Wednesday, November 28, 2007

Talking To Your Imaginary Friend

You wake up in the morning and the first thing you do, out of habit, is get on your knees and say a prayer. It's what you've done your whole life. You pray again before eating breakfast. Then again before driving somewhere. Then again before lunch and dinner. Then a few with the family. Then one before bed.

That's a lot of time spent on a one-sided conversation. Does prayer really do anything?

You prayed for safety and viola, you were safe that day. But does that really mean god protected you or does it just mean you didn't have an accident that day?

What if you prayed for safety and then had an accident? It could mean a whole number of different things. It could mean your prayer didn't work (not enough faith on your part). It could mean god wanted you to have an accident. It could mean prayer doesn't work at all.

And what if the whole entire world said one gigantic prayer for safety? Does that mean that there would not be one single accident anywhere, world-wide?

Mormons think that praying doesn't really change anything. It just allows god to bless you. God wants to bless you and is just waiting for you to ask. So we pray for gods will to happen. What does that really mean?

Does it mean that I am holding god back? He can't do anything until I pray for it? What is the point of praying for "god's will" when god's will is god's will. It will happen whether you pray for it or not. In other words, "god's will" = every day life just taking its course. Whatever happens, happens. And if his will is going to happen, why bother praying to change it?

If praying is supposed to unleash god's blessings, how come it doesn't work? You prayed for safety but still had an accident. That must mean god wanted you to have an accident. How come he wanted you to have an accident today, but not yesterday?

I haven't said a prayer in almost three years. But my life is still going. My food still gives me "health and strength", my car still runs fine in the winter; I still get better when I'm sick. Take it from me, folks. Prayer does nothing. You can pray if you want, but it's not going to do anything.

I was watching a movie once and for the life of me I can't remember which one it was, but a line from that movie goes as follows: "God is just an imaginary friend for grown-ups."

When I heard that line, I knew it was true. When was the last time god personally intervened in your life? Jesus? An angel? Anything?

I have a friend who is Catholic and often prays to Jesus for certain things to happen, like the lawn mower to start, or whatever. How come Jesus always makes the lawn mower start whenever she prays for it, but he doesn't heal her tired feet or make her asshole neighbor drop dead? Why does Jesus only bother to produce "miracles" that would have happened anyway? But he can't make her feet stop hurting?

It's because Jesus isn't real. God is a fraud. And prayer does nothing!

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

You know I agree with a lot of what you say- But I have something to add. In my opinion, prayer helps the person. If someone prays, and by doing so he or she is less paranoid that they will die that day- mission accomplished! And if they do die- well, you already discussed that. I remember having imaginary friends as a kid that I honestly feel made me more brave in situations. So for that reason, I don’t really feel prayer is that bad, not if you feel it helps. Now group prayers might be a little different- I think a lot of those are for show, but I like the thought of prayer. I like having someone to talk to- I don't always direct my thoughts to "god," but sometimes it feel it helps me, even if in the back of my mind I really know that it won't make a difference, and nobody is listening besides my other personalities, sometimes it is a good and calming distraction.
-T
...yet ANOTHER evil apostate in the making...Ok fine, maybe not THAT evil.... but I'm getting there. ;)

Mormon411 said...

Hey T, Good to have you back.

Yea, I can't argue with your point. If praying makes a person feel better then, by all means, do it. I remember my TBM days and the feeling of relief from saying a prayer and just getting things off my chest. I just eventually realized that I have never seen any actual proof that any prayer I ever said was actually answered by a higher power.

Mormonism is all about feelings and I can show proof all day long that the church isn't true, but if a person just feels that happy feeling, I can't change their feelings and make them feel something else. Feelings are the one thing that can't be dis-proven so I believe that is why the church capitalizes on it.

Oh, by the way, once you're an apostate, you're evil whether you want to be or not! LOL

Mormon411 said...

T,

By the way, if you have any personal experiences, feelings, rants, thoughts etc, that you'd like to share, type it up, email it to me, and I'll publish it here. Two witnesses are better than one! LOL