Author Topic: Is Praying To God Pointless?  (Read 26595 times)

Radical Plato

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Re: Is Praying To God Pointless?
« Reply #50 on: May 03, 2013, 07:08:40 PM »
God answers every single prayer from every single person who prays regardless of faith, gender, national origin or sexual preference - what you need to understand is sometimes the answer is no. Oh, and by the way... God allows bad things to happen to good people so they will decide to run to God or from God. He gave us free will and it is our decision to run to God in times of crisis or from him. And in those times of crisis our decisions will help to decide where we go for eternity... heaven with God or hell without. Now this is where you make your own decision now that you have been given the knowledge.
^^^ This is a pretty fucked up post.

So if I pray for my child's baseball team to win and you pray for your child who is on the opposing team to win, whose prayer does God answer and why?

And God allows bad things to happen to people so they will run to him.  What is GOD crazy?  Kind of like beating someone up so they will love you, so essentially it's like a battered wife syndrome, the more he punishes and beats us the less free will we have and the more we come to depend on the abuser.

And in times of crisis if we ignore GOD we will be punished by being sent to HELL!

How on earth can anyone worship a GOD like this, I know criminals who are better than the GOD you describe.  The God most people describe sounds HELLISH to me.  No wonder so many people bargain with the DEVIL.

One famous study concluded that not only did Intercessory prayer not work, the patients in the group certain of receiving intercessory prayer actually had MORE complications than those not being prayed for.  The distant intercessors prayed for: a "successful surgery with a quick, healthy recovery and no complications.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16569567


Prayer doesn't work.  here is some more interesting views on the matter.
http://godisimaginary.com/i1.htm

And here is the ultimate proof prayer doesn't work in a 5 second youtube clip.  ;D
[ Invalid YouTube link ]
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Re: Is Praying To God Pointless?
« Reply #51 on: May 03, 2013, 07:49:11 PM »


So if I pray for my child's baseball team to win and you pray for your child who is on the opposing team to win, whose prayer does God answer and why?

the answer to both of us would be no. god doesn't care about baseball games. the team that made the plays to win would win.

And God allows bad things to happen to people so they will run to him.  What is GOD crazy?  Kind of like beating someone up so they will love you, so essentially it's like a battered wife syndrome, the more he punishes and beats us the less free will we have and the more we come to depend on the abuser.

that's they twisted slant satan would put on it, sure sounds like he's got your ear.

And in times of crisis if we ignore GOD we will be punished by being sent to HELL!

it sure doesn't help us get into heaven silly.

How on earth can anyone worship a GOD like this, I know criminals who are better than the GOD you describe.  The God most people describe sounds HELLISH to me.  No wonder so many people bargain with the DEVIL.

earth is hell silly.

sept 10th APF

Radical Plato

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Re: Is Praying To God Pointless?
« Reply #52 on: May 03, 2013, 07:57:22 PM »

So if I pray for my child's baseball team to win and you pray for your child who is on the opposing team to win, whose prayer does God answer and why?

the answer to both of us would be no. god doesn't care about baseball games. the team that made the plays to win would win.

And God allows bad things to happen to people so they will run to him.  What is GOD crazy?  Kind of like beating someone up so they will love you, so essentially it's like a battered wife syndrome, the more he punishes and beats us the less free will we have and the more we come to depend on the abuser.

that's they twisted slant satan would put on it, sure sounds like he's got your ear.

And in times of crisis if we ignore GOD we will be punished by being sent to HELL!

it sure doesn't help us get into heaven silly.

How on earth can anyone worship a GOD like this, I know criminals who are better than the GOD you describe.  The God most people describe sounds HELLISH to me.  No wonder so many people bargain with the DEVIL.

earth is hell silly.


So what does GOD care about if he doesn't care about children winning baseball games?  What prayers are acceptable too him?  If I pray to get a job to save my house and family from poverty and you also do the same. whose prayer does he answer and why?  Does God care about children not being in poverty?  For prayer to work means God must play favourites.

I didn't put any slant on it, you described GOD in the same vain as a wife beater, GOD punishes someone so they will have little choice but to run to him.

And I don't believe in GOD or Satan, those are your beliefs.  You saying that Satan has a hold on me is the same as a child telling you that Santa Claus isn't going to bring you presents this year.  

You God botherers live in your own little dream world.  It is very comical to watch from a rational outsiders perspective, but it is also kind of sad.

