Power Of Prayer.? Give It A Go !

[modeller]

Dear Lord,
This has been a tough two or three years.
You have taken my favourite actor Patrick Swayze.
My favourite musician Michael Jackson.
My favourite Blues Singer Amy Winehouse.
My favourite actress Elizabeth Taylor.
And now my favourite singer Whitney Houston.
I just wanted you to know that my favourite politicians are
Ed Miliband, David Cameron, Nick Clegg and Ed Balls.

[FredPuli43]

By the way, if the tooth fairy didn't leave money, you should have complained to the Office of Fairy Trading, or OFT.

[Sir Alec]

I thought that was great until I read the last bit. I would do anything to have Sir Alec Guinness back amongst us, but I wouldn't resort to that. By the way this is said, tongue-in-cheek, I do get the joke.
I normally agree with you modeller, but isn't this going a little too far?

[naomi24]

Connemmara, //also the queen paying respects to the poppies thingmajig - surely there is a religious context there.//

I wouldn’t say that the poppy symbol necessarily invokes notions of religion. Many people wear poppies simply in remembrance, and as a respectful tribute, to those who have given their lives for this country. The most poignant part of any remembrance ceremony is the reading of lines from Binyon’s poem ‘For the Fallen’, with not a mention of prayer or religion.

They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old:
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning,
We will remember them.

That says it all.

Fred, ‘deciduous teeth’. Ha ha! Love it! :o)

[mikey4444]

All those gullible fools in Ohio probably spend every Sunday on their knees but it didn't do them much good when the tornado came along the other day, did it ?

People were muttering prayers when they were driven into the gas chambers in Poland...ditto for them.

Could it be that those people are just talking to themselves ?

[modeller]

I think my answer //I do agree, if you believe that your prayers work , then they do. // is applicable. If you pray it follows that sometimes it wlll
appear to work. If the praying gives you or others comfort that's good. If it sometimes appears to work that's a bonus.

On the other hand if you take it too seriously that can have a negative impact on your life and others. Religion doesn't have to be doom , gloom and hellfire. It should be joyful , happy clapping , Father Ted and the likes of my vicar, who invites me to all his talks to challenge his assumptions.

As he says without a non believer in the audience everyone else just smiles and nods beneignly.

[chrisgel]

Ricky Gervaise - On seeing Beyonce, Rihanna, Katy Perry and other celebrities sending prayers for the victims of Oklahoma.
"I feel like an idiot now...... I only sent money."
Says it all really.

[solvitquick]

Aaaw no need to apologise to me about your naughty prayer. You certainly didn't offend me, I'm an atheist. I was just having a jibe at the religionists who should have been offended by a prayer for peoples death. As usual they are keeping their heads down.
I shouldn't have jumped down your throat even though I still think it's rather tasteless. If you'd just said Osborne and Cameron, I'd probably have read it as a civil protest against the Eton & Oxford scumbags who are grinding us non-millionaires back into good old serfdom.
Thanks for the back-ground of "your" prayer. Interesting that, especially your vicar.
Sorry for sniping at you, modeller, you seem to be a great guy after all!
Kind regards,
SIQ.

[solvitquick]

Connemara, you are wildly wrong about The Queen as Naomi has said. Poppy-day is about respect not religion.
But more! I am not aware of our beautiful Queen ever expressing any religious view EVER. She has to go to religious circuses - oops I meant, services, because she is head of the established church. However she may be an atheist for all we know from her public non-statements.
SIQ.

[modeller]

SIQ YI like

[solvitquick]

Me again then I shut up - promise (I think).
Modeller why not ask your vicar why he is underpaid and makes collections when he works for one of Britain's biggest commercial enterprises.
SIQ.

[modeller]

SIQ You would like our vicar, whilst having his strong beliefs he is also down to earth. He knows I would never go to church but by having talks in a hall , on social and science themes he hopes to attract non believers as well. He pushes a Christian view and I with a couple of agnostics inject the realism. It's all done as a social event with delicious cream cakes and goodies.
On other occasions he and some of us we meet up in the pub . We don't talk religion but rather whatever is currently in the news and how we see things in different ways.

l

[society]

Modeller you don't go to church but you hang out with the church leader. :)

[naomi24]

Society, me too - in fact several church leaders. :o)

[modeller]

I have asked him but he is a Baptist minister and they are not financed by a big organisation . I don't know much about them . He for instance has his Free Church services in a school. I've never been so I have no idea how they operate.

[society]

Naomi, I bet you always have them on their toes. :)

[naomi24]

We tend not to discuss religion much, Society. ;o)

[modeller]

You are right society and I'm friendly with quite a few of the strong believers, but I'm open minded and welcome other peoples' views, especially opposing views. It's far more interesting than only being friendly with those who you agree with.
Surely you have non believers as friends !
.

[solvitquick]

Dear Modeller,
Your vicar does sound very interesting and a very good person - you too. Of course, silly me, I should have guessed he was not C of E. If he was, I imagine he'd have been de-frocked long ago. No jokes about priests/vicars de-frocking choir-boys anyone! See - I can be tasteless too.
Wow, our dear Naomi mixing with several CHURCH LEADERS - no wonder she's an atheist. Spill the beanz pleaz Naomi, if not too personal - must be your job?
Modeller, well done. I'll look out for other provoking submissions from you. Many thanks for this lively one. Kind regards,
SIQ.

[naomi24]

SIQ, suffice to say that, like God, I move in what some might consider to be mysterious ways - or in diverse circles at least. ;o)

[beso]

Prayer is about as effective as a placebo because that is exactly what it is.