MORE THOUGHTS ON AN ATHEIST'S PRAYERS
Blogson GEBIV of
There's One, Only! left this comment on
my original atheist prayer post:
Who does an atheist pray to?
Harv, you're an agnostic. You don't know if God exists or not. You don't deny He exists.
Regarding the first part, as I said in the original post, I will pray to the empty, Godless sky.
Regarding the second part, I'm not an agnostic. I do deny God's existence. Or at least, I would if I were asked. I'm not an evangelical atheist out looking for converts, so I don't usually bring it up.
As to whether I "know", that brings up epistemological niceties about what knowledge is, which I'd rather avoid. Suffice it to say that I know it as well as I can be said to know anything about ANY complex abstract phenomenon. That is, the absense of God causes fewer contradictions in my personal knowledge base than a belief in him would.
As to WHY I don't believe... that's another VERY complex topic that I'm not fool enough to try condensing into a single post. It took a good 10 years or reading, study, and conversation to get to the point where I felt comfortable saying "none of the above". Even if I could reproduce it all, it wouldn't necessarily be persuasive, because that particular set of data was only sufficient to convince someone with my personal life experiences. If you've lived a different life, you'd probably need more or different information to reach the same conclusion. Since, as I said, I'm not evangelical, I have neither the time nor the desire to discover and deliver that critical mass of information for anyone else. That's a personal choice.
For informational purposes only, the VERY short answer is this: I looked at THE fundamental question:
Where did the universe come from?
Most people answer that question with "God created it", and if asked "Where did God come from?" they'll answer "Nowhere. God was just always there".
Which is my answer to that original question.
The universe was just always there.
All the matter and energy that currently exist have always existed, just changing in form and/or location over time.
And, realistically speaking, outside of a window of a few million years in one direction or another, I have no need to know the specifics about that form. So I don't waste a lot of thought on it. I know the laws of physics here and now in this part of the galaxy, and that's plenty to get me by. The rest is just the rest, and the niggling details are Stephen Hawking's problem, not mine.
Again. Not persuasive. Not by a long shot. It wasn't meant to be.
Getting back to the subject of atheistic prayer, The Humble Devildog of Random Firing of Neurons asked me a very good question on Saturday night while we were out enjoying scotch & cigars:
WHY would an atheist bother praying?
I'll toss out a parable here. If, for example, Nick were to have asked me, "Harv, my wife is sick. Would you please flip a coin until it comes up heads three times in a row so that she'll get better?" I wouldn't answer, "Nick, that's just coinist foolishness. I don't believe there's any relationship between coin-flipping and a woman's health."
No, I'd grab a quarter & start flipping. Why? Because I like Nick, I know he's suffering, and if there's something simple that I can do to make him feel better, I'll do it.
I'd probably even let him keep the quarter afterwards.
I suppose that, technically, this attitude towards prayer makes me as bad as the Pharisees - doing my prayers in public to be seen by men. God probably just rolls his eyes at such foolishness, and I won't win any favor in his eyes.
But then again, my intention is to please those I care about, and if an atheist's prayer will do that, then - to paraphrase Matthew 6:5 - "Verily I say unto you, I have my reward."
Posted by: Harvey at
09:54 PM
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Harv, just in case, if you get real sick with somethin' slow, line yourself up with a Catholic Priest, a Babatist Preacher, maybe a Holy Roller, a Rabbi, send somebody out to the Indian Resevation for a Shaman, maybe a Wiccan or two, especially if you can find some with big hooters and a Muslim Inman, if I'm spellin' that one right.
Never hurts to hedge your bets.
Posted by: Peter at March 28, 2005 10:19 PM (+7VNs)
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heh. I'm with Peter. He'a s pretty funny guy...
Posted by: Boudicca at March 28, 2005 11:03 PM (z7nbM)
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Nice job Harvey. I'm so used to you not talking about this subject in any detail, that it's nice to see you flesh you thoughts out a little.
