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August 13, 2004
Power of Prayer?
I've been posting about the hurricane in Florida and how Caryn and I have family that were pretty much right in the middle of it. We originally thought my side was going to get hit the hardest but it looks like they were spared while the hurricane basically landed on Caryn's parents front yard and they suffered quite a bit of damage to their house and property. That's just the way it goes I guess - however there's something that has been bothering me that I can't really talk to them about. Since all this began there's been a ton of e-mails and phonecalls all asking for prayers to help them. My mom said that last night a priest at her church was talking about the "power of prayer" and that since the storm changed course and missed them clearly it worked. I just got an e-mail from another family member thanking everyone for their prayers since the storm missed them as well. So what I want to know, is what about the people it didn't miss? What about Caryn's parents? What about the people who weren't evacuated because the storm wasn't headed their direction until the last minute? Were their prayers not good enough? Didn't they have enough people praying? I'm dead serious, I want to know how something like this is justified. If the god you were praying to is so dialed in to your slice of life that he/she is changing the course of category 4 hurricanes so they don't hit your house, what does that say about the people he/she pushed it into? I'd really like to hear from some spiritual people on this one, and if anyone says "god works in mysterious ways" I'm gonna puke. Posted by sean on August 13, 2004 05:14 PM | View blog reactions
Previous Entry: AP Story on local blogging Next Entry: What about Guantanamo? Clearly, hurricanes - like humans - also have free will. And they make last-minute, rash decisions to go one direction regardless of what god or any human wants them to do. Dead serious? Probably not... Posted by: John on August 13, 2004 10:45 PM
Sean - I thnk it is more a matter of expressing gratitute for most people. It's about humbling oneself in thanksgiving to another - more so than being thankful that the Hurricane (or whatever) unleashed its fury on someone else. Do some get that out of whack in their praise? Sure they do. But they'll be others who'll be among the first to the devestated areas who'll share their blessing by way of assisting with clean up, bringing food, donating money... When it works right, the chain effect of blessings continues on and on. Those who are blessed, share the blessing. When it doesn't - well, then some have "dead serious" questions which need to be, and should be asked.
Posted by: Mark on August 14, 2004 08:16 AM
Sean - You bring up one of those questions I've been wrestling with for as long as I've tried to think seriously about spiritual and cosmic matters. I think of Jesus' words in His Sermon on the Mount, in which he says God "causes his rain to fall upon the just and the unjust." We should give thanks when we are spared from the whims of nature, but as Mark says in his comment, be ready to help those who are in need. Posted by: Andrew Careaga on August 14, 2004 08:48 AM
I'm sorry, but I have nothing to add other than that this approach makes me insane. I don't get it, and probably never will. I pray to God to give me the strength to handle whatever comes my way. Posted by: Michelle on August 14, 2004 10:58 PM
Sean -- You raise a point that I -- and many others today and through the centruries -- struggle with. Posted by: Bill on August 15, 2004 01:01 PM
Sean writes: "My mom said that last night a priest at her church was talking about the 'power of prayer' and that since the storm changed course and missed them clearly it worked. I just got an e-mail from another family member thanking everyone for their prayers since the storm missed them as well. So what I want to know, is what about the people it didn't miss? What about Caryn's parents? What about the people who weren't evacuated because the storm wasn't headed their direction until the last minute?" At the risk of being totally uncharitable, if I had a dollar for every idiotic thing some self-satisfied priest (or minister) said at the pulpit, I'd be richer than Bill Gates. Why, pray tell, would God affirmatively answer prayers patently violating the "greatest commandment" -- "Love God with all your heart, all your mind and all your soul, and LOVE THY NEIGHBOR AS THYSELF"? Praying for the hurricane to turn away from you and clobber your neighbor -- as Father seems to think his flock was doing -- IS NOT loving thy neighbor. Particularly "as thyself." And for a priest to say that God contradicts Himself in answering prayer is beyond silly. That's not advanced theology; that's basic knowledge of scripture and common sense. Posted by: James Freeman on August 15, 2004 07:48 PM
I tried to post a comment to this thread but your site gave me an error about the post, so I posted my comment on my site: http://www.60dbhum.com/ Posted by: metanomi on August 16, 2004 12:30 PM
That's really weird. The direct link to your comment is here: http://www.60dbhum.com/puke/html/article306.html Posted by: Sean Bonner on August 16, 2004 12:38 PM
Sorry I didn't tell you the exact error, but I kept getting an error trying to post the text of the error for you :P it said something and then :sine if that helps Posted by: metanomi on August 20, 2004 09:34 AM
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