Just Saying About Praying?

Barnardot

@Barnardot @just_sayin So there's no prizes for guessing why lie boy wouldn't even dare reply to this threed.

MayCaesar

Based on the conversations I have had on this with various religious people, it appears that, in their view, god picks and chooses the winners. There can be millions and millions of cancer sufferers around the world, with their families and themselves endlessly praying for their recovery, and even by the most optimistic estimates of religious people, at most, a handful of them a year experience miraculous recovery through divine intervention.

It appears that, statistically, counting on prayer as a healing mechanism is as sound as counting on a lottery as means of making a fortune. It would be interesting if all deeply religious people, instead of having jobs, went to casinos every evening, so we could compare their outcomes with those of the general population.

Barnardot

@MayCaesar ;It appears that, statistically, counting on prayer as a healing mechanism is as sound as counting on a lottery 

The thing is though that the chance is real in that the money actually exists. 

With prayer it never works and if someone recovers after praying why think that the recovery was because of the prayer. By the same token I could claim that taking a dump can cure illness if I recover from an illness. 

I will believe in miracles and prayers when a severed arm miraculously reattached itself and the guy goes on the tennis court and serves 4 aces in a row.

MayCaesar

@Barnardot

I suppose one could adopt the view according to which whatever happens must have happened with the 100% probability since the reality is fundamentally deterministic. In that case, if someone did go to a casino and did win a lot of money, their strategy was sound - even if they could not have possibly known that it was.

In that case, any strategy that has a non-zero probability of returning a positive result can potentially be sound. I suppose one could also say that we can never claim that something is true with exactly 0% probability, so it is impossible to completely outrule the possibility that prayer involves communication with god, the latter bestowing boons to the seeker.

just_sayin

Barnardot said:

@Barnardot @just_sayin So there's no prizes for guessing why lie boy wouldn't even dare reply to this threed.

I'm so glad that my opinion is so valued!  Thank you very much!

I think the OP is making a false dichotomy.  Why can't a person of faith, go to a medical doctor and pray also?  At least 117 medical programs in the US have added prayer and spiritual training tot heir programs because they see the benefit.  The Bible is not anti-doctor.  Luke, who wrote the Gospel of Luke and the Acts of the Apostles was a doctor.  Paul encouraged Timothy to take something for his stomach issues.  So, the Bible is not anti-doctor.  

Pew reports that 34% of Americans have either been healed by God or witnessed a divine healing: see (https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-divinehealing-life/a-third-of-americans-report-divine-healing-pew-idUSN2042499020080623#:~:text=%E2%80%9CA%20third%20of%20all%20Americans%20(34%20percent)%20say%20they%20have%20experienced%20or%20witnessed%20a%20divine%20healing%20of%20an%20illness%20or%20injury%2C%E2%80%9D%20the%20survey%20said."

“A third of all Americans (34 percent) say they have experienced or witnessed a divine healing of an illness or injury,” the survey said.

That's a lot of healing that occurred outside of normal medical means.  It would be dishonest to claim that there are no examples of divine healing, and it makes no sense to prohibit someone from praying for a miracle or healing.  

Oh I saw somewhere on this thread that someone wanted evidence of God growing back a limb right in front of people.  Well, there is a known example.  See

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miracle_of_Calanda

Barnardot

@just_sayin ;I'm so glad that my opinion is so valued!  Thank you very much!

Well I suppose a shrink wood have a field day with that reply which is why I posted the thread and given that in the same sentence I called you lie boy. That says it all really. Wow that’s totally wired all right.