Prayer is useless?

[Kim]

so let me drink lots of beer in the meantime

There's many good reasons for drinking,
And one just entered my head!
If a man cannot drink while he's living,
How the heck can he drink when he's dead?

 

[Rick Murchison]

a system of belief wherein a supernatural God created the world and has an afterlife waiting for us.
there are some harsh realities in the universe. one of them is that biological
things die and rot.

In 1968 I was run over by a drunk and killed. And then sent back. While "out-of-body" I was given a glimpse of truth; knowledge beyond time and description. The best way I can state my conclusions from the experience is from Heinlein, and goes something like this:
"The second most preposterous idea ever dreamed up by man is that there is an all powerful creator of the universe who cares for it and all its beings. The most preposterous idea is that there isn't."
Rick

 

[H2Andy]

i am glad you came back and i got to get to know you

i have had a somewhat similar experience, but mine led me elsewhere

 

[Supernal]

I agree with you in that, but I don't agree that the only alternative to meaningless existance is the Judeo-Christian god. I personally believe in a meaningful and ordered universe, but not in a deity per-se. If there is a creator, or "higher power", I'm not convinced that it is self-aware, and I therefore do not concern myself with its worship. I do believe that prayer can be powerful, as can any ritual or magic in which deep belief is held, but I think that that the fundamental nature of that power is psychological reenforcement. I do not believe that praying for someone who is unaware of the prayer would have any effect on the person prayed for, although it could be transformative for the person praying.

I believe that my life is a kind of energy and that it, like the matter my body is composed of, can neither be created nor destroyed but may change forms. What matters to me is making the most of this form while it lasts, not striving for reward to be received when I am in a form that may or may not exist in the future.

My beliefs, of course, are my own. I'm happy that you are likewise secure in the beliefs you hold.

Thank you, I couldn't have said it better myself!

 

[Rick Murchison]

My father was an MD. He used to tell me that he had seen healings that defied all medical and physiological logic - miracles. He also said that he'd seen folks give up and die when there was no real reason for it. He firmly believed in the power of prayer to assist in strengthening a patient's will to live, and sometimes to be part of a miraculous cure. He said "Always pray. It can't hurt."
I'll relate two of my own fairly recent experiences with prayer...
Several years ago I was driving to an early morning meeting, and while driving I was doing a sort of self-evaluation of my "walk," sort of half praying for guidance, half thinking about my "progress." As I contemplated my recent behavior I was feeling pretty pleased - I hadn't yelled at anyone lately, hadn't flipped any other drivers off, hadn't been mean or nasty or cruel, passing up many opportunities to insert little barbs here and there... "yep," I thought to myself, "you're doin' pretty good." The instant that thought had formed in my little pea brain, God "spoke" to me - He said "You ain't the Judge."
Two and a half years ago a dear friend collapsed at work. She was rushed to the hospital where she was diagnosed with a brain tumor, a bad one. The normal survival time from this type tumor is short, even with treatment. Surgery is not an option. I prayed, we prayed for her, and we asked for a miracle healing. During one prayer I had a clear "vision" in my thoughts. I could "see" the tumor shrivelling up into a little black lump and going dormant. I could see it clearly. I told only my wife about the vision. Long story short, where the initial prognosis was "six months max," she was soon back to work, and is now back to diving, and the tumor... well, a year after my "vision" the tumor had become just a small little lump of a lesion that isn't growing any more. I'll bet it's black.
Prayer may not be able to change God's plans - there may be no "cause and effect" per se. But I believe prayer can help give us strength and understanding, and peace.
"Always pray. It can't hurt."
Rick

 

[nauifins73]

I have not read each post - but isn't there something in the TOS about discussing religion? If is does not fall into that catagory what does?

 

[ScubaTexan]

I have not read each post - but isn't there something in the TOS about discussing religion? If is does not fall into that catagory what does?

nope, religious discussions are fine as long as no personal attacks are made,
etc. etc.

the only outright banned subjects are politics, race/nationalities, and sexuality, which through past experience created more disharmony than they were worth
(for some reason, people seem to discuss religion with a lot more
civility).

check out the TOS for the full deal:

http://www.scubaboard.com/faq.php?fa...scubaboard_tos

Looks pretty self-explanitory to me.

 

[00scuba]

To the religious......

if you are told you have a limited time to live.....and have a disease where there is no known help...what do you do?

anyone...chime in. I don't want to limit this

 

[almitywife]

To the religious......

if you are told you have a limited time to live.....and have a disease where there is no known help...what do you do?

anyone...chime in. I don't want to limit this

do everything i can to make sure my hubby is ok and will be ok when im gone - im in tears just at the thought of it as i dont want him suffering by my dying

 

[00scuba]

do everything i can to make sure my hubby is ok and will be ok when im gone - im in tears just at the thought of it as i dont want him suffering by my dying

i understand....