The Moderator for the Annual Conference is selected new each year, and during the year before he or she presides over or moderates the Conference, visits congregations around the country. This last year's moderator had pastored my church many years ago, and he had a weekend visit with us. He said he appreciated hearing people's interests and concerns, but didn't much care for the "I'll be praying for you, Brother." He said, "Pray for yourself! I'm okay."

I thought that was a good response.

This was someone I hadn't heard from in 3 weeks, and thought I never would, again.

I'd tell her to shove her prayers up her ass.

I would be concerned about that. I hate all the smug braggarts gloating like this victory is something wonderful. The majority of those that voted for him were played for suckers. They aren't going to benefit from him. That ugly religious slant of theirs is not helpful.

And they use it to condemn anyone whose beliefs, on anything, are different from theirs. But then people have been doing this for as long as there have been people and religions.

They are such hypocrites. The talking about family values and yet Trump, Giuliani and Gingrich have all cheated on their wives. So I guess the family values bit is selective. I know that they aspire to go back to 1950 but we can't go backwards. Thank God. See what I did there?

In a perfect world, we could give them their own country, and watch from the sidelines as they slowly start judging and then turning on each other. It would be like 'Lord of the Flies' on steroids.

if you tell someone you have a critical illness or injury, and they say they will pray for you, that's sincere belief they can have God help you.

but if you are arguing about Trump... that's an FU lol

They say that deliberately to make you angry and upset you. I used to hear that from time to time when I lived in Texas. They know you can't really protest that without sounding intolerant and petty, even when you know damn well they're saying it to provoke you. Besides, even if they're telling the truth and actually do pray for you, they're probably praying for God to unleash some wrath on you, because, you know, you deserve it for not being good Christians like they are. I would just pretend to believe they are being sincere, smile big and thank them profusely for their kindness. That confuses the hell out of them.

You can out-fuck you each other.

They become befuddled. Actually, it is kind of amusing to watch that whole slack-jaw thing slide across their faces.

She just comes across as one of those old timey holy rolling down the aisles anti-papists.

to find out if she is worthy of having her pu**y grabbed by her new god.

Tikki

"You pray for me, I'll think for you"

That's what I do when somebody says they'll pray for me.

where Jesus talked about not judging people............

She may very well have been praying for me to fall off of a cliff. She was pretty vile, earlier. Now she's migrated into being ultra sanctimonious.

Great Great Grandma, who lived in the Cumberland Mountains, was actually a healer/herbalist but there were those who attributed other powers to her. And who knows...... The family doesn't really like to talk about her.

Maybe I should do some deep meditation and see if I can activate some of that Atavistinc DNA.

What horseshit.

While I try to be respectful of other beliefs, this is just the most outstanding example of superstition at its finest.

I'm kind of reminded of some old story about some Christian being offended at an atheist not believing in God. So the atheist says, "Do you believe in Zeus?"

No, says the Christian.

Okay, that's one God you don't believe in, says the Christian. How about Osiris?

Well, of course not.

Okay, so that's two.

And the atheist continues, asking about several more Gods, and then finally says, "Okay then, I only not believe in more more God than you don't believe in."

Sadly, most Christians really will not get the point of that little story.

I think that's really what prayer is. Much like chicken soup, it can't hurt, if offered in the right spirit. But when someone who has such obvious disdain for me says they are offering prayers, I interpret that as casting curses.

I claim no knowledge about the powers that might be out there or authority over anyone's right to believe or disbelieve, as they wish. I do try to not offend anyone, as long as they don't turn their beliefs on me and others.

And I totally get the point of your story, and would love to use it, when the occasion presents.

Despite the grumpiness I asserted above, I do try to keep in mind that when a personal friend who is a sincere believer says she'll pray for me, she only means well. I try not to be rude to them.

I happen to have my own spiritual beliefs that are quite out of the mainstream, and while I believe those things quite fervently, and I often interpret the world and what is happening all around me to that take of things, I don't find I need to inform others about what I think.

That said, if some Trumpista were to say he or she is praying for me, I might say I'm praying for Trump's early death. There were, after all, "Christian" ministers who prayed for ill to happen to Obama.

I come from a family of hard core Catholics and Baptists. When I started evolving into my own form of spirituality, I had to keep it to myself, for fear of what I'd be dealing with from some pretty judgmental people.

And what I tell trumpsters is, I hope that they, and Trump, get absolutely everything they deserve. They don't usually understand the true message behind what I've said.

I have quoted the Sermon on the Mt. many times to my religious friends.

Please don't pray for me, pray as Jesus says to. Lock yourself in a closet and lock the door because if you pray in silence your prayers will be answered in silence. Then do not pray for me or anyone else. Only pray for God's will be done. You can not possibly know what God's will is if you do not know what Jesus says.

That 98% of prayers are deflected by orbiting satellites and never reach their destination, according to an investigative report by well respected journalists at The Onion.

Friday, Nov 18, 2016 03:32 PM CST
“Dick Cheney. Darth Vader. Satan. That’s power”: Steve Bannon speaks out for first time since being named Donald Trump’s top White House adviser
http://www.salon.com/2016/11/18/dick-cheney-darth-vader-satan-that-is-power-steve-bannon-speaks-out-for-first-time-since-being-named-donald-trumps-top-white-house-adviser/

Show her this and ask her why she put an admirer of Satan and darkness into the white house.

I am absolutely going to copy that link and share it.

A nazi lover of darkness and Satan is Resident Trump's senior adviser.

I think she got upset that I posted The H and I'm with her the morning of the election. My husband has early stage kidney cancer and when I posted on Monday that he's having surgery(he has kidney disease as well and you have to be cancer free for 5 years to get on the transplant list.) She totally ignored my post but wished his other cousin a happy wedding anniversary