Original Sin?

Quote: FrGamble

Did you think I meant that there are no prayers in the Bible that talk about and extol the glory

The point has been made that all praying
involves ass kissing. You said check the
saints and prophets and the very first one
I find kisses gods bee-hind royally. That's
what you do, tell your rich uncle how great
he is before you hit him up for a loan.

You are always telling me to pray. Why would
I want to kiss the butt of a myth, should I
pray to unicorns too while I'm at it?

Quote: FrGamble

I love that quote.

Do you understand it?

Quote:

Prayer is really about a proper and right relationship with a God who loves us

Not any prayer I've heard.

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Jesus on the cross cries out, "My God, My God, why have you abandoned me?" quoting Psalm 22.

He didn't know why he had abandoned himself? I thought your god were all-knowing.

Quote: Nareed

He didn't know why he had abandoned himself? I thought your god were all-knowing.

Don't ask for an explanation of this,
you'll think your losing your mind
if you try to understand it. Just nod
and back up slowly and maybe they'll
forget they were talking to you.

Quote: Evenbob

The point has been made that all praying
involves ass kissing. You said check the
saints and prophets and the very first one
I find kisses gods bee-hind royally. That's
what you do, tell your rich uncle how great
he is before you hit him up for a loan.

You are always telling me to pray. Why would
I want to kiss the butt of a myth, should I
pray to unicorns too while I'm at it?

So because the first one you found had a beautiful prayer glorifying you think they are all that way, is this how your mind works? The Psalms are the largest book in the Bible randomly opening the Bible will usually find yourself at a psalm and many of them are examples of prayers from good people in a very honest and loving relationship with God. Let me warn you that they are not all like that. You will find some intercessory prayer in there as well as some prayers glorifying God. The Psalms have been called the Church's prayer book because they cover the entirety of possible human emotions and the various stages of the spiritual journey with God.

Whatever you do don't pray as if you love God, because you most clearly do not. Pray that you are angry that God has not made it easy or maybe has made it impossible to know Him. In your prayer honestly say you don't believe in Him and challenge Him to reveal Himself to you. Yell at God for what you see as injustice and unfairness in your life and in the lives of those you love. Open your heart to God and confess past sins that still haunt you or if you don't believe in sin actions that still make you feel bad, then talk about your hard heart and hard mind and ask God, if He is really God to open it because you don't want to. You might say you aren't going to do any of this because there is no God, then what would be the harm in trying. Honestly pray and invite God if He is real into a relationship with you. Or you can just read Psalm 88.

Quote: Nareed

Do you understand it?

I think so. It corresponds to the Lord's emphasis on humility and the quote reminds me of His famous exhortation to not pursue gaining the whole world, with its wealth and power, only to quickly die and then lose not only that but eternal life as well. We would all do well to meditate upon how useless, fleeting, and illusionary is any sense of worldly power, fame, or control.

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Not any prayer I've heard.

This could be a big part of the problem.

Quote: FrGamble

Whatever you do don't pray

I have no intention of praying, don't
worry. I tried to be a Christian for a
year in 1974 and prayed every day.
At home and in group, and not a
thing changed in my life except I
learned that Xtions are mostly a
little off their rockers. They see the
devil hiding behind every bush,
waiting to tempt them. It's a 'me me
me' religion, everything is centered
around them.

I read a Mark Twain quote the other day.
He said the devil seems to be all alone,
but god has a million paid representatives
doing his work for him. So why is everybody
so afraid of the devil.

Quote: Evenbob

I have no intention of praying, don't
worry. I tried to be a Christian for a
year in 1974 and prayed every day.

You don"t seem to have any intention of learning either. It's been awhile why not get prayer another chance. From what you've said about prayer I don't think you ever really understood what it was about.

"Christianity has not been tried and found wanting, it has been found difficult and not tried." G.K. Chesterson

Quote: FrGamble

You don"t seem to have any intention of learning either. It's been awhile why not get prayer another chance. From what you've said about prayer I don't think you ever really understood what it was about.

"Christianity has not been tried and found wanting, it has been found difficult and not tried." G.K. Chesterson

If prayer worked, the home team would win every game, as there are 50,000 people praying for the home team batter to hit a home run and only a few dozen praying for him to strike out.

Quote: stinkingliberal

If prayer worked, the home team would win every game, as there are 50,000 people praying for the home team batter to hit a home run and only a few dozen praying for him to strike out.

Ha, good analogy. I would agree with you if that was even remotely close to what prayer is really about. Prayer is not about getting what you want or changing God's will to yours it is rather changing our will to God's.

Quote: FrGamble

From what you've said about prayer I don't think you ever really understood what it was about.

I know most prayers go unanswered. I know
having prayer groups for people in the
hospital has a spectacular failure rate. I
know people in your own religion have
written that they prayed their whole lives for
some sign that god is listening to them
and got bupkis for an answer. I know that
people get what they pray for at exactly
the same probability as people who never
pray.

Quote: FrGamble

Ha, good analogy. I would agree with you if that was even remotely close to what prayer is really about. Prayer is not about getting what you want or changing God's will to yours it is rather changing our will to God's.

Exactly. It's about us submitting to the
will of god. It's about finding what gods
will is and tailoring our lives around that.
Tell me again I don't understand what
prayer is about.

If there was a god, it would be a wise thing
to do. There is no god so it's a waste of time.
But it's your time to waste, who am I to judge.

I could go on, you get the point. For you,
prayer is submission to god. Prayer is
about submitting to the will of god. There
is no god, why would an atheist waste his
time doing that. It's like telling somebody
who understands the science of flight to
put on paper wings and jump off the barn
roof. He knows better, why on earth would he
do that.