nonplussedbyreligion:

When did I realize I was God? Well, I was praying and I suddenly realized I was talking to myself.  - Peter O’Toole

If you ask your average Christian, they will tell you that prayer works. They will cite incidences where they petitioned their God for something and, lo and behold, their request was granted. They firmly believe that their God, the one who they believe created the entire cosmos, reached down from the sky and altered his creation to specifically accommodate their request, regardless of how it might affect someone else. I wonder if the Christian who prays for sunshine during an outdoor wedding takes into account the nearby farmer who’s crops will be destroyed if one more day passes without rain.

I wonder if the average Christian has any concept of what a coincidence is, as many of them are so fond of stating that there are no coincidences and everything happens for a reason. Their logic surrounds the belief that God answers prayer in three ways; yes, no and wait. Seems the “wait” option is his favorite.

Because The Bible Tells Me So… 

Many Christians are fervent in their belief about the effectiveness of prayer because what the bible says about it. In the bible, Jesus makes a number of promises on the topic of prayer. In the book of Matthew, he states that what we ask for in his name will be given. He promises that if one has the faith akin to the smallest of seeds, the mustard, that mountains will be thrown into the sea. Then there is the whole matter of healing physical ailments.

However, not all of their prayers involve the request to twist and bend the natural world to accommodate their needs, such as a change in the weather, the avoidance of destruction by natural disaster or the eradication of some terminal illness. In fact, most of their prayer requests are quite simple. A repair to a home or a vehicle is offered up, or their kids need new clothes or school supplies, or perhaps some financial assistance is required. These petitions are often “granted” because other humans were made aware of a need, and through the camaraderie that surrounds their common belief, others were called into action.

Of course, the believer will tell you that it was the hand of God that touched their hearts and that it was their God who moved these people into action. They will tell you this because they believe that Christianity has a lock on altruistic behavior and that selfless acts of love and sacrifice cannot be committed by someone who does not have Jesus living inside them. Everyone knows that Atheists are immoral, unethical, selfish, baby-eating, Satan-worshiping cretins who would not know an act of kindness if it jumped up and bit them in their infidel ass.

Reality Bites…

However, the reality of prayer having an effect on the alteration of the natural world is the same as if nothing were done at all. Hurricanes, tornadoes, tsunamis, earthquakes, sinkholes and every other natural disaster, bar none, are in no way effected by the petition of prayer because there is nobody listening. No matter how loudly or how fervently these people pray, they are talking to themselves. Prayer has no supernatural effect on anything. If a disaster is diverted, the ignorant actually believe that their God did it. If a disaster is not diverted, they will tell you anything from blaming it on a high rate of “unchristian” behavior in the area to their God’s ways being “higher” and apparently he had a perfectly good reason which is to remain a mystery.

Those who believe that God healed the cancer patient still fail to understand that the miracle is not from heaven, but due to the evolution of the human body along with natural self-preservation, the emotional state and psychological condition of the afflicted patient. In fact, some studies have even shown a reverse effect in medical conditions due to the sick Christian being stressed out over performance anxiety.

That Old Rugged Cross…

Christians cling to prayer so strongly because if they suddenly acknowledged the evidence that surrounds the invalidity of their actions, they would have to also acknowledge all of the other inconsistencies and contradictions that pellet their faith by the shotgun of reality. Everywhere around the world there are people praying to God to heal sickness, relieve hunger or bring peace to nations in conflict and every day their requests are not granted.

People still die in third world countries of diseases that can be cured with a bottle of aspirin or for the lack of one decent meal every day. People are still murdered every day by tyrannical despots. Ethnic cleansing is still a reality. Slavery is still a reality. Human trafficking is still a reality. Honor killings are still commonplace. Child abuse and molestation are still rampant. Is he too busy? Is he overwhelmed by requests? Does he need a secretary? Oh, wait… I totally forgot about this not being his fault, but is attributed to a “fallen world” and “free will.” Sorry, what was I thinking?

In Of Itself…

The fact remains that when you remove natural human altruism from the equation, prayer alone does nothing. With regard to the physical world, the sequences of events that appear to have occurred as a result of the supplication to an imaginary deity are nothing but coincidental. Blind faith is the only attribute that can cause an individual to ignore the sheer abundance of statistical data that prove prayer has no effect on the aforementioned natural disasters.

Ignorance toward human physiology, psychology and biology can be attributed to the belief that praying to a God will heal the maladies that so commonly afflict our species. Statistics prove that God never answers prayers.

A Christian can go for a month without uttering one, single prayer or notifying a fellow believer of a need and they will find that nothing will change because no matter what they believe, feel or have been convinced of in their minds, prayer does not work.  There is a scientific explanation for most of the results of their prayers, and what cannot be explained is just, thus far, undiscovered. Because something is unknown does not mean it is supernatural. It is just unknown.

Mental Gymnastics…

It takes a huge contortion of logic to reconcile a loving and just God who hears and answers prayers with the millions of faithful believers who continue to endure unimaginable suffering every single day. It takes an astounding level of ignorance to attribute the lack of alleviation of this human suffering to an explanation as mundane and enigmatic as it not being “his will” or “according to his plan”, as well as the concepts I pointed out earlier; the equally ridiculous “free will” explanation and the effect that the “fall of man” has on our world, or the positively horrific belief that somehow it is the fault of the victim due to insincerity or the existence of unrepentant sin. That is akin to a woman “asking” to be raped.

Yet, countless numbers of people still cling to the belief that they are talking to God and that God hears them and is working things out “for the good of those who believe,” in spite of evidence to the contrary.  They choose to remain ignorant to the psychology that explains those “feelings” that God is communicating with them. They believe that the hand of God guides them, denying the science of natural human intuition which our species has developed through millions of years of evolution.

Time spent praying may offer comfort to the faithful because they believe their efforts are effective, be it for personal reasons or for the benefit of others, but prayer amounts to little more than talking to oneself. If the prayer of the believer is never communicated to another person, any results are purely coincidental. Prayer, by itself, changes nothing. It is a placebo that has the same effect of a sugar pill that is marketed as a diet drug. Without a proper diet and exercise (action), it is useless.

In short, it is a colossal waste of time that could be put to much better and more productive use.

This is just fantastic :)