Non believers, Do you ever find yourself praying in case you are wrong?

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   peeplesposted 9 years ago

   Non believers, Do you ever find yourself praying in case you are wrong?
   
   As a non believer I have always believed there is a small possibility I am wrong. I am not all knowing and there is a slim chance that proof may be found. Like big foot or chupacabra might eventually be proven real. So when someone very close to me requests prayers I do pray (talking in my head to a possible super being) just in case I am wrong. Curious if any other non believers have ever done this.

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   healthylife2posted 9 years ago

   I have to admit I do because although I can't prove there is a God I can't rule out that there isn't a God or a similar concept with absolute certainty. A part of me hopes there is a continuation of life in some way but I guess everyone will find out for sure.

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      peeplesposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      Thanks. It would be wonderful if I were wrong.

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   Zelkiiroposted 9 years ago

   Nope.
   
   Even if I were a believer, the whole concept of prayer seems fairly pointless. The Will of God is the Will of God--what gives me the right to disturb it with my petty little requests? If it happens anyway, then it was already preordained, which means prayer was pointless, and if it doesn't happen, it wasn't meant to be, which means prayer was pointless.
   
   Seems like a pretty useless act all around.

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      peeplesposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      Thanks. I agree it seems pointless, but for some reason I find myself doing once in a while even if it is senseless just in case the predestined idea is wrong also.

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      speer138posted 9 years agoin reply to this

      I agree if just asking for things was the only purpose of prayer then its kinda pointless. But if the purpose is to build a relationship, then it seems like a more logical thing to do.

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   RBJ33posted 9 years ago

   No, I do not.  My beliefs are based on my good sense, personal experiences, and much study.  Prayer is like wishing.  But, peeples if it makes you feel better then go for it.

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   Aime Fposted 9 years ago

   I don't pray to God but if I'm in a situation where I'm feeling really desperate for a "miracle", I ask my deceased dad to help me. Sort of like a "if you're out there, still looking out for me, please give me a hand here." I figure the likelihood of a spirit being able to help me are about as much as God. And it's nice to think that he might still be around protecting me. I don't believe that, really, but when all else feels lost it's nice to think that maybe something out of this world could be there to give you a hand, and I feel more comfortable putting that small bit of hope in my dad than I do in a God I don't believe in.
   
   As for friends/family asking for prayers, I don't do that. I usually say that my thoughts are with them and I do hope that whatever they want me to pray about turns out alright. Sort of like the spirit thing, I think positive thinking/sending out positive vibes is probably just as likely to help someone out as God.

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      RBJ33posted 9 years agoin reply to this

      You are spot on Aimie.  Well said.

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   M. T. Dremerposted 9 years ago

   No, though I find myself using "God" in my language a lot. As in, if someone tells me a horrible story, I respond with "God!" or "Jesus!" as a sort of expletive. I try not to use it this way, but it's become so ingrained in the language that it's hard to separate it.
   
   But in terms of Pascal's wager, I figure that, on the slim chance god did exist, I would fall into one of two camps. Either he would judge me fairly because the requirements to get into heaven are good deeds, not blind obedience. Or he would stick to the blind obedience thing and shut me out. Though in that scenario, I wouldn't want to be with him anyway because everything bad said about him would be true (that he's not all loving or forgiving).
   
   Though, honestly, even if heaven were real, it's kind of a horrifying concept. Human's can't really conceive of eternity, but existence that doesn't end, no matter where you are, seems like it would inevitably end in madness. Maybe H. P. Lovecraft is the one who got it right.

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   Link10103posted 9 years ago

   Nope. If god is all knowing, he knows why I do not pray (lack of proof). If he is all powerful, then prayer is rendered pointless since whatever happened or didn't happened was already decided.
   
   If he is all loving and forgiving, then he will forgive me for not praying to him since he knows that he did not provide enough proof for me or billions of others.
   
   You would think with those things in mind, believers wouldn't care as much about people who do not believe/believe something different since either way god would be forgiving to some degree or another with him being at fault in this case. To actually give a care means that either god is none of those things, which pairs up nicely with eternal retribution for something as stupidly simple as non belief, or he doesn't exist, which conveniently allows people to make up whatever shit they want in order to control others.
   
   Kinda like what the church used to do and most likely still does today, just on a smaller scale.

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      Stargrrlposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      It is a little arrogant to assume God needs to prove His existence to little ol' you, is it not?  While it is true that God is all forgiving, there are limits to His patience.  Prayers do make a difference, believe me.

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      Link10103posted 9 years agoin reply to this

      That's kinda why I included the billions of other people who do not believe or believe something different.
      
      I would think that stating god has limited patience as if you knew him would be quite arrogant. Doesn't fit with all loving/forgiving either.

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      Austinstarposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      Stargrl, When you pray over your dinner, do you thank "god" for giving you your daily bread? all the while 'god' is not giving millions of people enough to eat daily. Or do you think he just allows you to eat well because you worship him?

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      Link10103posted 9 years agoin reply to this

      Either that, or god has a reason unknown to us. Which would render prayer useless in situations that ask for a change.
      
      Full circle and all

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      AC-DCposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      I see you want to blame a God that you do not "believe" in for all of the World's problems. A VERY contradictory statement. People are losing their lives in third world countries because of the aid that is sent to help the starving are being stolen.

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      Link10103posted 9 years agoin reply to this

      Can you point out where either of us blamed god specifically? Because I can point out the part where someone says prayer helps, which led to the example of daily tragedies that happen that prayer doesn't seem to affect at all.

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   Austinstarposted 9 years ago

   Nope.. trying to solve problems, grant wishes, or "praise a god" by saying words to yourself or to the sky just doesn't make any sense.
   One of my favorite quotes is, "if you ever need a helping hand, you should look on the end of your arm".

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