Quote:
Originally posted by Nathans_Dad
Your child comes in and asks you for a new Ferrari. He pleads with you every day for months and months for this Ferrari. He REALLY wants it. You say no. Do you exist?
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The only difference is that I never promised that I would give my children anything they wanted - all they had to do is ask. The bible makes this promise. Maybe the authors of the bible should have chosen their words more carefully.
The point you guys are trying to make (and I understand) is that "god doesn't just give you whatever you want". The point of the amputee site is that god never gives you *anything* you ask for. Prayer does not work. Why is that? Why does the bible give people false hope in prayer when there is no fulfillment of this promise?
To me, the most logical conclusion is that god doesn't exist. That works fine for me as the results of prayer (not working) then make logical sense. But what about the millions of Christians who really believe in the power of prayer? Is it acceptable for them to hold this false hope that their prayers will be answered? Does it simply make them feel better to pray for a loved one's health for instance? Does it somehow place the fate of that loved one's condition into someone else's hands to make them feel better about it? Does it help them make sense of senseless things like cancer?
Honest questions. From my perspective, prayer is a powerful thing, but only in that it provides some measure of comfort to the prayer. It doesn't help the prayee at all.