Does prayer work?

[Schneed10]

Originally Posted by Crazyhorse1

Can anyone tell me why Christian evangelists almost alway look evil and are constantly getting busted for some kind of sexual offense, often involving members of the same sex; and why Christian priests prefer young boys to such an extent and like to whip themselves in their rooms.

I'm also all wrapped up trying to figure out why the Vatican supported the Nazis and before that the church burned a million innocent women as witches. I would also like to know why Christians caused the deaths of over 32 million Indians during the Age of Exploration, and why more people have been slaughtered in the name of God than for all other reasons since recorded history began.

Oh yeah. Why should I be tolerant of religions when the world is on the brink of World War because of two of the dumbest religions ever invented by man. Sorry about my attitude, but I've got kids, not that the evangelical fool in the White House cares.

While I think many of your "facts" and accusations are well off base, I agree with the sentiment.

One of the problems with faith is you believe so deeply in something, and because of that you close your mind off to other possibilities and thereby refuse to even consider the differing viewpoints of other cultures and other men. The closemindedness creates a breach between ourselves and other cultures that can only be bridged by keeping an open mind. What's worse is to take actions based on your close-minded beliefs - as Al Qaeda is doing. It leads to holy wars.

"How can something well guided turn out to be divisive."
- 311

[Crazyhorse1]

Originally Posted by Schneed10

While I think many of your "facts" and accusations are well off base, I agree with the sentiment.

One of the problems with faith is you believe so deeply in something, and because of that you close your mind off to other possibilities and thereby refuse to even consider the differing viewpoints of other cultures and other men. The closemindedness creates a breach between ourselves and other cultures that can only be bridged by keeping an open mind. What's worse is to take actions based on your close-minded beliefs - as Al Qaeda is doing. It leads to holy wars.

"How can something well guided turn out to be divisive."


- 311

Why point fingers at Al Qaeda. We voted for Neo-cons twice and put them in office twice. They are a thousand times more dangerous than Al Qaeda . They've killed far more people than Al Qaeda has and certainly threaten American freedom more than Al Qaeda could ever hope to.

You warn us about close mindedness and then fail to recognize your/our own. Apparently, you are incapable of seeing any validity at all in Al Qaeda's point of view or even try to examine it. How knee jerk can you be.

Here, for instance, is an Al Qaeda view you can probably understand if you try: Al Qaeda doesn't think we should be shipping arms to Israel for the purpose of killing Arabs or using our superior power to take over their lands, establish bases in Arab countries. and steal their oil.

In relation to the deaths caused by religious wars, try Sam Harris' book, "The End of Faith."

[Schneed10]

Originally Posted by Crazyhorse1

Why point fingers at Al Qaeda. We voted for Neo-cons twice and put them in office twice. They are a thousand times more dangerous than Al Qaeda . They've killed far more people than Al Qaeda has and certainly threaten American freedom more than Al Qaeda could ever hope to.

You warn us about close mindedness and then fail to recognize your/our own. Apparently, you are incapable of seeing any validity at all in Al Qaeda's point of view or even try to examine it. How knee jerk can you be.

Here, for instance, is an Al Qaeda view you can probably understand if you try: Al Qaeda doesn't think we should be shipping arms to Israel for the purpose of killing Arabs or using our superior power to take over their lands, establish bases in Arab countries. and steal their oil.

In relation to the deaths caused by religious wars, try Sam Harris' book, "The End of Faith."

Wow, did you ever misunderstand me. That statement was not to point fingers at Al Qaeda; it was to provide an example of religious belief providing a basis for taking hostile action towards other people. Is that not the very definition of a jihad? I'm equally fine with pointing towards the Salem witch hunt, or the Crusades. Religious belief provides humans with a reason to close their minds off to the ideas of other cultures. The west has been guilty of it throughout history, just as Al-Qaeda is now.

I don't care to argue politics in this thread. This thread is about prayer and religion. My point is that religious belief causes division in our world.

So strange for you to jump down my throat after I was one of the very few people on this forum that actually agreed with something you had to say. But whatever.

[Crazyhorse1]

Originally Posted by Schneed10

Wow, did you ever misunderstand me. That statement was not to point fingers at Al Qaeda; it was to provide an example of religious belief providing a basis for taking hostile action towards other people. Is that not the very definition of a jihad? I'm equally fine with pointing towards the Salem witch hunt, or the Crusades. Religious belief provides humans with a reason to close their minds off to the ideas of other cultures. The west has been guilty of it throughout history, just as Al-Qaeda is now.

I don't care to argue politics in this thread. This thread is about prayer and religion. My point is that religious belief causes division in our world.

So strange for you to jump down my throat after I was one of the very few people on this forum that actually agreed with something you had to say. But whatever.

You are totally correct. I apologize. I'm the one who is guilty of knee-jerk behavior. I'll read your posts more carefully the next time.