rev. dobson PROVES the pointlessness of prayer

james dobson, that paragon of born again republican faith, prayed for a hurricane to destroy the Democratic convention. He prayed and prayed all night, and his followers prayed too, by the thousands, long into the night only to have their prayers fall on deaf divine ears. Now the Deity that they pray to has not only ignored their petitions, but has threatened the GOP convention instead, crippling the line up and causing conservative consternation.

I don't believe in prayer, I've tried it, many times, and it's never worked, so I gave it up. People pray for the silliest things, like ponies, bicycles, healing, hurricanes, prayers for peace, prayers for war, prayers for money, prayers against enemies, etc. My mother prays for me all the time, and always reminds me of it, and my continuing existence seems to validate her prayers. Lately she prays that I will convert to Christianity and join her and the rest of my family in eternal jubilation in heaven, and she prays that I will not go to hell forever because I am so very wicked.

I see prayer as a monumental waste of time, and something akin to mental masturbation, but if it makes others feel good, I have no problem with it. Praying for your enemies to become enlightened is one thing to pray for, and praying for them to all die and go to hell is another, and neither works. Pray in one hand, and spit in the other, and see which one fills up fastest.

I remember a few years back, pat robertson attempted to pray away a hurricane, then a few years later he blamed the people of New Orleans for being too wicked, and delighted in their sufferings, blaming the wind and rain on homosexuals and heathens. Guys like dobson and robertson and fallwell are always praying, praying big, and loud and public, praying for this, and that, and petitioning the Lord with various things. But they have only proven the utter pointlessness of prayer, and they've exposed themselves as hucksters, selling poisonous potions to the suckers, and raking in the billions.

Always be careful what you pray to God for mr. dobson, cause it may turn around with the winds and bite you on your sanctimonious, greedy, perverted, hypocritical ass.

Your milege may vary :P

Of course, I never play with my own money, so when I walk away, it's always with the casino's money :)

It is "bad form" to pray for a boon for oneself.

Prayers are always answered, the answer is usually "no".

I gave up on religion. However, I have always remembered that quote.
God does answer all prayers and the answer may be no.

A believer friend of mine went to a casino in Vegas and he was disgusted by all the people who were "bargaining" with God for a slot machine payout. That's the way he saw it. I am not sure if the word is bargaining. If 80% to 90% of Americans are "believers", then I am sure that at least some of them were trying to communicate with their great holy father."

used to say...This is God, this is Santa Claus.

the poor diluted creatures...

administered an alternative therapy & regimen health survey: massage/aroma therapy, centering practices, etc, others too. in it were several modules addressing prayer: did the respondent pray, did they believe in prayer before they started praying, believe afterward any change and so on, in what context; individually, prayer wheels prayer circle and such, did they pray for themselves or others, the effects of prayer if any, and reliefs...cures, although some did report as such; few reported noticeable flat-out benefits from prayer such as the dissolving away of dire traditional western medical maladies; but many reported they felt no harm was done and that they felt prayer was valuable as a means to focus and, if you will, bring down centering, calming *and* even healing energies.

there's a little book about the children of Fatima called Our Lady Of Light, in it the author under the auspices of The Holy See, documents the circumstances surrounding the children, the problems they experienced from the ordeal, their fates, ect...

Lucy ended up a nun and was visited often by Pope John Paul she having said to receive foreknowledge of the end times (spooky Catholic stuff :scared:), so she lived to be an old girl. but as a child she alluded to some of what they referred to as The Lady had conveyed to them. one important message seemed to run counter to the little girl in your pic above, in that prayer is, again, according to this visitation; prayer is keyed on sincerity. the apparition went on the make distinctions: most prayers not being heard let alone answered because of the silly nature of the requests of people seeking to enrich their lives through prayer...stuff like that

occidental based prayer seems as subject to such things as oriental based prayer; or the writing little wishes and such on slips of paper, dropping them into a prayer wheel and spinning it so they fly out into the world...sure why not,

with respect to your mr. dobson however, the robertson's, hinn's, and that crazy dude who's name escapes me; i would think their essential 'just me oh lord messing with the world' prayers to be so insincere at their core they wouldn't be able to pray for clean smelling breath and have it delivered Scope or no Scope

think he/she/it would...

Dobson's folks prayed for rain for Denver, God objected to that line of requests, and knocked out the Republican Convention to an extent utilizing rain. Now the decision tree shows: is this bad for republicans, or good? Since God acts and man 'spins', then you know that much lemonade will be made from these lemons. One can only imagine what would have happened if it had actually rained in Denver..."Wrath of God stuff" as they said in Ghostbusters.

As George Carling stated however, one thing God always seems to need is money...always short on dough. Shame.

"I beg your indulgence."

