+71 Prayer "aiding" recovery from disease is a result of the placebo effect, not divine intervention, amirite?

by Anonymous 12 years ago

If the power of prayer was so powerful, why does it only work when the people //know// they're being prayed for?

by Anonymous 12 years ago

What about all the people praying for the starving children in Africa? I know they're helping more than those stupid volunteers and people who donate.

by Anonymous 12 years ago

They are clearly the exception.

by Anonymous 12 years ago

Is that sarcasm? I truly hope it is.

by Anonymous 12 years ago

Have you seen my other comments?

by Anonymous 12 years ago

Why can't people be more open minded. There was a post awhile back that said some thing like "maybe science is God's way of explaining things" and I like that idea! For us, somewhat "lesser beings", God gives us something to explain all the wierd and strange things in our world. But the church is so stuck up in itself that it doesn't see these things and doesn't accept change or new theories. It's more "my way or the highway" to them, and that's where the ignorance comes in. Now true there are strong Christian followers that arent ignorant to science and i believe those might be some of the best people out there. But the ones that are totally one way or another need to open up a bit more... And It also shouldn't take a -book- to teach Right and Wrong. But if that's what it you believe, then have fun, following advice from 2000+ years ago. :L

by Anonymous 12 years ago

Another aspect of prayer that wasn't mentioned is that it helps the one that is praying spiritually become closer to God. Perhaps God doesn't need our help, and he knows what he is doing; praying benefits the one that is praying.

by Anonymous 12 years ago

In regard to religion (mostly Christianity) people seem to throw around the word "placebo" quite a lot, mostly in a derogatory way. I never really understood that. I'm saying that's what you did, but it's true nonetheless. In this instance, someone overcoming a disease without "divine intervention" but through sheer will/determination/mind power is FUCKING INCREDIBLE. IMO. Not all people (myself included) subscribe to the idea that there's a Creator god that interferes with our lives. Both "god" and "prayer" are defined in many different ways for many different people. Likewise, the idea of what constitutes as "divine" is subjective. I think the fact that the human brain is capable of the placebo effect is pretty damn miraculous. And really fucking interesting, I might add.

by Anonymous 12 years ago

This website shows everything I believe. www.dafk.net/what/

by Anonymous 11 years ago

I think the whole "prove it!" idea really ignores faith as a whole. One believes in a God because of faith - the whole point of the damn thing is that it can't be proven. At the same time, saying "prove it's not!" is ridiculous. It doesn't matter how modern our technology is or how smart of a species we are, there are some things we will never be able to prove. I'd like to think that any faith falls under the category of unprovable.

by Anonymous 11 years ago

OP's a troll, and an effective one at that

by Anonymous 11 years ago

I didn't know that anyone had disproved the existence of a deity yet

by Anonymous 11 years ago