we tell ourselves stories
that is the only truth
we tell ourselves stories
that is the only truth
we tell ourselves stories
that is the only truth
But some stories have the benefit of being true.
many of the posts in here become good arguments for atheism, intended or not.
There are a lot of things that can be improved if God was removed from them.And a year ago my wife and I miscarried.
I understand the emotion behind this. I really do. At the same time, it's not like the world gets any better if you remove God from it. So, like I said before, maybe suffering doesn't prove the absence of God. Maybe God is found in the hands that pull people alive from the Haitian rubble long after they're supposed to be dead.
I don't have to be there to know you're story telling. Just like I don't have to have been there in Biblical times to know the Bible's filled with story telling.Not if you were there.
Truth is subjective.But some stories have the benefit of being true.
I think humans have a tendancy to try and fill in gaps of the unknown.
Take your friend's crooked legs or back. Your story may very well be true, and doctors could not explain how they were cured or feeling better......but that doesn't mean jesus christ or whatever God you believe in cured them.
it's just that whatever it is, hasn't been found yet. We're so scared of the unknown that in order to make ourselves feel better, we find comfort knowing that some creator/being is watching over us.
You can bet those doctors were going to present those cases of "unknown healings" onwards to be studied and proven. Cause that's the honest thing to do.
Just saying God healed me is a very lazy way of resolving something that you can't explain. It's a damn good thing most of our jobs/societies don't function this way.
Truth is subjective.
You're intentionally missing the point.Okay. I don't believe you exist.
But nonetheless...
No. In at least two occasions, they went to the doctors the next day, who were confounded.
Prayers Answered By Random Series Of Events In Cold, Uncaring Universe
KATY, TX—A man in danger of losing his home had his prayers coincidentally answered Tuesday by the haphazard machinations of an indifferent and entirely random universe. Marvin Pewter, 45, was able to refinance his house after a radio station in Sioux Falls, SD played the favorite song of a local data-entry worker who, quietly singing along to the tune in her office, became distracted and missed a keystroke that eventually resulted in Pewter's credit rating increasing by 200 points. "Thank God," said Pewter, speaking to reporters from the large ranch-style home he purchased four years ago and has never been able to afford. "This just goes to show that, if you put your faith in the Lord, the Lord will provide." At press time, when gale-force winds had leveled his house and swept away all his possessions, Pewter put the blame on atmospheric conditions off the Gulf Coast and declined comment on whether God was punishing him for his hubris.
there's no question that prayer and meditation can have untold positive effects on the individual, and there are links between mind/body that are continually being discovered. however, to say that "prayer works" = "existence of a deity" is not correct, and that precisely is putting a narrative over something we don't yet understand.
also, let's not forget about this:
Parents in Prayer Death Get 6 Months in Jail - ABC News
i don't think that anyone is advocating this approach to healing at all, and i also don't think it's entirely fair to dismiss the positive things that spiritual practice can offer to those who are sick and suffering.
I believe what's being 'dismissed' is that prayer alone is responsible straightening crooked legs and backs
agreed. but i do think that spiritual practices can be a very important part of healing from sickness and injury in even a physical way.
A God that is capricious enough to let a random sample of people survive a disaster isn't admirable, and the concept that God is in human goodness steals our finest qualities.And a year ago my wife and I miscarried.
I understand the emotion behind this. I really do. At the same time, it's not like the world gets any better if you remove God from it. So, like I said before, maybe suffering doesn't prove the absence of God. Maybe God is found in the hands that pull people alive from the Haitian rubble long after they're supposed to be dead.
Don't surrender the argument like that, the facts are not a free for all and we should emphasise some truths (for instance intercessory prayer doesn't work in clinical trials).Truth is subjective.
But you're being difficult or you're being delusional. I'm still not sure which.
Clinical studies show that being prayed for (and knowing about it) increases post-operative complications from heart surgery; and whatever benefits we find for prayer I would wager are an example of the placebo effect rather some entirely undiscovered mechanism.agreed. but i do think that spiritual practices can be a very important part of healing from sickness and injury in even a physical way.
I wasn't surrendering. Merely recognizing that the whole exchange was going to become a game of semantics and bullshit passing as "truth" because "I wasn't there."Don't surrender the argument like that, the facts are not a free for all and we should emphasise some truths (for instance intercessory prayer doesn't work in clinical trials).