The problem with prayer.

[CapnAwesome]

Prayer is like changing your facebook profile picture to something in order to fight child abuse or terrorism. It's a way of people feeling good about themselves while doing absolutely nothing.

[Spirian]

I think holding a positive attitude is what matters most. Take life in stride and you'll have less "requests" of "god".

[Angrboda]

To clarify: to say something is supernatural, by your definition, is to claim it will never be explained. [with by natural causes]

-my edit-

Exactly right. It is by definition excluded. The question is whether all phenomena can be explained by mechanistic natural processes that are reducible to small scale primitives. Even if something isn't technically supernatural, I think skeptics never seem to consider irreducible natural process that could exist at very high scales, some that may be deduced from conditions within the visible universe even if not directly observable within it.

All scientific theories are models. They are also examples of reduction. Explaining one thing in terms of smaller bits. At some level we are bound to come to a description of reality which can't be reduced. But we can never know definitively whether or not we are at the final reduction.

What irreducible natural process that skeptics never seem to consider are you referring to? I'm wary of the fact that you say it can be deduced but not observed. The same could be said for phlogiston and the aether.

[brewer]

[edit]

I am only aware of one way to test the Christian God, and I highly suspect anyone here would truly follow the parameters of the test and give it honest evaluation.

Rorschach?

[Minimalist]

The Bible says something about "if you pray sincerely your prayer will be answered" or some such. So, why has no "good and true Christian" ever prayed for an end to war, hunger, disease, or atheism?

God gives no guarantee to answer ALL prayers regardless of content. Prayers by thieves for an easy heist or by murderers to avoid discovery will most likely not be answered. Only prayers in conformance with His will are answered as when Jesus taught us to pray, "...Thy will be done...". Or not. This is not to suggest  theological tangles don't remain about the need for and/or the efficacy of prayer. For example, if the lack of prayer doesn't thwart His will then what is the point? IMHO prayer is more of an opportunity for believers to participate in the Lord's purposes. The assumption of the OP seems to be that Christians have not prayed for evils to cease, which is of course obviously false. Why such evils do not cease is another issue entirely.

That doesn't seem to be what your godboy said.

23 Truly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and thrown into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says will come to pass, it will be done for him. 24 Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received[c] it, and it will be yours.

Mark 11

What are you?  God's lawyer?

[robvalue]

Rob, lets not delve into a deep debate on this, but in short, what would you say set the universe in motion?  The first cause I believe it is called?

I don't know if anything set it in motion. We don't know if there was ever a "time" our universe/reality wasn't here. Science is unable to investigate, and philosophical arguments can't delve further.

If something set our reality (not the universe, that's a contradiction in terms) in motion, then I have no idea what it would be. Maybe nothing did.

[Minimalist]

It sure as hell wasn't fucking yhwh the bloody-handed!

[Spirian]

Rorschach?

I'll go from left to right...

1. Space Invader
   
2. Buddhist Temple
   
3. Sex, Missionary Style
   
4. Obama with a Mohawk
   
5. Two large breasted Marge Simpsons with angel wings fighting over a purse while Hello Kitty refs.
   
6. Four birds
   
7. Little Rik
   
8. Pelvic bone
   
9. Vagina with chlamydia
   
10. Jerry Garcia
    

[Simon Moon]

Rob, lets not delve into a deep debate on this, but in short, what would you say set the universe in motion?  The first cause I believe it is called?

The correct answer is, "we don't know". 

It is not "God did it". Unless, of course, you are able to provide demonstrable and falsifiable evidence, and valid and sound logic to support that claim.

You are engaging in classic "argument from ignorance". Just because the answer is not yet known, does not mean your answer becomes correct by default.

[Simon Moon]

Rorschach?

I'll go from left to right...

1. Space Invader
   
2. Buddhist Temple
   
3. Sex, Missionary Style
   
4. Obama with a Mohawk
   
5. Two large breasted Marge Simpsons with angel wings fighting over a purse while Hello Kitty refs.
   
6. Four birds
   
7. Little Rik
   
8. Pelvic bone
   
9. Vagina with chlamydia
   
10. Jerry Garcia
    

I especially like "Two large breasted Marge Simpsons with angel wings fighting over a purse while Hello Kitty refs"!

That's pretty much what it looks like.