One 70's Saturday night my family was in the den watching "Planet of the Apes." In the midst of the television action, my youngest brother stumbled down the stairs and into the room. He had sleep in his eyes and small chunks of upchuck on his pajama top. A few fabric rockets had been obliterated. He said, "Mom, I threw up." Maybe he had assumed that our expressions of revulsion were to the treatment of the humans by the apes and thus did not suspect he was visually advertising what had happened.
That memory brings to mind a question. If the Bible god is omniscient, why do people need to pray? Why must Joe get on his knees and say, God, I've made a mess of my life and need your help? Why must a governor of a large state call upon the people he represents to engage in a group prayer for rain? An omniscient god could certainly reply, Duh. Tell me something I don't know.
Is it the all-important "asking" that counts? Must there be a implicit kowtowing/foot-kissing involved?
The carnival-class of prayer-wishing (God, I need a financial windfall right away; they're going to repossess my truck.) is but a few degrees more pathetic than normal prayer. And yet educated thinkers everywhere allow prayer and the faith that feeds it to be presented as esteem-worthy.
In my opinion, it is one thing to stand around with lips firmly zipped when someone says, "The Raiders are the greatest team to ever play football." Yah, everyone is entitled to an opinion. But when some bipedal primate insists Jesus is the one true spiritual leader, that prayer works, and, by the way, there is hell to pay for not believing, maybe its time to rattle the cage of politeness.
Tags: atheism, Freethought Musings, politics
June 22nd, 2011 at 10:48 am
I can’t quite figure out what “normal prayer” is. Religious apologists and other more casual defenders seem eager to assure me that prayer isn’t about treating their god as some sort of genie who grants wishes, but rather about communing with that god and understanding its desires for your life. But even they talk about “praying for” something. Everybody talks about “praying for” something. I guess there are recited prayers of praise and deference, but isn’t that stereotypical image of the child praying at bedtime saying something like, “Dear God, please watch over Mommy and Daddy and sister Suzy,” and so on?
By the way, my favorite thing about this post is the way that prayer is analogous to vomit. :)
June 22nd, 2011 at 11:05 am
NFQ – Good point. Besides the asking of favor(s), it seems prayer can be a means of “giving glory.” Of expressing grateful submission. How else is it used? What else is there to the “communing” element? Exchanging small talk? “Dear god, I’m wondering how the weather is in heaven these days…..”