Don't think so small Kt.....just remember, some day somebody you love more then life itself will be in need or in bad shape hanging on to the edge of life....at that moment, it won't be special forces you pray for when you drop to your knees.
hating prayer is a psychological problem. If you are a true atheist ( and there really aren't very many ) then you just shrug off prayer as a superstition of others.
You're right. I'll be trying to get someone there who can actually help. Just remember, all the people in the world praying simultaneously can't accomplish the work of one good trauma surgeon in a well equipped level I ER. A loved one is dying and I need to choose between help from God or a trauma surgeon? You make your choices....I'll make mine.
I think you make an interesting point here. My devoutly religious grandmother's dying words were <i>Thank You</i>. My atheist grandfather's dying words were <i>Oh Shit</i>. PTR
Funny but true....i was hanging on the edge of atheism myself years ago when a stabbing changed my attitude...didn't find myself saying...."this is just another stage and my life is going to end and my time is at and end".........I was vowing to go to church, be nice, make a difference and give 50 % of all i ever made to charity.......it's been 15 years and to this day I still go to church every week and give 5 % of what i make
Go to your local Jail house....you will see 1000's of new believers in God..Ones that never gave him a second thought are now praying and giving their life to Him...peace...
This should be really offensive: The most recent examples all have one common theme: desperation. When absolutely powerless and desperate, people are most likely to turn to God. Makes sense. What the fuck, right? Hey I got nothin' to lose - why not give this God idea a try? I certainly cannot argue with any of this - in fact, I know I have heard this argument against atheism: If you are an atheist, and correct, you die and disintegrate. If you are wrong you go to hell. If you are a believer, and correct, you may go to heaven. If you are wrong, you die and disintegrate. I wrote this post facing Meccah, under a Bo tree, singing the Gospel, while undergoing that oh so precarious act of circumcision. Just a little off the top Rabbi.
Now here's a good topic. What the hell is the purpose of circumcision?! For all you ladies dying to know, I'm circumcised...and I don't even know why. If it was done for religious purposes, I'm almost ashamed. :-/ FRuiTY p.s. Yes, ladies, I know how to use it.
This is a whopper. No offense Jem, but the new creationist attack disguises itself now as "Science". THis argument, intenionally or not, you are supporting. They say biological systems are so complex it could only arise by design. The creationists cannot, I beleive, mount any evidence however in any scientific manner. Nor it seems can they refute the central theses of evolution or dismantle the weight of the evidence for evolution. Thier argument still relies on faith. (Again, I am not saying that you are injecting creationism here but your argument smacks of the new creationist sophistry.) If it is wondrous and so difficult to explain, something more mysterious and inexplicable must be responsible for it. God. Again, you are back to faith. After all, he (or she) works in mysterious ways. Is there is a place for a creator and evolution? Could a creator have set the universe in motion with a set of laws and sat back to allows its passage in time? I like the argument from an anthropologist (and athiest). Religion developed as a cohering macro-tribal force. I hope I don't roast at the gates of hell for saying that.