And if earth is Hell, what am I worried about.  I like Earth, so if this is Hell, bring it on.
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Man of Steel

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Re: Is Praying To God Pointless?
« Reply #53 on: May 03, 2013, 08:52:13 PM »
Man of Steel, you are one of the few religious people on here that I respect.  Your tolerance, intellect and open mindedness shine through.  But I also believe you would be this type of person without religion, I know you will probably argue against that.  And in terms of others posting what you call ugliness, I don't think it's just a matter of their is "No Such Thing As Bad Publicity" and that you are able to put a positive spin on it because it draws more people to the message of Christ.  

Opposing views are crucially important, no matter how hateful or spiteful.  Without them people run the risk of closing their minds, this is how propaganda works, propaganda is always one sided.  Take North Korea for example, all their media is state controlled, radio television etc.  They get told what to think, what to believe and what to do from the time they are born.  They have little to no access to alternative information. They literally have no idea that they are brainwashed and that their supreme leader isn't divine and has never performed miracles.  Without opposing information, people become dangerously brainwashed, and when confronted with reality can literally meltdown.  

And so it goes with those who oppose religion, imagine you had an adult friend who still believed in the myth of Santa Claus, not only believed but was convinced of it, and anybody who tried to convince him otherwise was simply dismissed as a sinful santatheist.  Would you gently try and offer him evidence refuting it and relieve him of his delusions or would you simply let him keep his delusion as it seems to make him happy and doesn't harm anyone.  I imagine a lot of people would simply let him be and write him off as crazy.  And so it goes with religion and god, these are similar delusions, but far more harmful in my opinion and this is why people oppose it, because they aren't harmless delusions like Santa, but very dangerous ones.  

By banning so called haters and those who post ugliness you would be doing yourself a dis-service.  Not because you lose the potential for others to see those carrying Christ's message, but because you would lose the chance to sharpen your mind and increase your wisdom.  I personally find the majority of religious thought and belief hateful and ugly, and have learned to tolerate it.  I would never consider removing them as they are the greatest proof we have of how delusional thinking affects people and how dangerous it is.  In your case you are like the happy drunk, your delusions seem to be of some benefit to you and of little harm, unfortunately the majority of religious people aren't like you.

Sorry for the long reply…….meltdown!!!

First off, I don’t mean to define those that disagree with me as “ugliness”.  I used that term based on the context of the previous posts.  I don’t find atheists, agnostics or those of differing faiths to be “ugly”.

I totally agree that opposing views are vitally important in a dialogue and I think both sides of the argument should be evaluated if doubt lingers one way or the other.  If you have confidence in a particular direction based upon an honest evaluation of both sides of the argument then make your choice and live it out.  Although, from a perspective of “religion”, I find that the religious evaluation is purely clinical or textbook in nature and it demands a level of evaluation that goes beyond any attempts to recreate the experience in a laboratory or endeavors to “bottle God in a beaker” or eliminate him via “test tube and centrifuge”.  It requires a genuine sense of spiritual proactivity or at the very least a willingness to “try out God” on his terms.  That’s the crux of the matter and ironically the most fully neglected.    The proof of God’s love, grace, mercy, justice and salvation is within everyone’s grasp any minute of everyday if one truly desires to experience it.  Still, as we all know, we’re all fully capable of reasoning away or providing full justification for dismissing the opportunity.   Of course, this begs the question for nonbeliever (directed at the theist): “Have you evaluated others religions?”  My answer is yes.   Within my own spiritual walk I’ve evaluated Hinduism, Buddhism, Catholicism, Judaism, Christianity and now Islam.  For me it was only Jesus Christ that validated the reality of who is yesterday, today and forever.

You know E, you are correct that before Jesus Christ changed me I wasn’t a bad person or filled with considerable hate towards anyone; although, I certainly wasn’t happy, I was rarely satisfied and I was prone to anxiety attacks and bouts of depression. Ultimately I desired to do the right things, but yet my heart was often filled with greed, envy and lust and my interactions with family, friends and coworkers was lackluster at best.   It was how I processed the stress of day-to-day work and family responsibilities that was so drastically different from today.   Jealousy towards friends and coworkers abounded and I was consumed with material possessions.  I thought nothing about Christ and when I did engage in prayer it was about the trivial and superficial most often…..eventually my prayers stopped altogether.   I’d regularly engage in stupid fighting with my wife and best friends and family (and 90% of the time I’d pick the fight LOL), but I justified it logically……I was right and everyone around me was wrong.  I had an answer for everything even though I really didn’t know squat (bb related).  Then for a period of years I struggled with the feeling of, “Do you really believe all this God crap?”  I certainly wouldn’t have been mistaken for a  Godly person…the words that came out of my mouth, my general temperament and my relationships with others only revealed a jealous, bitter, angry, depressed person.  Then after I got hurt (as you know), that’s when times got really dark…..desperately dark……suicidal tendencies dark.  

