National Day Of Prayer

Great points.

why bring race into this, his post never mentioned race.

@thehig1: he’s the one that brought up race when he singled out white people, did you read his post or no?

@iwilson1296: just re-read missed were he wrote white, fair enough.

People have died because they tried to pray away the illness and parents prosecuted because they refused medical help for their children.
People are obviously lulled into a false sense of security as well.

Go to any hospital and you'll find it full of religious people who are not only praying for a good recovery but ALSO getting actual medical attention. There's no denying that SOME people try to pray away illness instead of getting medical help, but there's also no denying that SOME people ruin their lives playing video games. Do you honestly think that either of those groups represent the MAJORITY of people who either pray or play video games? Are you somehow under the impression that it's only atheists who are going to the doctor?

More to the point, pay attention to this discussion. xblackerrthing said that he/she prays every day, and you replied, "Wouldn't you be better off actually doing something?" What evidence do you have that this particular person is doing nothing? He/she didn't even state what problems he/she has or what he/she is doing about them, only that he/she prays about SOMETHING every day. What is he praying about? Is he praying that he can continue to pay the bills? If so, has he also ever said that he's praying about being able to pay the bills INSTEAD OF cutting back on expenses or getting a second job? Is he praying about a good outcome concerning some medical/health problem? If so, I don't recall him ever saying that he ISN'T going to the doctor, and instead using prayer as a substitute.

Point being, we're not talking about the vague concept of prayer luring some people into a false sense of security. We're talking about a SPECIFIC person merely mentioning that he prays every day, and then you automatically accusing him of not doing a damn thing about his problems. What exactly are you basing that on? How exactly would the fact that he prays make you come to that conclusion when he hasn't said a word about his problems or what he's praying about, and when hospitals are full of people praying while they get medical attention?

EDIT: Or to put it shortly, my biggest issue isn't with your thoughts on prayer, but rather on how you replied to the guy. Here we have an ACTUAL person who does nothing but mention that he prays every day, and then you decide to make it personal and accuse him of being negligent in his duties. That's a dickish thing to say to a person, and there sure as hell ought to be more reason for saying it other than the mere fact that he prays. You and I know fully well that the world is full of religious people who not only pray but ALSO take care of their business. SoI'd like to know your reasoning for accusing this SPECIFIC person of not handling his business. Even if praying is "doing nothing", what the hell reason do you have for accusing him of doing nothing but praying?