things that I had no control over.
Now that I've given up the ghost so to speak I have serious problems with are the things I have little or no control over. I haven't found a way to deal with this yet. It really suck sometimes.
I have studied the Bible and the theology behind Christianity for many years. I have been to many churches. I have walked the depth and the breadth of the religion and, as a result of this, I have a lot of bullshit to scrape off the bottom of my shoes. ~Ziploc Surprise
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RE: urge to pray - advice/help
February 4, 2012 at 7:57 pm
(This post was last modified: February 4, 2012 at 8:10 pm by brotherlylove.)
(February 2, 2012 at 12:55 am)passionatefool Wrote: 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.
According to a pew forum report, 21 percent of atheists believe in God, 12 percent believe in Heaven and 10 percent pray every week:
http://religions.pewforum.org/pdf/report...ndings.pdf
It's probably natural for you to feel this way since you now believe you live in a reality that is completely indifferent to your struggles, and is slowly grinding everything into oblivion. It's at bottom a kind of nihilism which I think is very psychologically unhealthy.
I know you don't believe that it helps, but I am praying for you. You may not believe God cares for you anymore, but I believe that He does, so I am praying He will comfort you. I hope you feel better soon.
Psalm 19:1-2
The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork. Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night sheweth knowledge.
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RE: urge to pray - advice/help
February 4, 2012 at 8:06 pm
Quote:21 percent of atheists believe in God,
Apparently, they don't believe in dictionaries, either.
Quote:atheist
[ey-thee-ist] Example Sentences Origin
a·the·ist
[ey-thee-ist] Show IPA
noun
a person who denies or disbelieves the existence of a supreme being or beings.
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RE: urge to pray - advice/help
February 4, 2012 at 9:31 pm
(February 4, 2012 at 8:06 pm)Minimalist Wrote: Quote:21 percent of atheists believe in God,
Apparently, they don't believe in dictionaries, either.
Quote:atheist
[ey-thee-ist] Example Sentences Origin
a·the·ist
[ey-thee-ist] Show IPA
noun
a person who denies or disbelieves the existence of a supreme being or beings.
It could also depend on what you define as praying. Are you praying when you say "Jesus Christ!" when a large dog is headed straight toward you? How about when she says "Oh god! oooh god! oh, oh, god!!" ?
I have studied the Bible and the theology behind Christianity for many years. I have been to many churches. I have walked the depth and the breadth of the religion and, as a result of this, I have a lot of bullshit to scrape off the bottom of my shoes. ~Ziploc Surprise
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