Today the man of the past is no more.  The change Jesus Christ made in my life has transformed me through and through.  I’m a genuinely happy person today….I smile and hum (like a goof) virtually everywhere I go…..I literally have a song in my heart now.  The days of darkness are over.  The jealousy and greed that consumed me is a thing of the past now….I yearn for what God has already blessed me with and I thank him daily for his many, many blessings both big and small but equally great!  Today, as a true believer in Christ, the Holy Spirit fills my soul from top to bottom and I want to share Christ with others because my desire for others to know Christ literally overflows from within me.  I don’t wanna ram it down anyone’s throat, but I want to share it with people honestly and respectfully, live out my faith and hope that others recognize Jesus Christ in me each and every day.   My work and family responsibilities are at least equally (if not more) challenging today than they were in the past, but I now process everything differently…..there’s a genuine sense of joy within me.   I don’t really have work stress anymore.   Sure I face challenges and difficult assignments, but they don’t consume me….I just tackle them and 9 times outta 10 I’m pretty successful (wasn’t like that before).  Everything I do now I attempt to do in accordance with the Lord’s will for my life….I pray about that and meditate on that idea privately as well.   Still, I give all praise and glory to God because the change is about him and has nothing to do with me.  Today I can feel the presence of Holy Spirit almost daily…there’s nothing like it.  My personal change was so amazing to me because it literally happened in almost an instant.  When I surrendered to God I literally felt weight lift and the Holy Spirit enveloped me…..it was incredible.  Since that time I’m trying to grow my faith and mature as a believer and I have a long road ahead…..I’ll work towards it for the rest of my life.  

To conclude my post I thought I would share a few CCM/gospel song lyrics that really sum up my journey:

“Changed”:

I came up out of the water
Raise my hands up to the Father
Gave it all to Him that day
Felt a new wind kiss my face
Walked away, eyes wide open
Could finally see where I was goin'
It didn’t matter where I been
I’m not the same man I was then.

I got off track, I made mistakes
Back slid my way into that place where souls get lost
Lines get crossed
And the pain won’t go away
I hit my knees, now here I stand
There I was, now here I am
Here I am
Changed

I got a lot of “hey I’m sorry's”
The things I’ve done, man that was not me
I wish that I could take it all back
I just want to tell 'em that
Tell 'em that

I got off track, I made mistakes
Back slid my way into that place where souls get lost
Lines get crossed
And the pain won’t go away
I hit my knees, now here I stand
There I was, now here I am
Here I am

I’ve changed for the better
More smiles, less bitter
I even started to forgive myself

I hit my knees, I’m here, I stand
There I was, now here I am
Here I am, here I am
I'm changed
Yes, I am
I’m changed for the better

Thank God, I'm changed.

“Through the Fire”:

So many times I've questioned certain circumstances
Things I could not understand
Many times in trials, weakness blurs my vision
Then my frustration gets so out of hand
It's then I am reminded I've never been forsaken
I've never had to stand the test alone
As I look at all the victories the spirit rises up in me
And it's through the fire my weakness is made strong

He never promised that the cross would not get heavy
And the hill would not be hard to climb
He never offered our victories without fighting
But he said help would always come in time
Just remember when you're standing in the valley of decision
And the adversary says give in
Just hold on, our Lord will show up
And he will take you through the fire again

I know within myself that I would surely perish
But if I trust the hand of God, He'll shield the flames again

“Glorious Freedom”:

Once I was bound by sin’s galling fetters,
Chained like a slave, I struggled in vain;
But I received a glorious freedom,
When Jesus broke my fetters in twain.

Glorious freedom, wonderful freedom,
No more in chains of sin I repine!
Jesus the glorious Emancipator,
Now and forever He shall be mine.

