Okay ATHEISTS <rolls sleaves>

Let's remember here that they weren't just unbelievers; they enslaved a whole people. So I reckon you and I are probably going to be okay re: plagues for a while, unless you're doing something in your spare time that I'm not aware of.

Yeah, I don't really know what you want me to say. What would be the point in a religion that says "join this religion, or don't, it's fine either way"? That's no different from saying "don't steal because it's against the law", but then not punishing anyone who does. Fear is a far great motivator than some reward which most of us could probably live without if we had to.

 

What the hell is wrong with SOME of you people? First off, if you don't believe in God it doesn't have any effect on you anyway! Second off, it's just a way of wishing someone well in life from my perspective. It would've been different if I was like...Dear Jesus, please turn these heathens into people who aren't going to Hell. Amen. I can't sit here and answer for everyone who prays. I'm sure some do. But, I even POSTED my prayer.

My GOD! Or your lack thereof! Get the chip off your shoulder! Even if you hate Christianity I was hoping you did better in life. Shocking thing is...The Christians you hate most are probably the same ones that piss me off. You're not supposed to pray for people to get genital warts and anal itch. After reading how the FEW of you acted after I did that you almost wish you could.

 

I was making a point. You can attribute anything you want to God if you want to. It's ludicrous for you to suggest that just because a person does not know where their idea or their good fortune comes from that it MUST be from God. If you pray and something good happens, it's illogical to assume a causal effect, since you've got no reason to believe that two are connected; good things happen whether you pray for them or not, just like bad.

 

An old saying goes:

"Be careful what you pray for".

If you pray for rain, you might end up getting your basement flooded or something. LOL.

 

LOL Well, no matter how much I want to now I can't take back the fact I prayed for you. If something good happens please screw up your life in some general sense to prove me wrong. Thanks.

 

How would that prove you wrong?

You can't prove that prayer doesn't work when it appears to, because no-one has ever looked into the mechanics of prayer; other than one event following another, we cannot get any closer to knowing whether prayer causes anything to happen, because there is simply no attempt to understand the how.

Science is often accused of caring too much about the "how" and not the "why"; to me, prayer is a prime example of how religion fails on the other count, of answering the "why" questions by skipping over the "how". So I do something good with my life because you prayed for me; the likelihood that I would've done it anyway, whether you'd prayed or not, never plays on your mind.

 

Why does anyone need to pray for me?


I think, we would be much better off if we minded our own businesss, in matters of "who is saved or who needs saving."

It just creates less complications such as religious wars, bigotry, hypocrisy, conceit and deception.

I think, god can pretty much handle things.
Are you people so conceited to imagine that god first need to consult with you in regards to matters concerning somebody else's well-being.

 

So, if you don't believe in God it didn't effect you anyway. So why does it even matter? I don't believe if a black cat crosses my path I get bad luck. So it doesn't matter.

If you win the lottery or get mugged my prayer had absolutely NOTHING to do with it in your eyes. Just carry on with life and ignore it.

 

Nice contradiction.
In the first post, you said, you pray for others.

In the next post, you said, if doesn't even matter.

Seems like you enjoy indulging in self-deception?

 

Because the prayer isn't about God, it's about the prayer (as in, the person who does the praying) trying to take credit for random events by invoking God.

 

Very good, post, Self-Control. Thank you.

Yes, this "praying for others" a common characteristic of many christians is a basic fundamental flaw of their belief system.

It's merely a feel good, mechanism for them to exercise a measure of control and to present a "holier than thou" persona compared to the rest of humanity.

I don't think god needs to consult with any of us, with regards to how to run the universe.

 

Yeah, hard to imagine God just thinking "Oh, well, I've been running the universe for millenia according to certain rules, but apparently Mr A. Chuzzlenuts of 62 High Street, Braintree would like me to change the laws of physics for a bit so that his daughter does not have AIDS. Oh well, I suppose I'd better do that then."

 

Why, then, is he a bishop?

 

So you think since I prayed for you I'm somehow trying to indirectly take credit if you have a good day? LOL DUDE! That's not atheism...That's being PARANOID. So, if someone says good day or goodbye do you turn around and tell them doing so is self centered? BTW This is WAY off topic. We should start a new thread.

 

Only if they evoke a god that they know I don't believe in in the process, because they are then attributing the good that may come to me to their own action (of prayer).

This thread's never been on topic!

 

Exactly, well said.

I think, if there is a god, this god would pretty much know what to do.

If there is a god, this god would pretty much make his/her own decisions, regardless of how much prayers, certain pseudo-christians, christian wanna-bees, or even the plain deluded would like to offer, "for our own good of course".

 

Alternatively, to quote the great philosopher Didactylos:

"things just happen, what the hell."

There is a school of thought - theism? - that believes that, if a creator existed, he isn't around anymore. In other words, after the universe was created, the creator "set it in motion" and then buggered off. To use the old analogy, even if a watch implies a watchmaker, we do not require a watchmaker to follow us around operating our watches.

 

I think you mean deism.

 

Ah, deism, that's the badger!

But yeah, if there is a god/creator, that seems like a much more plausible explanation of his operation, based on the evidence. If our god really is omniscient and omnipotent, he'd presumably be aware that willing the movement of every particle in the universe in order to create the impression that the laws of physics existed would be incredibly inefficient compared to, say, inventing the laws of physics.

 

Good one! I'm a panentheist, myself (different from pantheist).