If God was going to pack the Supreme Court Then we would be judged by the TEN Commandments,just like we will when we pass into the After Life.
as a Christian, i would beg to differ! if i'm judged by the ten commandments, i'm screwed. that whole atonement thing is really convenient for me!
That's a great post, Max. But I think people might misunderstand your point as to say that the primary purpose of prayers is psycho-therapeutic. I think prayers are just talking to God. When you talk to a person very close to you, sometimes you try to "work your emotions." Sometimes you just want to talk. Sometimes you do ask that person to do something you want. And I believe God does grant us the privilege to ask him to do things we want.
Easy -- perhaps they are psycho-therapeutic, though. if God wired us all together, maybe there's something to that...closer to Him is healthier...something to that effect. just thinking out loud here, really. sort of like the natural consequence of sin being judgment in and of itself...neglect your family...drink your money away...and then live with regret (or something like that...just an example)...you don't need a heaven-sent bolt of lightning..you've pissed your life away...and the shame and regret is a natural punishment. make any sense at all?
It is ridiculus to ask "god" for anything. "God" is everything. If you trust that God cares for you, why would you need to ask for anything? I find it better just to listen. The ultimate reality that we call "God" is not a cosmic vending machine (i dig that expression). Many people pray to "god" because they want "god" to fulfill some of their needs. If they want to have a picnic, they may ask "god" for a clear, sunny day. At the same time, farmers who need more rain might pray for the opposite. If the weather is clear, the picnickers may say, "god is on our side; he answered our prayers." But if it rains, the farmers will say that god heard their prayers. In the end god is the rain and the no rain.
thanks for insulting the faiths of about 90% of the world. have you considered the possiblity others...like most others...don't have the same concept of "god" you have? just wondering.
great...tell you what...i won't say you're ridiculous for thinking god is everything...and you don't say i'm ridiculous for taking prayers to God. deal?
MadMax...just for the purposes of preventing each of us from getting the cerebral version of prostate cancer... It is not formulaic to suggest that God was not responsive to David's self-centred prayers and/or actions. Look at his prayers before Saul and Jonathon bought it...or, if you consider God omnipotent, the fact that the husband of David's target bit the dust shortly after being sent to the front, coupled with the fact that God seemed much more willing to forgive that major transaction from among his chosen than much lesser trangressions from among gentiles suggest a certain hierarchy of religious access.
macbeth -- i think you're reading into my posts way too much. i didn't say God completely ignored David's prayers...or that he didn't positively answer some of them. my point is merely that prayer can be a means by which God works me through "poisonous" feelings. i don't even know what formulaic means in that context. really what i'm getting to are the psalms around 50-59 or so (without looking) where David calls for judgment on his enemies. but we could look at Habbakuk as well...he gets really frustrated with God because God won't come down and smite all the wrongdoers...he prays for it...he asks God for it...but it doesn't happen.
so you say. here's the words of my Lord on that: "give us this day our daily bread..." "forgive us" "lead us not into temptation" and here's Paul: Philippians 4:6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. so you say it's counter-productive...the book I believe to be divinely inspired says otherwise. looks like, at the very least, your opinions on the matter aren't entirely dispositive.
The Bible says it in a fairly bald-faced manner in Romans 8:28: "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose." He looks out for believers; he doesn't necessarily do many kind things for the heathen.
Ah, I probably am at fault here...may have jumped the gun out of a sheer desire to kick the can around a little bit. No real debates going on right now, and I'm in the mood.....er...for debates....not that other thing....
If there were a God, wouldn't 'his' motives, reasoning, etc. be beyond human charecteristics, and as such wouldn't pop psych analysis of a behavioural correlation between God's actions and charecterisitcs be a real stretch? I know that you were dismissing the definition of God by virtue of his supposed actions, but isn't that antithetical?
You have a very interesting and in my opinion wrong (pardon the harshness) interpretation of this Bible verse. First you need to do an exegesis on the Hebrew that says this, and then you need to analyze the quote. Vatican II article Lumen Gentium states about religion that there are those baptised by desire are in accordance with the church and with God's will. Now if you look at what that means, to have a desire for the truth for the good, for love, is in a way to be living in accord with God's purpose. To an extent most people do this or at least try to do this. However, we are all heathens in the sense that we should always be perfecting ourselves and understanding this truth more fully, so I think your classification of one and the other is incorrect. An atheist who believes in love, believes in justice and truth, in a way is loving God, even if they are not putting it in those terms. That is why I think GreenVegan's quote was so on point, because they do construe the religion to turn in it into something of exclusion rather than inclusion. Its really sad, and those who have their heads screwed on right should remember to pray for those who misuse Christianity. Ok, I need to get off this box of soap.
It makes sense. I wasn't disputing the therapeutic effect of prayers. I was just trying to point out that prayers can be also simply asking God for some favor. Many people, Christians and non-Christians, think that since God is so perfect, it's close to insulting him to ask him for anything we want. Even without the biblical concept of prayers, I don't see why a perfect God would not grant creatures the privilege to ask him for something.
