For some reason, my 250-word letter was cut! I'll post the "full" 250-word version here instead.
Don't Pray for Japan, Donate Money
The recent devastation in Japan has led many well-meaning believers in God to pray, but their prayers are ultimately futile and display an obvious contradiction in their supernaturalistic worldview. Theists believe that God created the universe and that everything happens according to his will, but the reality of natural disasters serves as defeaters to both of these beliefs. We should not expect a universe plagued with earthquakes and other natural disasters if God exists; God could have easily designed the universe in a different manner. What, then, should we take from this information? Seeing patterns of disaster and realizing that the universe is ultimately indifferent to human life should lead us to the conclusion that belief in an omni-God is irrational.
Natural disasters have nothing to do a “fallen nature,” unless, of course, you believe that the way God made us is a license for us to suffer, but being made in a disordered condition and punished for it is quite sadistic. If you believe that “God has reasons beyond us,” you're forced to fall into utter moral skepticism and would have to also believe that rape, murder, and other actions might not be evil because “reasons are beyond us.” If God exists and does nothing, he's hardly loving because he can “snap his fingers” and make all the horror stop without effort.
Instead of praying to God, return your concerns to the natural world and donate money to charitable organizations such as the Red Cross.
The recent devastation in Japan has led many well-meaning believers in God to pray, but their prayers are ultimately futile
ReplyDelete"Brad Bushman, co-author of the study and professor of communication and psychology at Ohio State University.
"People often turn to prayer when they're feeling negative emotions, including anger," he said.
"We found that prayer really can help people cope with their anger, probably by helping them change how they view the events that angered them and helping them take it less personally."
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"The team used an audiometer and vision charts to evaluate 14 patients who reported impaired hearing and 11 who reported impaired vision, both before and after members of a local church prayed for their healing. Subjects reported a small but statistically significant improvement in hearing and vision following the prayers."
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*Yawn*
The best studies on intercessory prayer show no correlation between it and actually doing anything physical.
ReplyDeleteAs for personal prayer, it's like the placebo effect, although you bringing it up is a non-sequitor since Justin was talking about what people here are (not) doing for people in Japan.