Posted by: Johnny - Oh at March 29, 2005 06:41 AM (RcOT9)
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Who does an Atheist pray to? Whom ever they choose to. If you're praying to help comfort or ease someone else piece of mind. What does it hurt? You're not changing your beliefs, you're just helping someone else out. What is the worse that could happen? There is a god and he doesn't listen to you, a non-believer? You wasted 5 minutes of your life speaking to the wind? You make a friend feel better?
I think I can spend 5 minutes of my life talking to the wind to make a friend feel better.
Posted by: Contagion at March 29, 2005 07:28 AM (Q5WxB)
Posted by: Sissy at March 29, 2005 07:40 AM (PjqiK)
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And the very fact that you will do something like that because you care is one of the things I love most about you Harvey!!
Posted by: Tammi at March 29, 2005 09:05 AM (B6upY)
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Contagion - actually the WORST thing that could happen is that God could go "Oh... so that blasphemer HARVEY wants this person to get better, huh? Well, I *was* going to heal him, but since that's what HARVEY wants, I'll just let him die, despite the hundreds of good people who ALSO want this guy to get better."
Somehow I can't picture that level of vindictiveness, though, so you're probably right :-)
Posted by: Harvey at March 29, 2005 02:05 PM (ubhj8)
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Harvey, excellent post. Honest and eminently sensible and pragmatic. I tend to swing between agnosticism and Deism, but it's all about, in my mind, using one's God (!)-given talents to sort things through with one's own reason, molded by their own experience.
Posted by: Spear Shaker at March 29, 2005 04:53 PM (KYRDc)
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That's about the biggest load of crap that has ever come out of your mouth... close that cake hole before youchoke to death.
Posted by: Madfish Willie at March 29, 2005 06:58 PM (MEfjQ)
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Madfish, thanks for the comment, it had me in stiches.
Posted by: michele at March 29, 2005 07:04 PM (ht2RK)
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[wipes tear]
Bartender, you have no idea how much you were missed.
Now strap on your apron, get back behind the bar & pour me a frink'n Guinness!
Posted by: Harvey at March 30, 2005 07:15 AM (ubhj8)
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As far as the Universe always existing, there was a New Yorker article a couple of weeks ago that lightly discussed Einstein's late-in-life friendship with Kurt Gödel. The piece was a little brief and I was a little distracted, but the long and short of it was putting into question whether time was necessary in relativistic models of the universe, and there's a new book on the subject; if I delve (and if I understand it) I'll keep you posted.
Please note that insofar as cooking goes we can all continue to assume time exists.
Posted by: Linus at March 30, 2005 11:17 AM (Bf+TD)
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I'm also intrigued by some recent cosmology theories that suggest alternative (and non-theistic) theories to the Big Bang.
Go to Amazon.com & search "big bang never happened" without quotes
Posted by: Harvey at March 30, 2005 01:20 PM (tJfh1)
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DO AN ATHEIST'S PRAYERS COUNT? - UPDATED 3-28-05
Tammi of
Road Warrior Survival says that Bloodspite of
Technography has a sick mother and that we should pray for her.
Nick of Patriot Paradox has a sick wife and also asks for prayers on her behalf.
Since - religiously - I'm "none of the above", that seems to exclude me.
But it just occurred to me today... nowhere in the Bible - correct me if I'm wrong - does it list "believing in God" as a requirement for having one's prayers answered. In fact, I honestly can't think of a single reason why my prayers should count any less than the prayers of any other garden-variety sinner. When it comes to prayer, isn't it the message - and not the messenger - that matters?
I sincerely WANT these people to have good things happen to them, so I'll look up to my Godless sky and ask a favor. I'll send a tiny emotional care package out on behalf of people I don't know, but who mean a lot to people I do. If God wants to refuse delivery, that's his call. If it's not to be - for whatever reason - at least I tried.
I figure as long as God's sorting through his holy virtual e-mail anyway, he might as well get my spam, too.
Even if I *do* think he's 404.
UPDATE 3-28-05: Further thoughts on the matter here.
