Your opinion on "Prayer Shaming"?

[Edwardo Piet]

Evie,

When AREN'T you horny?

LOL

While recharging.

Admittedly that doesn't take me long.

Furthermore, I may always be horny but sometimes I'm very very horny!

Yes, "very very" in the Bohemian Rhapsody sense.

[LastPoet]

This thread took an odd route.

[Edwardo Piet]

If I believed in "prayer" then I'd currently be praying that the route stays down this way.

[vorlon13]

There being at least 39,999 schims of Christerism from which God hears no prayers.

[brewer]

To the OP. Why does it have to be considered ''shaming"? Isn't it just the truth about the power of prayer? If the truth is shameful then so be it.

I can't stand it when people tell me they'll pray for me. Please don't, I find it extremely offensive is my typical response. When people tell me to pray I usually respond with, "Well how do you think I should pray, what should I be praying for?". It most often turns out to be something akin to a childish birthday wish. Wow, those always work.

How many hucksters do we see every day fleecing an ignorant or desperate populous claiming that they can get what the need through prayer and a "small" donation. If charlatans are using it cash in how valid can it be?

What's the old saying, pray in one hand, shit in the other and see which gets filled first. And god saying no to the prayer does not count. That is the lamest thing I've ever heard. Why not just say god always says no and be done with it.

With that said, I don't go out of my way to offend theists. Apparently they can't help themselves. Wait, I know, I'll pray for them.

[Catholic_Lady]

Of course, people have the right to say whatever they want, but I do think it's rude to tell people to "get off their asses and do something instead of praying." This assumes that just because someone prays it means they don't do anything else or are not willing to do anything else. It's a false dichotomy. You can pray, and you can do other things, too. You can even do them at the same time.

How about suggesting that they pray for the wisdom and strength to do what needs doing?  Don't you think that is the most effective sort of prayer?  

Perhaps pray for action before anyone else has to suffer in the same way.

I like that. 

I don't know if any type of prayer is more "effective" than the other, though. The idea is to pray but also to do what you can at all times.

[Catholic_Lady]

Of course, people have the right to say whatever they want, but I do think it's rude to tell people to "get off their asses and do something instead of praying." This assumes that just because someone prays it means they don't do anything else or are not willing to do anything else.  

Sorry, but I know SEVERAL "christians" who have stated that they help, but don't. I have been living in a goddammed motel room since mid-July and my friends have known this. Almost every single one of them are religious. NOT ONE friend halepd me with my situation. NOT ONE.  Two of them even had the nerve to say they would ask others to see if they could help. Guess what... they never did ask. Why? Because they forgot, according to what I was told. They fucking forgot. So, a friend has a dire need to get funds for another place and you ignore them? But I was told several times that I would be added to their prayer chain. Ahh, well that just makes it all better now, doesn't it? 

Whether or not a politician is being genuine or political when *they* talk about praying for someone, though, is another matter. But generally speaking I don't see any problem at all with a person keeping another in their thoughts and prayers.

I see a huge problem with it. It's an excuse to not really want to do anything to help the person in need. And it's not just politicians that do it. See my first paragraph in this post. Praying is a ruse. It is a lie intended to give people some sort of false hope that somehow their god is going to pick them out in their time of need and say, hey, you know what, you a good person and I'm going to answer YOUR prayers, but fuck that little kid in Africa who's starving, or screw that young mom of two who just found out she has cancer. I'm going to let both of them die but I'll save you because  you're you.

Yes, like I said. We're supposed to do both.

[Minimalist]

"what should I be praying for?"

That's a good question.  Should they pray for their 'god' to reverse the events of the day so that it didn't happen?  If it didn't happen then why would they be praying about it?
To bring the dead back to life and the maimed back to full health?  That seems to be beyond 'god's' capabilities. 

Taking it down a notch, maybe they want the injured to recover?  Laudable but I prefer letting the doctors work instead of some shaman with a rosary instead of a rattle.  Perhaps they are praying for the doctors?  I have to think that if they don't know what they are doing by now me mumbling some garbage in the direction of some non-existent 'god' isn't going to be of much help.

No, M.H., at the end of the day prayers are simply the refuge of the helpless who cannot do anything useful.

[Aroura]

True story:

I had a downstairs neighbor who told me she sa'ved a sick, premie baby by praying over it really hard. Seriously. I even asked her if the parents weren't probably praying as well? She said they were too distraught to "pray effectively, and she KNOWS it was her prayers that saved that baby. She spent a lot of time patting herself on the back, and told that story often. Anyway.

Overall, I have little issue with people praying during or after a crisis. But in this case, the newspaper was specifically targeting politicians who say they will pray, who have the power to make effectual change, but instead continue to push forward with political agendas that only worsen social ills. So, they needed calling out, IMO.

[Cecelia]

Prayer shaming is fine, it's mostly directed at politicians. They're the ones in the position of power, and yet make no moves to prevent these senseless attacks. They act like praying is enough action. Then you have the politicians who spout nonsense like "If only prayer were still in schools! Once we took god out of schools, the shootings came." Yeah, cause we know churches never get shot up, and children are never molested by priests.

This kind of thinking also tends to lead to thinking like "This is all part of god's plan. We're being punished for letting the homosexuals get married!" Which is nonsensical because if it's all part of god's plan, then god's an asshole. And you know he's an asshole because you're asking him to change the plans he has. "Dear god, your plan? Yeah, it's an asshole plan. Please stop. In your name, Amen."

Now if you're an individual praying to give our politicians some common sense, it still won't work but is still more meaningful than what the likes of Ted Cruz are doing. "Please God, give our politicians the common sense to help prevent the next tragedy." because at that point you at least realize you have assholes in office who won't do anything to prevent these tragedies. Be it gun control, better mental health, or anything that's not going to make them a ton of money.