Didn't he used to brew "Black Label" beer?
:toast:

Prayer is for working on one's own self. It is for affirming those aspects of character that one wishes to enhance, and to change those aspects one wishes to diminish. It is an opportunity to reflect upon one's own actions and to forgive one's own self for those things that cannot be changed.

you have to be righteous for God to hear your prayers or on the path to righteousness . all i know is you have to have a personal relationship with God. that isn't as high-falutin' as it sounds. when i was 20 i took some lsd. it was the second time i had taken it. it was still legal and was sandoz acid. i was going through all these paranoid thoughts about the devil and very scared. i remembered something i'd heard earlier in my life hat if you called on Jesus you could be saved. i did that then and shortly there was a sense of peace that came over me & the rest of that "trip" was spent in meditation. after that the experiences i had in san francisco changed my life. i was able to see how the lives of people were affected by their character. there was a humble lady that made earrings to sell for a living & shared with all . there was a band of "gypsies" who just crashed anywhere & took advantage of people. i had to make up my mind who i wanted to be like. the more i chose the "righteous ways the "higher" i got. when i drifted away from the things i'd learned i lost my "high" i can remember praying & praying to no avail. once i finally started walking according to the way of my heart again , my prayers became more effective. please don't diss prayer because some people don't know use it properly. prayer isn't to be used to hurt others. it's purpose to to unify you with your God and for you to relinquish any form of "control" your mind sets for you. just the fact of being a reference point of the universe makes each person think that "we"(i) know what is right for the world. sometimes we don't. in the Bible it says that if we do as Jesus asks the He will gives us our hearts desire. i do believe that & trust that it is true.O8) O8) :bounce: :hi: :pals: :woohoo: :patriot: :patriot: :patriot:

God, the lifeforce, the creative force... whatever "higher power" or powers you believe in.

It's a practice for getting in touch with the feeling that everything is as it should be, and that your place in it is perfect, whatever your circumstances. It takes a lot of practice to reach this state of mind, which I understand is the greatest feeling there is.

Prayer is not a fucking vending machine, as so many people seem to think it is.

Nobody really prays for their leg to grow back... or for a dead relative to return from the grave.

Be careful what you wish for because it is likely to happen, but not in the way you want it!

You expressed my thinking to a tee, although when I want some power to help me do something, I ask for help, just in case there is something beyond me, and it does seem to work, but it just might be that I am resigned to the fact, that I could fail. Mrs. Moosedog

As were all Christians. They claim to follow the teachings of Jesus, but they ignore his orders in regard to prayer. He very clearly said that public prayer is nothing but a show put on for other people, Jesus said that God does not even hear public prayer at all. He said that when one prays one should be in private, always, and the famous 'Lord's Prayer' is a template for that private prayer.
So, according to Jesus, God did not hear any of the staged praying at the DNC, nor anywhere else. Did not even listen, for God is not being addressed. Those are prayers made to and for people. My devout Grandpa called such displays of sanctimony 'blasphemy of the holy spirit'.

He dialed the wrong number.

From the NSA transcript of the phone call:

Dobson: *dial* *dial* *dial*

Satan's phone rings. He picks up: "Yes?"

Dobson: Is that you, God?

Satan (amused): Why, of course. What can I do for you?

Dobson: Could you please make it rain on Obama's speech
Thursday night?

Satan: Umm, I could, sure, but why should I do that?

Dobson: Well, you see, Obama is a liberal Muslim, and we
who love You want it to rain on his speech.

Satan: Indeed? Anything else?

Dobson: Well, now that you ask, yes. I'd love for it to be
beautiful and pleasant everywhere starting September 1, to
prove that you love me and all my Republican friends.
Would that be OK?

Satan: I'll definitely do the appropriate thing. You have my
solemn promise on that (checks a map of the Gulf Coast).

Dobson: Thank you, Lord! We worship you and are ever ready to do your will!

Satan: I can tell! Well, keep it up, you're doing a heck of a
job ( :evilgrin: ), and you will definitely get what you deserve.
Bye now!
----

and the rest is history........

... which we knew already.

Praise the Lord! Pray, and Pay.

Blessed be The Name: Lord, God, Allah, Jove, Wodin ...

An invention of man can easily be understood by man.

Saying that "God Passeth (sic) Human Understanding" is an attempt to make a simple concept into a complex one in order to give it some required mystery.

Without mystery, one would not need a priestly class to explain things.

If people better understood the simple concept put forth with the idea of a god, the religious leaders of the world would have to go out and get real jobs. And they just can't have that, now can they? Better to convince the masses that "God" is too mysterious for them to completely grasp.

Utter poppycock.


As for prayer actually changing things, it is the height of arrogance for a believer to assume prayer works because that assumption includes the requirement for being able to change god's mind. If this supernatural deity is omniscient and omnipotent, then he/she knows what is going to happen at all times. There is no possibility of changing the projected results.

Assuming prayer works assumes one can change the mind of god, or rather, can convince god to alter an outcome.

More poppycock.

as Dobson's theology!

Prayer isn't supposed to be a cosmic gumball machine
where you put in your request (like a penny) and get what you want.

Of course that's how the fundies see it,
after all, they think they have the absolute word,
and bank all on their literalism. It's all about them yanno.
But their god is too small, and their worldview is pathetic.

Prayer isn't about getting what you want.
Hell's bells...

Oh I know the fundies are gonna come after me,
but I can pretty much out 'bible' and 'out theologiz' many to tears,
(altho that is not the way of the peaceful warrior)

REAL prayer is a lot like meditation:
it's about centering oneself,
and 'peace-ing out' to the universe, to the divine, to energy,
to your concept of 'god-as-you-know-it.'
REal spirituality admits there is a wisdom to the greater 'consciousness'?

OF course you can 'hold up' those things that need
healing, repair, peace, etc. AND that is important.
But it's not about begging Jebus for a jaguar,
or for your enemy to fall off a cliff,
or for evil to come to a certain politician,
or for personal wealth.
It's about surrounding yourself, and the rest of the world,
with light, with peace, and with what is best.

AND if what you want/pray for doesn't come to you,
then that is what is to be. And you pray for the wisdom
to accept that reality.
Very much like the serenity prayer.
Which does work.. mark my words.