Posted by: Harvey at
05:02 PM
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Yes your prayers count. And one of these days we'll sit down and have a wonderful discussion about that. No preaching, just explaination. I seem to have a knack for that.....
And every good thought, well wish is appreciated.
BTW - Tonite while I was talking to LeeAnn she had a car accident. I'm still waiting to hear back from her. She said she is ok - but I need to talk to her first.
Add her to the list.
Posted by: Tammi at March 23, 2005 05:15 PM (HaRi0)
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...do you want an honest answer to that question, Harvey? Or, is it a rhetorical question?
The short answer will take a couple of hours. The long one takes a lifetime.
Posted by: the Humble Devildog at March 23, 2005 05:52 PM (cwP+t)
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HD - Your time. If you want to tackle it...
Posted by: Harvey at March 23, 2005 05:58 PM (ubhj8)
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As a fellow atheist here is my take on it.
I don't pray, 'cause I don't believe there is anything out there to hear or care.
I do believe in sending people good wishes, by telling them I'm hoping for the best for them, am thinking about them, and will do anything within my power to help them.
Sending the emotional care package out from yourself would only work if you actually tell the people you care about what you are feeling,otherwise there is no effect.
That's my two cents worth, anyway.
Posted by: amanda at March 23, 2005 06:42 PM (cqrWD)
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Do you believe energy is powerful?
Remember the nameless answers to many names but requires none.
Posted by: at March 23, 2005 07:04 PM (4z4Me)
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Wow, you've read what I've been thinking. I guess you would call me agnostic...and when people as for my prayers .... I usually reply with, "You are in my thoughts" and things along that line.
But you brought up a good point...is praying only for those who believe in God?
Thanks for bringing this up...I don't get to talk about this sort of thing as often as I would like...just because I'm still interested in many opinions.
Posted by: Sissy at March 23, 2005 07:37 PM (2Om/w)
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In my mind, everyone's prayers count as long as they are sincere and from the heart.
Posted by: Boudicca at March 23, 2005 08:37 PM (z7nbM)
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Who does an atheist pray to?
Harv, you're an agnostic. You don't know if God exists or not. You don't deny He exists.
Posted by: GEBIV at March 23, 2005 09:06 PM (Z+Kbb)
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I'm not a particularly religious man, my wife, the lovely and gracious Linda Lou is a strong believer. Before we married I agreed to go along with her so as to present a united front for the children. She was willing to be flexible enough to attend the Church of my Department's Chaplain who, in addition to being a Minister was a Reserve Deputy.
I have a point, I'll get to it. I feel the background has some small value.
I believe that the Church we raised our children in gave them a way to tie the important moral and ethical values together, our now-adult kids all live ethical lives, none have been locked up, none have become the emotional, moral or addiction-riddled train wrecks that we parents fear so much. As an added bonus, they are all four reasonably happy and, while not scaring Bill Gates, are reasonably prosperous.
So, that part worked. I make no claim that another church or no church might not have worked as well. I do suspect that tying the morality and ethics together was easier the way we did it.
I was probably the picture of hypocricy in my church going, right up until the day my drinking finally got the better of me. I went to church only because it was expected of me and because of the deal I had made with my wife.
Then came August of 1985. I came to in a cell in my own jail, fortunately I'd managed to get locked up before I killed someone driving blind drunk. What brought me to semiconsciousneess was the very loud voices of my wife, my Lieutenant and the Chaplain, all very irately and loudly telling me what I had to do to avoid losing my marriage, my family and my career.
The first, second and third things I had to do was stop drinking, enter substance abuse treatment and continue in AA after treatment.
One of the tenets of AA is prayer. I got hung up there for quite a while as I simply did not believe. Perhaps it would be more accurate to say that I simply did not know what I believed.
Fortunately our Preacher and Chaplain is a very smart guy. He explained that it wasn't important to work out my beliefs then, merely important that I follow directions. He solved my problem with a simple directive. In the morning I got up out of bed, hit my knees and said "To Whom It May Concern, please give me the strength to get through this day without drinking."
