Prayer Is Useless | Lethe Water-CA | Atheist Experience 25.20

The Atheist Experience 25.20 for May 16, 2021 with Jenna and Matt.



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[wickedchef]

“Prayer, in my opinion, is an act of doubt, not an act of faith, for if you truly trusted your god's plan, you wouldn't pray for anything.”

― Michael Sherlock

[evolutionaryadvantage]

“The man who prays is the one who thinks that god has arranged matters all wrong, but who also thinks that he can instruct god how to put them right.”
Christopher Hitchens

[nicholasmburu]

I prayed for my dad, a pastor - the whole church prayed, and he wasn’t healed from cancer. He died young and left a wife and kids in dire need of him. I was crushed. That started me on a journey of doubt and search for the truth.. Fast forward 3 years ago, my dear son who i love so deeply, and who together we had prayed for years for healing from anxiety and mental challenges, never got that healing. instead, he died in a tragic accident. I am beyond mad and devastated.. I prayed every day for him to be safe and to see him have a family and kids and a good life. I Invested a lot for his well-being, saw him thru college. I will never see his kids or him having a family. I was mad at the god of the bible who said if i ask i will receive and if i knock the door will be open. and if i obey him i will be blessed and protected, that he is the god who heals all our diseases, for a long time, and then i asked him and really searched to know the truth. I concluded either he isn’t real or if he is, he doesn’t give a #### about us. somehow that eases my getting mad. The universe doesn’t care about us, it’s up to us. Your program has helped set me on a different journey. Still seeking truth from all sources, not just the bible, for in my grief the bible is more of a point of contention than consolation. Thanks fellow travelers.

[blkadam]

Frederick Douglas said, "I prayed for freedom for twenty years, but received no answer, until I prayed with my legs." This sums up prayer for me.

[freddanfly]

Prayer, used when you don't care enough to actually do anything for a fellow being.

[huepix]

I challenge believers to pray for the end of child disease by the end of the week (I think 7 days is a good work week for yahweh) and EVERY time, all I get is excuses

[FlyingSpaghettiJesus]

Prayer - how to do nothing and still think you’re helping

[pdawfpodcast]

Matt always has a way of elocuting and presenting a message where you can hardly refute it. The way he spoke this man with compassion for his loss but still relaying the truth of the matter was awesome to hear.

[hegyak]

Magic Sky Daddy went to get some Smokes. He, hasn't been back.

[rodneyspragg]

Praying is like sitting in a rocking chair, it gives you something to do but you DO NOT achieve anything....

[matt_white]

It's been shown to be worse than useless by the STEP study into intercessory prayer, which ironically was commissioned in the hope that it would show the exact opposite. It was a double-blind experiment using cardiac bypass patients. It turned out that the ones who were told they were being prayed for actually did slightly worse than the control group. Presumably they thought they must be in serious trouble, if being prayed for; and it lowered their morale.

[alecynot.]

Just how many times has the Pope prayed for peace in the holy land, That's worked out.. very well..

[SpaceLordof]

Watch George Carlin’s masterpiece about prayer:
“What’s the point of having a divine plan when any schmuck with a 2 dollar prayer book can fuck up your plan?”

[truthseekeratheist]

Regarding prayer I was told that God knows what we need, and what we want and pray for isn’t necessarily what is best for us. A convenient loophole for why prayers work sometimes and not others.

[louisbarrow]

Prayer is the number one reason I am no longer a believer.

[dreadfulspiller]

I think the theists are getting smart and praying like " Dear lord let there be gravity when I wake up".

[MikeGill]

Love the ending, as wishing someone good luck is just about as effective as praying for them. :-)

[lloydchristmas]

Prayer -- how to feel useful while being useless.

[douglashogg]

When in a hospital and someone says “We’re praying for you”, a patient may begin to question his health. Telling patients “We’re praying for you.” is not reassuring.

[Vinterbukser]

I would imagine those with serious illnesses who knew they were being prayed for felt like the were being given the last rites and that their situation must be desperate. That would also account for a worse outcome.