Atheists won't pray for you...

[cleanhippie]

[wryter2000]

1. That's odd

I didn't think the two things were mutually exclusive.

[dmallind]

2. David Hickman would disagree, were he still alive to do so.

And it's hardly an isolated example. They are not NECESSARILY mutually exclusive, but any time wasted on the prayer first can be fatal, and simply avoiding the doctor altogether and relying on the prayer alone is far too common. With fervent believers, you have to just hope their priorities are right I guess, which certainly IS odd.

[wryter2000]

5. Both my pastor and I would call 911 first

And then pray. As would the huge majority of theists.

[cleanhippie]

6. Thats great! That is what one is supposed to do!

But there are SOME people who choose to pray instead.

This picture is merely stating that an atheist will never pray instead of calling a doctor.

[Deep13]

19. So not much faith, then. nt

[Kurmudgeon]

13. "Don't tempt The Lord, Thy God"

Those examples are along the same line of logic as staying in a burning building instead of escaping under your own power.
Not seeking medical treatment nor doing the prudent thing is no different than if Christ had listened to Satan and had cast himself down expecting the angels to catch him. Pray certainly, but get off your ass and do something!
Pray while running, just MOVE!

[cleanhippie]

14. Oh, well, if only all believers had it figured out like you do.

[cleanhippie]

3. What two things are you talking about?

I see no claim that anything is mutually exclusive.

[wryter2000]

4. Okay, then

A theist will 1)pray for you and 2)call a doctor. How does your statement make an atheist's approach superior to a theist's?

[cleanhippie]

7. Okay, then

1) there is no claim that a theist will not call a doctor, and 2) SOME theists WILL pray instead of calling a doctor.



Still not sure what you think is mutually exclusive, as nothing of the sort is claimed.

[dmallind]

8. Doing 2 first would be more helpful - sometimes time is of the essence.

The atheists's approach is superior since there is absolutely no chance of prayer either delaying or replacing medical attention.

[Goblinmonger]

9. 2 related things the atheist also won't do:

1. Give credit to god and call it a miracle when medicine cures/saves you.
2. Say "God has a reason" or "God needed them in heaven" or other useless platitude when medicine can't save/cure you.

[cleanhippie]

11. Excellent points!

[David Sky]

10. I like your posts! n/t

[Kurmudgeon]

12. Because all atheists are the same, with predictable behavior.

That's what your assumption asserts, it's much like your faith of nothing, actually.
Individuals do what individuals do, occasional group consensus does not predict behavior.

[cleanhippie]

15. "Thou shall not bear false witness"

Isn't that a commandment in your faith?

So why do you fabricate so many things? Does misrepresentation and blatant fabrication make jesus happy?

[David Sky]

16. I think the one single common assumption we can all make about all atheists is ..

that they won't pray to a god they don't believe in.

[Goblinmonger]

17. I can tell you what Catholics do.

1. They believe Jesus was the son of God.
2. They receive communion at least once a year.

[fegi052li]

23. Exactly

[laconicsax]

18. Rec'd to zero. n/t

[iris27]

20. Ditto. n/t

[laconicsax]

21. I guess some people would prefer to do nothing than get help. n/t

[Name removed]

22. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[NMMNG]

24. You'll never hear of an atheist's kid dying

because his parents chose to pray over him (or have an exorcism) rather than getting medical attention.

[LeftishBrit]

32. To be fair, and speaking as a firm atheist myself...

it's possible to hear of an atheist's kid dying, because their parents were ardently anti-modern-medicine and preferred to rely solely on homeopathy or nature cures.

It is horrible when dogmatic ideology overrules common sense and compassion. Often such ideologies are religious - but not always.

[NMMNG]

34. That's more of a far-left woo position

than an atheist position. In fact, most atheists are also skeptics and advocate strongly against anti-vax, homeopathy (useless water) and other "alternative" medicine in favor of scientifically proven treatments. Step into the Health Forum and the Skepticism, Science and Pseudoscience Group and you'll see evidence of that. I wouldn't discount the possibility that there's an atheist out there who also subscribes to some alt-med positions, but I have yet to encounter one.

[iris27]

25. You know what really burns my ass?

When I'm the third or fourth person to express sympathy for someone's announced misfortunes, and I don't say "I'll be praying for you" like everyone else has...and they all look at me like I'm a horrible, uncaring fuck for not having promised to spend time talking to myself in a ritual that wouldn't have helped them in the slightest anyway.

Argh.

[deacon_sephiroth]

26. next time that happens...

promise to cast a magic spell upon them.

and make a voodoo doll to soak in mandrake root or some such.

When everyone else around it promising to exercise some ancient hysterical superstitious ritual, then do the same, only slightly different. Offer to slaughter a calf and splash it's blood around at an alter and burn the head and guts, wash the feet and other such nonsense.

"I will pray for you."
"I'll pray for your recovery."
"I'd like to offer some actual help instead of a pledge to go talk to myself... anything you need?"

[Name removed]

27. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[trotsky]

29. Can you tell us when exactly that happened?

And who was there?

[raccoon]

30. I second that! nt

[Iggo]

31. Thankfully that never really happens.

[Renew Deal]

33. I'd like to know as well.

:shrug:

[LeftishBrit]

28. Until a week ago, I'd have considered this as totally over the top...

as it's perfectly possible to do both!

But last week, I learned about a few churches in my town being involved in a faith healing programme, 'Healing on the Streets', which claims to have cured some quite serious conditions. Friends of mine who had seen this in action were really shocked and angry (by the way, these friends are Christians; just not quackery enthusiasts).

Here is a link to one church's advertisement for these events:

http://www.staldates.org.uk/content.asp?pageRef=463

I should emphasize that most churches in the UK do NOT go in for this sort of nuttery, and this is the first time in my life that I've encountered it close up. But it's an example of the sort of misuse of religion that people need to guard against. As I always say of religion-related lunacy in the UK: 'It can't happen here - except when it does!'