At bedtime I hit my knees again "To Whom It May Concern, thank you for the help today."
As the weeks sober turned into months I started asking fior a little more help in some other areas of life.
As the months of sobriety turned into years I started helping other alcoholics, including those who had multiple relapses into drinking. To this day I believe that the single biggest predictor of successful sobriety is that daily prayer of first asking for help and then giving thanks for that help. I no longer begin my prayers "To Whom It may Concern" although I'm not sure that it would matter if I did. I know a little more about my beliefs, although I'm not even sure that THAT matters.
What I do know is simple. He does answer the prayers of the nonbeliever. I'm living proof. I asked for some help to keep my family, my career and my life together. I got all of that and more.
It didn't matter that I didn't believe in Him, you see, because He believed in me.
Oh, and be careful of selfish prayers. While all prayers are answered, not only is the answer sometimes no, but He has whopped me alongside the head for being an asshole a time or three.
I use the term He, it would not surprise me a whole lot if instead I found Her.
Sorry if this was long and boring.
Posted by: Peter at March 23, 2005 11:46 PM (M7kiy)
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I'm agnostic but... When I was abroad in an oriental country they had this idea of positive energy being released into the universe via a type of praying so I don't see any reason why your prayers should be any less an attempt to release that kind of energy.
I won't go into the idea of organised religion vs Alex coz I've done that on my blog before.
Posted by: Alex at March 24, 2005 02:31 AM (RbeLs)
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Peter - Long, yes, boring, no.
Would the world be a better place if you had a blog? Yes.
Posted by: Harvey at March 24, 2005 06:45 AM (ubhj8)
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I believe in the sending of positive energy and well thoughts out. I was raised in a very religious family, however as I got older it didn't seem to fit with me. I played musical religions for a while. And I ended up where I am. The one thing that seemed constant in all of them was: If you wish well to others, your wishes may be granted.
So now I just send happy thoughts to whomever is in need.
Posted by: Contagion at March 24, 2005 07:12 AM (Q5WxB)
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I always like it when Peter visits. I never find anything the man writes, boring.
Posted by: Boudicca at March 24, 2005 08:20 AM (z7nbM)
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Uh Peter...that was beautiful. And if I were you, I'd just save yourself the aggrivation and start looking into Blogspot....
:-)
Posted by: Tammi at March 24, 2005 09:31 AM (HaRi0)
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ON LOSING A FRIEND
This one is a personal indulgence, so I've tucked it into the extended entry.
NOTE: Hanky alert and strong language warnings are in effect.
more...
Posted by: Harvey at
09:17 PM
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Hands Harvey a beer, and raises glass...
Posted by: T1G at March 15, 2005 09:35 PM (M7kiy)
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Pure, heartfelt eloquence. You honor your friend.
Posted by: Spear Shaker at March 15, 2005 09:41 PM (5yivI)
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Damn. Just damn.
I'm sorry for your loss, and I'm heartened to see you are able to follow through and "make it mean something." Every day, make it mean something.
Posted by: Blackfive at March 15, 2005 10:04 PM (GcuVa)
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*hugs Harv*
.
.
.
no words necessary.
Posted by: songstress7 at March 15, 2005 10:07 PM (ie93s)
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I'm sure he is very proud of you right now, and probably cursing you for something!
Posted by: Sissy at March 15, 2005 10:58 PM (PjqiK)
Posted by: vw bug at March 16, 2005 06:32 AM (ZmXG8)
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(Hands Harvey a bottle of Jack Daniels)
Sometimes beer just isn't enough.
Posted by: Contagion at March 16, 2005 07:13 AM (Q5WxB)
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How fortunate he was to have a friend like you.
{{HUG}}
Posted by: Machelle at March 16, 2005 07:56 AM (ZAyoW)
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so sorry for your loss, but you do your friend proud. [hugs]
Posted by: Oddybobo at March 16, 2005 08:56 AM (6Gm0j)
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{{{{HUGS}}}}}
Wish I had words... but I don't. I'm so sorry.
