Excerpt #27 from my book, Religion, An Obstacle to Human Progress
What happens when the same number of people pray for something as pray against it? How does God decide whose prayer to answer? Does the total number of people praying for or against something matter? How about the righteousness of the supplicants? Are positive prayers answered more frequently than negative ones? Does God take the positive ones and Satan the negative? Does the intensity of the praying have any effect on the outcome? Does the length of time one devotes to praying have any effect on the frequency with which one’s prayers are answered?
Do the words and phrases used in prayer — either positive or negative — have any bearing on the success rate? Does the nature of the thing or things prayed for have any bearing on the prayer’s success rate — either positive or negative prayers? Why or why not? – Robert A. Baker, Skeptical Briefs
BOTH SIDES PRAY.
The act of prayer, like so much else in the world of religion, defies logic.
Why would a god purported to be benevolent, all-powerful, and all-knowing look after only those who pray?
The reality is that prayer serves the priesthood not those who pray.
The illogic of prayer is stunning.
Consider the football player who, after scoring the winning touchdown, kneels and in gratitude makes a sign of the cross in the end zone certain that Jesus played a role in his achievement.
Consider the disappointment of the mothers of the opposing team who prayed fervently that the touchdown would not occur.
Consider the basketball player standing on the foul line who, about to attempt a foul shot, takes a moment to gesture to his god for assistance, certain that this deity is focused on this game even while He looks after the needs and answers the prayers of nearly eight billion other people.
Consider those who “thank God” that the hurricane did not come ashore where they live certain that their prayers were answered.
It does not occur to them that countless others down the coast who suffered the wrath of the same storm prayed as well.
Does God pick and choose who to reward or punish according to the quantity and quality of prayers offered?
Is God willing to prevent evil, but not able? Then, he is not omnipotent. Is he able, but not willing? Then he is malevolent. Is he both able and willing? Then when commeth evil? Is he neither able nor willing? Then why call him God? – Epicurus
It is best to read the weather forecast before praying for rain. – Mark Twain
Researchers in a Mayo Clinic study could discern no scientifically significant differences between groups of patients who received prayer and those who did not.
Fully 26.6% in the prayer group even suffered “negative outcomes” such as death, heart attack, rehospitalization, or a trip to the emergency room.
More bedeviling are the deep philosophical and theological questions the Mayo study raised.
Even surveys that suggest a link between health and spirituality aren’t able to answer: Why would gods or angels wait until someone is on his/her deathbed, or in a serious medical crisis before
intervening?
Why might prayer be said to work for some and not for others?
Equally puzzling is the comment of Rev. John Hatgidikas, “who teaches University of Minnesota medical students about spirituality,” according to the AP story that reported the Mayo Clinic findings.
He said that people who are unaware that they are being prayed for by others “may benefit in ways that we can’t know or see.”
Then how would he know that?