Atheists do you pray?

[bennyboy]

You're missing a crucial point: Religion is divisive and food is not. Equating the two is ridiculous.

Food is divisive if you're a vegetarian, or a dog-lover, or an environmentalist, or a humanitarian, or . . .

[Chas]

Does that ever strike you as strange (and are you sure that this is the case)? Let me give you a little example from my life. I'm pretty handy in the kitchen so I cook the meals in my household. I like falafel so I fry that tastiness up all the time. I mean, I really really like it, I talk about how good it is, and jokingly say that anyone who doesn't like falafel is probably a -insert ridiculous psuedo insult here- (communist is one of my favorites). So my wife has eaten alot of falafel (and I mean alot). Here's the kicker, she hates it. I didn't know that until very recently. In fact, I thought she was as much a fan as I am. I thought that because she gave me that impression - for years.

When she finally did tell me that she only ate it out of courtesy (and love...the woman just loves me silly), do you think that I was upset that she didn't like falafel, or that I'd been putting garbage on her plate for all that time? That fried bean cakes didn't rock her world, or that she didn't feel comfortable telling me that I should just cook her a drumstick - something so simple? Are you sure that your family wouldn't find it more troubling that you feel that you cannot share something like this with them, that you have to play church - and as catholics....wouldn't -that- be troubling to them? That you're taking sacrament and kneeling in the pews and reducing their faith to theater?

You're missing a crucial point: Religion is divisive and food is not. Equating the two is ridiculous.

Well, then it is a good thing that he's not actually equating the two.

[Clueless Morgan]

The only time I remember praying was when my sister and I would stay at my grandparents' house (oddly enough, those was the only times, save one, that I've been the church services) and my grandma would make use recite the creepy one about if you die while you sleep.

I would have participated in the poll but I don't agree with the delineation of choices, nor the fact that I can't choose multiple options, thus my opinion would not be accurately represented, so here's how I would have voted given the actual implied poll question being asked ("Do you think prayer is useful?"):

X Could potentially be beneficial
X Praying is a waste of time

For some people prayer can be beneficial, certainly. It can serve as a mechanism to calm frayed nerves and to focus thoughts, among other things. But in those respects it's not significantly different than meditation, but with the potential added harms of thinking that whatever you're praying to has the ability and the will to respond and intervene on your behalf, coupled with the idea that praying is somehow effective in bringing about external results (something above and beyond clearing your mind and calming you down) which means that you don't actually take any action.

For me, praying is a waste of time. I'm not convinced that there's anything out there to pray to, I don't know why I would be praying to whatever it is in the first place since whatever I'd be praying to hasn't demonstrated it exists, and I've developed reasonable mechanisms to accomplish the things that people so often use prayer for. I've tried meditation but I mostly just find that I get bored so I have roughly the same opinion of meditation that I do prayer. But just because I find no personal value in these activities, that doesn't mean that no one else does.

For that reason, I would rather have seen a poll with a Yes/No delineation rather than forcing people to select one of a very short, very limited list of inferences as to their reasons for praying or not. The thread title, after all, is not "What do you think of prayer?" it's "Do you pray?" and my answer is no.

[StealthySkeptic]

Yes, I pray. All the times. Om nom nom nom.



Oh, wait. I prey, you pray. One of us is doing something useful.

[pocaracas]

and my grandma would make use recite the creepy one about if you die while you sleep.

Oh, creepy grandma prayers....
There was one that had a person praying at an altar.... and "Our Lady", from the other side of the altar would reply.... I always imagined the statue talking... creepy! Chuck creepy!

There was another where baby jesus got a coat with "fine silver buttons" from his grandmother Santana (saint Ana?)... I thought these people were leaning to poor and simple... silver?

And there was that about dying in your sleep as well... I always thought she meant herself... My grandma is now 89 years old and you wouldn't say she's a day over 80. The woman is tough!

She keeps insisting that I pray those prayers she taught... I always pretend not to remember (I can never remember the whole thing, but parts of it are clear) and now she wants to teach them to my kids, but never gets too much air-time from their attention span.

[Mudhammam]

You're missing a crucial point: Religion is divisive and food is not. Equating the two is ridiculous.

Food is divisive if you're a vegetarian, or a dog-lover, or an environmentalist, or a humanitarian, or . . .

Except that there is full justification in mocking fire and brimstone gospels... unless of course, the evidence actually certifies fire and brimstone as a legitimate concern.

[jughead]

No one to pray to, it is like talking to yourself. But humans need to feel like they have power. Praying gives humans godlike power since they can sway gods plans by their prayers.

[StealthySkeptic]

Thankfully, the only prayer my parents made us pray as kids was "Now I lay me down to sleep..." and then they just got rid of it once we stopped really going to church and said, "Goodnight."

[The Grand Nudger]

LOL, if my family ever caught me talking to myself as a child they would have hit me over the head with a brick. Couldn't afford a shrink, you see.

[Anomalocaris]

but prayers to honor humanity

Humanity seems not to give a shit.

Humanity would be more deserving of honor if fewer of its members prayed.