Posted by: Teresa at March 16, 2005 08:58 AM (kqocd)
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I'm so sorry to hear about your loss, Harv. That was a damn beautiful eulogy right there.
Posted by: Jim at March 16, 2005 10:34 AM (tyQ8y)
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This side of the bridge sucks, dude.
I'm sorry to have you here.
Posted by: _Jon at March 16, 2005 01:58 PM (ewFgD)
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I'd hug you Harv, but that'd be gay.
And to anyone else who has ever been a young man, or to anyone else who has ever had someone close to them die, that was far more eloquent than you think it was.
Sorry for your loss.
Posted by: Chuck at March 16, 2005 05:03 PM (IECm3)
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Say it true Harvey: that man wasn't your friend, he was your brother in everything but blood.
I'll raise a glass in your bro's honor tonight my friend.
Posted by: Graumagus at March 16, 2005 08:09 PM (914Tu)
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I love ya Harvey. That was one of the most beautiful tributes I've ever read...you do you, Kevin and your friendship proud.
Any you're right. Now is for the memories...celebrate his life, celebrate the times you shared.
And shed those bullshit tears...that's one promise that is never meant to be kept.
**hugs**
Posted by: Tammi at March 17, 2005 09:01 AM (sf5eQ)
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I too spent time with my friends hanging out at cemetaries. Your right, it was a wonderful place to escape to.
Thanks for sharing your memories of Kevin with us. Wish I could be there to give you a hug... this electronic one will have to take it's place {{{hug}}}.
Thanks too for being an awesome friend in your own right.
Posted by: michele at March 17, 2005 06:20 PM (ht2RK)
Posted by: Susie at March 17, 2005 07:29 PM (0cy3a)
Posted by: physics geek at March 21, 2005 12:51 PM (Xvrs7)
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WHAT REALLY MATTERS
While clicking links at the
New Blog Showcase Carnival, I wound up at
helenchen293, where I found her
musing on the important things in life. This part especially stood out for me:
Last night I stayed up late, writing a short blog. Today at lunch time several of my coworkers and I discussed about our job security. On my way home, I compiled a list of things I have to do tomorrow at work. After dinner, I wondered if I would have enough time to finish my short story for my writersÂ’ group meeting on Saturday.
Is it possible that none of these things is important to me when I reach to the end?
My feelings are this: at the end, you will look back at how you touched other people. I think Helen will look back with pride at her short story, and how it affected her writers' group.
Job-related things - probably won't be given a second thought.
But the blog... although it seems like a trivial hobby, I've met some wonderful people through blogging, and every time I post, I reach out to them in a small way and make a connection. I think it's one of the things I'll remember at the end.
And as a legacy, I think it will honor my memory well.
Posted by: Harvey at
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Harvey,
I came to learn - I like to learn from examples ;-) And what a nice surprise - you have answered my question! Thank you so much! (I have to think about what you have said for a couple of days...)
Yes, I begin to see the "connection" part. It is wonderful.
Helen
Posted by: Helen at March 03, 2005 09:51 PM (Ns/2t)
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I think there are two major parts of blogging. One is the soapbox effect. People like to be heard. The second is the community.
I started blogging because of the soapbox. I love to hear myself and figured it was my duty to let others experience the wonder that is me. Over the past couple years the community aspect has changed how I blog. Now it isn't so much a place for me to broadcast so much as it's a place for me to entertain and interact with the community of people I've collected.
In a way it's like the world's most extensive party-line phone.
Posted by: Jim at March 04, 2005 04:30 AM (MDLz3)
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How very interesting! I also started in order to feed my need to be heard. After only two months, however, that need is fulfilled. Now I just want to talk; talk quietly with others; talk about things that are important but not earth shattering (evidence my recent post on how to make fudge).
Isn't interesting how are priorities change and somehow become more personal and less grand.
Posted by: VARepublicMan at March 04, 2005 10:39 AM (vZum+)
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