Freedom from all the carnal affections,
Freedom from envy, hatred and strife;
Freedom from vain and worldly ambitions,
Freedom from all that saddened my life.

Freedom from pride and all sinful follies,
Freedom from love and glitter of gold;
Freedom from evil, temper, and anger,
Glorious freedom, rapture untold.

Freedom from fear with all of its torments,
Freedom from care with all of its pain;
Freedom in Christ, my blessed Redeemer,
He who has rent my fetters in twain.

Have a good evening!!

avxo

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Re: Is Praying To God Pointless?
« Reply #54 on: May 19, 2013, 11:48:01 AM »
Also, the acknowledgment that we are not in total control (but an all-knowing, all-powerful Being is - Who has our best interests at heart) can also take a lot of pressure off and results in increased peaceful feelings.   And that's no "bologna" ;D

Yes... "acknowledging" that you have no responsibilities and that what you do doesn't matter because someone else, who has your best interests at heart, is in charge and everything will be OK will result in increased peaceful feelings. Of course, so can pretending (that was the word you really meant to use, wasn't it?) to be an billionaire ex-astronaut President who volunteers at the local fire department, maintains 8% year around without gear and lives the life of James Bond.




King Shizzo

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Re: Is Praying To God Pointless?
« Reply #55 on: May 19, 2013, 02:27:23 PM »
Sorry for the long reply…….meltdown!!!

First off, I don’t mean to define those that disagree with me as “ugliness”.  I used that term based on the context of the previous posts.  I don’t find atheists, agnostics or those of differing faiths to be “ugly”.

I totally agree that opposing views are vitally important in a dialogue and I think both sides of the argument should be evaluated if doubt lingers one way or the other.  If you have confidence in a particular direction based upon an honest evaluation of both sides of the argument then make your choice and live it out.  Although, from a perspective of “religion”, I find that the religious evaluation is purely clinical or textbook in nature and it demands a level of evaluation that goes beyond any attempts to recreate the experience in a laboratory or endeavors to “bottle God in a beaker” or eliminate him via “test tube and centrifuge”.  It requires a genuine sense of spiritual proactivity or at the very least a willingness to “try out God” on his terms.  That’s the crux of the matter and ironically the most fully neglected.    The proof of God’s love, grace, mercy, justice and salvation is within everyone’s grasp any minute of everyday if one truly desires to experience it.  Still, as we all know, we’re all fully capable of reasoning away or providing full justification for dismissing the opportunity.   Of course, this begs the question for nonbeliever (directed at the theist): “Have you evaluated others religions?”  My answer is yes.   Within my own spiritual walk I’ve evaluated Hinduism, Buddhism, Catholicism, Judaism, Christianity and now Islam.  For me it was only Jesus Christ that validated the reality of who is yesterday, today and forever.

You know E, you are correct that before Jesus Christ changed me I wasn’t a bad person or filled with considerable hate towards anyone; although, I certainly wasn’t happy, I was rarely satisfied and I was prone to anxiety attacks and bouts of depression. Ultimately I desired to do the right things, but yet my heart was often filled with greed, envy and lust and my interactions with family, friends and coworkers was lackluster at best.   It was how I processed the stress of day-to-day work and family responsibilities that was so drastically different from today.   Jealousy towards friends and coworkers abounded and I was consumed with material possessions.  I thought nothing about Christ and when I did engage in prayer it was about the trivial and superficial most often…..eventually my prayers stopped altogether.   I’d regularly engage in stupid fighting with my wife and best friends and family (and 90% of the time I’d pick the fight LOL), but I justified it logically……I was right and everyone around me was wrong.  I had an answer for everything even though I really didn’t know squat (bb related).  Then for a period of years I struggled with the feeling of, “Do you really believe all this God crap?”  I certainly wouldn’t have been mistaken for a  Godly person…the words that came out of my mouth, my general temperament and my relationships with others only revealed a jealous, bitter, angry, depressed person.  Then after I got hurt (as you know), that’s when times got really dark…..desperately dark……suicidal tendencies dark.  

