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The Thinking Man's Bible: The New Age of Reason |
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Chapter 22 |
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I have to confess that I’m puzzled by the logic of prayer. It’s mentioned frequently in the Bible, and it’s a major part of most religions. However, the objectives of prayer appear to be highly unethical; and, when you think about it, prayer is downright blasphemous. Let’s look at the objectives of prayer. Petition for Action 22.1 Asking God for goods, luck, or wealth is just plain laziness or greed. Praying to God to take any specific action implies that either
God is unaware of the situation, Petition for Change of Mind 22.2 Asking God to change his mind because he is ignorant, insensitive, or wrong implies that God is not omnipotent, since He’s not applying enough effort to your problem, Petition for Favor 22.3 The worst case for prayer is to ask God to favor your group over another. This implies that God is inherently unjust, corrupt, or mean. It might also imply that you’re afraid of your enemy’s god(s). Petition for Mercy 22.4 Asking for mercy or salvation implies that God can act unmercifully and unjustly. It also implies that God can be swayed from a decision that is his alone to make. The feared outcome may be based on religious doctrine or on a fear of God’s own whim. To Feel Good 22.5 Prayer may be employed to indulge one’s own greed or fantasies, to comfort oneself, to curry the favor of others, or to create a public image. This is hypocrisy of the highest order. To Assuage Guilt 22.6 Prayer is used by cowards to avoid pain and humiliation. Prayer is used in an attempt to alleviate guilt while avoiding the need to publicly atone for one’s transgressions or to face and make reparations to one’s victim. To Avoid Criticism 22.7 Prayer is often used to avoid the personal embarrassment of appearing different, to avoid the public criticism of not following ritual, or just to fit in with a group which one must belong to. This implies that God can be suckered into supporting one’s fear and self-indulgence. Substitute for Action 22.8 When prayer is used in lieu of personal action, it is an act of cowardice, bribery, or self-indulgence. Sympathy has no value in and of itself. Avoiding personal involvement may be truly justifiable for many reasons, but asking God to take action in your place is highly unethical. This also implies that God can be fooled by a cheap ploy. The More the Merrier 22.9 Asking other people to pray with you implies that God operates on statistical morality. It may also be based on a belief that God can hear a larger number of people better than He can hear one. This implies that either: God is not omniscient, Ritual 22.10 Praying at specific times, places, or circumstances implies that one is required to pray for discipline reasons, not that one wants to, needs to, or should pray for pious reasons. This is the equivalent of dancing around a fire with spears and painted faces. Worse, it may be merely a method of enhancing social coherence, enforcing group discipline, or instilling submissiveness to political authority. Effectiveness 22.11 God was not always willing to listen, especially if God was the real cause of the trouble to begin with. "Behold, I will bring evil upon them, which they shall not be able to escape; and though they shall cry unto me, I will not hearken unto them." Jer 11:11 "Therefore will I also deal in fury: mine eye shall not spare, neither will I have pity: and though they cry in mine ears with a loud voice, yet will I not hear them." Ezek 8:18 22.12 The biblical requirements for successful prayer were not consistent. Although nothing was required in two of these passages, faith was either useful or required in two others, then asking in Jesus’ name was applicable, then keeping the commandments was mentioned. Either there were many ways to get one’s prayers answered, or these are contradictions. "Ask and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened." Mt 7:7,8 & Lk 11:9,10 "And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive." Mt 21:22 "…whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith. Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that yea receive them, and ye shall have them." Mk 11:23,24 "And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do…If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it." Jn 14:13,14 "Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, he will give it you…ask and ye shall receive…" Jn 16:23,24 "And whatsoever we ask, we receive of him, because we keep his commandments…" 1Jn 3:22 22.13 Why are prayers so ineffective in our own personal experiences? If we put aside the apparent cases of answered prayers which have possible explanations in natural means, coincidence, psychology, selective memory, etc., there is little evidence for the efficacy of prayer. "And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive." Mt 21:22 "Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them." Mk 11:23,24 |
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Praying for someone else’s soul is the height of blasphemy, since it suggests that God should consider (even submit to) the wishes of a human sinner in a case that sinner is not competent to judge. Perhaps the supplicant knows downright well that the individual prayed for is no damned good and that they would not deserve paradise on their own merits without the interjection of prayer.