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Forums - General Discussion - The Logical Flaw of Prayers

TheSwordUser on 09 June 2012

I think that praying is sort of placebo.

If you believe it will work, then it will work.



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oldschoolfool on 09 June 2012
Kantor said:

The way I (as an atheist) see it, is that you're not praying to God at all. In a way, you're praying to yourself. To quote Firefly:

"It's my estimation that... every man ever got a statue made of him was one kind of sumbitch or another. Ain't about you, Jayne. It's about what they need."

      -Captain Malcolm Reynolds

The same sort of thing is true here. It makes the person feel better to think that somebody out there is on their side and helping them. It gives them strength. Yes, God, if he exists, is probably ignoring them, but all they need is to think that he is with them. It's a kind of placebo effect.


I agree. I'm an atheist and believe people just pray to make themselves feel better,even if there just basically talking to themselves. 



Areym on 09 June 2012

So according to this, God is a huge prick and doesn't give handouts. Fair enough.

They way I see it is that prayer is a way to make ourselves think we are taking action to change things when really it's just making wishes that things will change without my physical involvement. It's a way to get rid of that guilty conscious. Besides, if there was a god, he doesn't have time to listen to your stupid ramblings about helping your favorite team make it to the superbowl.



"Trick shot? The trick is NOT to get shot." - Lucian

MegaDrive08 on 09 June 2012

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CoVXf91fx68&nomobile=1 What about this then ;)



 

IIIIITHE1IIIII on 09 June 2012
MegaDrive08 said:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CoVXf91fx68&nomobile=1 What about this then ;)


Dammit. It's not available in my country :/

Got another version?



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Commando on 09 June 2012

  Well what I've been saying for years is:  Why pray?  If it changes God's mind then he is not soveriegn, if it doesn't then it is superfulous.



"Let justice be done though the heavens fall." - Jim Garrison

"Ask not your horse, if ye should ride into battle" - myself

IIIIITHE1IIIII on 09 June 2012
Commando said:

  Well what I've been saying for years is:  Why pray?  If it changes God's mind then he is not soveriegn, if it doesn't then it is superfulous.


The thing is though that it may not have to do with God changing his mind, but that He may act depending on humans faiths. In other words: The person in need of help is depending on your support. If you don't tell God that He should help him then the person need to die, as a punishment for your lack of faith.

And then the 'Thy will be done' phrase enters the picture...



HabinoBR on 09 June 2012

My prayers are for those who passed away and family members. It's kinda weird for me to see this topic just now... ik its off topic, but a kid from my high school passed away last night and we got the news this morning. His family is probably shattered now, so my prayers went to them too.



LET'S GO KNICKS

Jay520 on 09 June 2012

One of the reasons we pray to God is so that we can thank Him for the blessings he's done for us. In a word: Worship. Most people pray to worship & praise our Lord.

Now, you're talking about praying to ask for things. That does make sense. We are not praying to inform God of our troubles. He knows this already. We are praying to physically present ourselves as the small weaklings (cant think of a better word right now) that we are. When we get down on our knees and pray, it shows that we know that we are weak and are acknowledging the power of our Lord.

When we do this, we act our humbleness, and God likes this. Even if he knows we need help, we must still act on it. He knows we need him. That doesn't mean he'll always act. He wants us to put forth some form of action. To meet him halfway. And sometimes, all we have to do is humbly request help and acknowledge that he is the one who loves us and the one who can help us. And that's all the action he wants, sometimes.



IIIIITHE1IIIII on 09 June 2012
Jay520 said:
One of the reasons we pray to God is so that we can thank Him for the blessings he's done for us. In a word: Worship. Most people pray to worship & praise our Lord.

Now, you're talking about praying to ask for things. That does make sense. We are not praying to inform God of our troubles. He knows this already. We are praying to physically present ourselves as the small weaklings (cant think of a better word right now) that we are. When we get down on our knees and pray, it shows that we know that we are weak and are acknowledging the power of our Lord.

When we do this, we act our humbleness, and God likes this. Even if he knows we need help, we must still act on it. He knows we need him. That doesn't mean he'll always act. He wants us to put forth some form of action. To meet him halfway. And sometimes, all we have to do is humbly request help and acknowledge that he is the one who loves us and the one who can help us. And that's all the action he wants, sometimes.


But why would anyone who truly believes in God ask for things? Why not just say: "God, you know me better than I do. If I deserve more money (for instance), then give it to me. If I don't deserve more money, then don't give me more money. I fully trust you to make the right choice. My opinion is worthless compared to yours. Thy will be done."?