Today the man of the past is no more.  The change Jesus Christ made in my life has transformed me through and through.  I’m a genuinely happy person today….I smile and hum (like a goof) virtually everywhere I go…..I literally have a song in my heart now.  The days of darkness are over.  The jealousy and greed that consumed me is a thing of the past now….I yearn for what God has already blessed me with and I thank him daily for his many, many blessings both big and small but equally great!  Today, as a true believer in Christ, the Holy Spirit fills my soul from top to bottom and I want to share Christ with others because my desire for others to know Christ literally overflows from within me.  I don’t wanna ram it down anyone’s throat, but I want to share it with people honestly and respectfully, live out my faith and hope that others recognize Jesus Christ in me each and every day.   My work and family responsibilities are at least equally (if not more) challenging today than they were in the past, but I now process everything differently…..there’s a genuine sense of joy within me.   I don’t really have work stress anymore.   Sure I face challenges and difficult assignments, but they don’t consume me….I just tackle them and 9 times outta 10 I’m pretty successful (wasn’t like that before).  Everything I do now I attempt to do in accordance with the Lord’s will for my life….I pray about that and meditate on that idea privately as well.   Still, I give all praise and glory to God because the change is about him and has nothing to do with me.  Today I can feel the presence of Holy Spirit almost daily…there’s nothing like it.  My personal change was so amazing to me because it literally happened in almost an instant.  When I surrendered to God I literally felt weight lift and the Holy Spirit enveloped me…..it was incredible.  Since that time I’m trying to grow my faith and mature as a believer and I have a long road ahead…..I’ll work towards it for the rest of my life.  

To conclude my post I thought I would share a few CCM/gospel song lyrics that really sum up my journey:

“Changed”:

I came up out of the water
Raise my hands up to the Father
Gave it all to Him that day
Felt a new wind kiss my face
Walked away, eyes wide open
Could finally see where I was goin'
It didn’t matter where I been
I’m not the same man I was then.

I got off track, I made mistakes
Back slid my way into that place where souls get lost
Lines get crossed
And the pain won’t go away
I hit my knees, now here I stand
There I was, now here I am
Here I am
Changed

I got a lot of “hey I’m sorry's”
The things I’ve done, man that was not me
I wish that I could take it all back
I just want to tell 'em that
Tell 'em that

I got off track, I made mistakes
Back slid my way into that place where souls get lost
Lines get crossed
And the pain won’t go away
I hit my knees, now here I stand
There I was, now here I am
Here I am

I’ve changed for the better
More smiles, less bitter
I even started to forgive myself

I hit my knees, I’m here, I stand
There I was, now here I am
Here I am, here I am
I'm changed
Yes, I am
I’m changed for the better

Thank God, I'm changed.

“Through the Fire”:

So many times I've questioned certain circumstances
Things I could not understand
Many times in trials, weakness blurs my vision
Then my frustration gets so out of hand
It's then I am reminded I've never been forsaken
I've never had to stand the test alone
As I look at all the victories the spirit rises up in me
And it's through the fire my weakness is made strong

He never promised that the cross would not get heavy
And the hill would not be hard to climb
He never offered our victories without fighting
But he said help would always come in time
Just remember when you're standing in the valley of decision
And the adversary says give in
Just hold on, our Lord will show up
And he will take you through the fire again

I know within myself that I would surely perish
But if I trust the hand of God, He'll shield the flames again

“Glorious Freedom”:

Once I was bound by sin’s galling fetters,
Chained like a slave, I struggled in vain;
But I received a glorious freedom,
When Jesus broke my fetters in twain.

Glorious freedom, wonderful freedom,
No more in chains of sin I repine!
Jesus the glorious Emancipator,
Now and forever He shall be mine.

Freedom from all the carnal affections,
Freedom from envy, hatred and strife;
Freedom from vain and worldly ambitions,
Freedom from all that saddened my life.

Freedom from pride and all sinful follies,
Freedom from love and glitter of gold;
Freedom from evil, temper, and anger,
Glorious freedom, rapture untold.

Freedom from fear with all of its torments,
Freedom from care with all of its pain;
Freedom in Christ, my blessed Redeemer,
He who has rent my fetters in twain.

Have a good evening!!
Meltdown of the year candidate.

Man of Steel

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Re: Is Praying To God Pointless?
« Reply #56 on: May 20, 2013, 11:55:42 AM »
Meltdown of the year candidate.

LOL....exactly!

Butterbean

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Re: Is Praying To God Pointless?
« Reply #57 on: May 27, 2013, 08:52:04 AM »
pretending (that was the word you really meant to use, wasn't it?)


No


an billionaire ex-astronaut President who volunteers at the local fire department, maintains 8% year around without gear and lives the life of James Bond.



You know Bill Brasky?

R

avxo

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Re: Is Praying To God Pointless?
« Reply #58 on: May 27, 2013, 09:12:56 AM »
No

Funny... that word would have made a lot more sense.

Praying is another of those vestigial "organs" that we will end up shedding. As if reciting words out into nothingness could alter nature or change facts... "Please God" won't change a diagnosis. It won't bring back a dead loved one. It won't do anything at all.

What's even funnier is that praying is, by and large, useless even if there is a deity listening. Do you reallybelieve that the Christian God, assuming argue do that he exists, is likely to grant a prayer that goes against his "plan" because he gets so touched and moved by the prayer itself? The answer, of course, is no. So praying serves what purpose? Either what you ask for was going to be granted prayer or no prayer, or it won't, prayer or no prayer. So what use is prayer?

As I said, if it makes you feel better to pray, good for you. I don't presume to tell others what to do and what not to do. But I can judge them based on their actions.

King Shizzo

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Re: Is Praying To God Pointless?
« Reply #59 on: May 27, 2013, 09:16:18 AM »
God does not save you from a potential, horrible death. Prayers are meant to ease your nightly sleep.  God has 6 billion friends on Facebook. He will not respond.

Butterbean

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Re: Is Praying To God Pointless?
« Reply #60 on: May 27, 2013, 09:22:14 AM »


As I said, if it makes you feel better to pray, good for you.

Thanks avxo!
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avxo

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Re: Is Praying To God Pointless?
« Reply #61 on: May 27, 2013, 09:32:58 AM »

King Shizzo

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Re: Is Praying To God Pointless?
« Reply #62 on: May 27, 2013, 09:36:30 AM »

Agnostic007

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Re: Is Praying To God Pointless?
« Reply #63 on: May 27, 2013, 09:41:29 AM »
I'm from Oklahoma. It is going through a drought and some friends on facebook were posting scripture and praying for rain. The rain came along with an EF-5 tornado that devestated the town of Moore. Then the prayers changed to "Pray for the victims" etc etc. I was listening to a radio interview of some residents and one of them said "I prayed god would save our home, and when that didn't happen I just prayed he will see us through this".. and I was struck by how the person was so blindly faithful when they don't realize what they are saying.. 1st, if God ignored your prayer to save your house, why do you think he will listen to your next one?

How many people were praying that the tornado wouldn't hit? How hard would it be for a god to keep the tornado in the fields where there is no population? Then that leads down the path of "Why would a god create a world that has tornados, earthquakes and hurricanes?

Anyhow, ...couple of weeks ago it rained for a few hours and FB was full of people thanking the lord.. I notice it is noticeably empty of anyone holding him accountable for the tornado destruction..    

avxo

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Re: Is Praying To God Pointless?
« Reply #64 on: May 27, 2013, 11:17:34 AM »
Pussy.

I have no problem if Butterbean chooses to pray. If he feels that constitutes a "blessing" of sorts, then more power to him. What would constitute a non-pussy reaction in your opinion?

King Shizzo

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Re: Is Praying To God Pointless?
« Reply #65 on: May 27, 2013, 01:40:13 PM »
I have no problem if Butterbean chooses to pray. If he feels that constitutes a "blessing" of sorts, then more power to him. What would constitute a non-pussy reaction in your opinion?
You dont take compliments on getbig.  8) Butterbean is also a woman.

BikiniSlut

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Re: Is Praying To God Pointless?
« Reply #66 on: May 27, 2013, 06:53:23 PM »
I have stopped praying. It has done nothing to ease my pain, and although that may be a selfish reason to pray, it is a reason nonetheless.  :'(

Butterbean

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Re: Is Praying To God Pointless?
« Reply #67 on: May 29, 2013, 07:11:29 AM »
I have no problem if Butterbean chooses to pray. If he feels that constitutes a "blessing" of sorts, then more power to him. What would constitute a non-pussy reaction in your opinion?

I think shizzo was trying to be funny.  Sometimes he succeeds!  This time, not so much lol sorry shizzo  ;D


LOL....exactly!
Best meltdown I've ever read :)




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anabolichalo

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Re: Is Praying To God Pointless?
« Reply #68 on: May 29, 2013, 07:12:56 AM »
some of the most miserable people in the world pray every day


Butterbean

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Re: Is Praying To God Pointless?
« Reply #69 on: May 29, 2013, 07:39:45 AM »
I have stopped praying. It has done nothing to ease my pain, and although that may be a selfish reason to pray, it is a reason nonetheless.  :'(

BS, you may be interested in checking out a small book of devotions by Sarah Young, "Jesus Calling."  It may be harder to you receive some of the devotions since you (I think) are not a believer in Christ as Savior, but here is a sample in case you want to check it out:

May 25

"The world is too much with you, My child.  Your mind leaps from problem to problem to problem, tangling your thoughts in anxious knots.  When you think like that, you leave Me out of your world-view and your mind becomes darkened.  Though I yearn to help, I will not violate your freedom.  I stand silently in the background of your mind, waiting for you to remember that I am with you.

When you turn from your problems to My Presence, your load is immediately lighter.  Circumstances may not have changed, but we carry your burdens together.  Your compulsion to "fix" everything gives way to deep, satisfying connection w/Me.  Together we can handle whatever this day brings."

She also includes scripture at the end of each devotion that you could look up if you choose to do so.
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Man of Steel

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Re: Is Praying To God Pointless?
« Reply #70 on: May 29, 2013, 07:51:24 AM »

Radical Plato

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Re: Is Praying To God Pointless?
« Reply #71 on: May 29, 2013, 07:58:18 AM »
It may be harder to you receive some of the devotions since you (I think) are not a believer in Christ as Savior,
Don't you see this suggestion right here as proof that any benefit someone derives from prayer is psychosomatic.  I don't have to believe in aspirin or penicillin for it too work.  If something is effective, it works whether you believe in it or not.
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Butterbean

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Re: Is Praying To God Pointless?
« Reply #72 on: May 29, 2013, 08:11:46 AM »
Don't you see this suggestion right here as proof that any benefit someone derives from prayer is psychosomatic.  I don't have to believe in aspirin or penicillin for it too work.  If something is effective, it works whether you believe in it or not.

That devotion is more about not focusing on your troubles and focusing on Jesus.  But I can see you might relate that as well to being somewhat psychosomatic as in the context of focusing on a cupcake instead of a spider helps you think more about what is pleasant than not....hope that's not too G-Thang confusing. ;D

But to a Christian who has appreciation and love and awe for Jesus Christ, that devotion is probably going to be received differently than to someone who doesn't "know" Him/feel changed/saved by Him.
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Man of Steel

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Re: Is Praying To God Pointless?
« Reply #73 on: May 29, 2013, 10:02:13 AM »
If something is effective, it works whether you believe in it or not.

Exactly, whether or not you believe in God he is still at work and is completely effective, but the term "psychomatic" lends itself to a condition of mental illness and/or the inability to fully utilize your faculties appropriately.   The efficacy of God and prayer being reduced to a mere medical diagnosis is simply another form of convenient escapism.

For those that desire to claim him as savior the revelation will become personal and even tangible per the Holy Spirit.  That's why I mentioned the notion of two-way communication in a successful relationship in my earlier posts.   We communicate with the Lord via prayer and he often responds via his Holy Spirit that indwells his body of believers.   Of course this idea seems fantastic to unbelievers.....it is!!

Still, on occassion he sometimes reveals himself to those that haven't sought him out....this is a rare circumstance though (at least from my knowledge).

Man of Steel

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Re: Is Praying To God Pointless?
« Reply #74 on: May 29, 2013, 10:03:00 AM »
BS, you may be interested in checking out a small book of devotions by Sarah Young, "Jesus Calling."  It may be harder to you receive some of the devotions since you (I think) are not a believer in Christ as Savior, but here is a sample in case you want to check it out:

May 25

"The world is too much with you, My child.  Your mind leaps from problem to problem to problem, tangling your thoughts in anxious knots.  When you think like that, you leave Me out of your world-view and your mind becomes darkened.  Though I yearn to help, I will not violate your freedom.  I stand silently in the background of your mind, waiting for you to remember that I am with you.

When you turn from your problems to My Presence, your load is immediately lighter.  Circumstances may not have changed, but we carry your burdens together.  Your compulsion to "fix" everything gives way to deep, satisfying connection w/Me.  Together we can handle whatever this day brings."

She also includes scripture at the end of each devotion that you could look up if you choose to do so.

I like that a lot.