Does prayer actually work?

[RedPiggy]

I can agree that flames start rather easily in politics and religion. However, "mature" people should be able to discuss without resorting to flaming. Maybe we should pray about it.

 

[frogboy4]

You're missing the point, I didn't say THIS thread, I said threads LIKE this, which we've had plenty of this year, and as I said...

Oh forget it, I don't know why the **** I'm trying continue making a point...

Well, so this thread marks that things are getting better.

 

[Nick22]

See, this is one of the points I've been trying to illustrate as of late, this is where a small percentage of the drama that's plagued MC as of late is coming from - spontaneous, yet intentionally controversial topics that are brought up simply to add more "excitement" to the forum, because it's felt that the constant low-key atmosphere of MC is monotonous; it's topics like these that lure in both sides of the debate, things are said, people are offended, people vent their frustrations, mini flame wars are started, other people come along to egg it on, it goes on and on until one of the mods step up and say enough is enough.

That said, if there's two types of discussions I feel that should be avoided at all costs on ANY forum are political discussions, and religious discussions, and for the reasons I just pointed out. I've seen these discussions escalate to epic proportions before, and they get really ugly - years ago, I found myself being ridiculed and persecuted by an entire forum, including the admins and the mods over religious views, yet I was the one who got "in trouble" for "instigating" everyone else, when it was the other way around; likewise, here last year at a forum I mod, one young member was bullied by an atheistic assistant admin and his equally atheistic-though-raised-Muslim girlfriend/assistant/moderator for her religious views, and it took myself, and another neutral moderator to call this to the attention of the forum's webmistress to put a stop to it, because these two insisted on further "questioning" this member over her faith, and it was really upsetting to her, as she did nothing to provoke it in anyway.

But I give up. Like others who are in the same wagon as myself, I simply give up. It's become all too clear that there is, at this point, no hope in restoring this forum to the peaceful community it once was; I'm tired of fighting a losing battle, especially considering I get the hint that these past several months, I've lost a considerable amount of respect from what I always thought of as my cyber family - I see that a lot of what I say or contribute anymore is only taken with a grain of salt, and often times ignored completely, which is why I wouldn't be surprised in the least if nobody even actually reads what I just posted. But once more... I give up.

WHAT FREAKIN DRAMA? where on MC do you currently see drama? i sure as **** don't. you're making a mountain out of a dumbass hill.

i think the forum is perfectly peaceful. i honestly do. i don't get why YOU won't shut up about all the "drama." cause there is NONE. ZIP! ! ZERO! ! ! complaining about drama that is non existent CAUSES DRAMA!

if this forum upsets you so much, and is SOOO DRAMATIC that you're at the point where you "give up", then why do you follow it? just leave. problem solved.

 

[D'Snowth]

WHAT FREAKIN DRAMA? where on MC do you currently see drama? i sure as **** don't. you're making a mountain out of a dumbass hill.

i think the forum is perfectly peaceful. i honestly do. i don't get why YOU won't shut up about all the "drama." cause there is NONE. ZIP! ! ZERO! ! ! complaining about drama that is non existent CAUSES DRAMA!

if this forum upsets you so much, and is SOOO DRAMATIC that you're at the point where you "give up", then why do you follow it? just leave. problem solved.

You've only been here during the dark ages, you have no idea what this forum USED to be like, you haven't been here long enough to see how things have gone south in the past couple of years.

And it's not just me, others don't bother trying to add their two-cents worth anymore, but if you actually ask others like Prawnie, Beau, Kathy, Beth, MrsPepper, Dave, and other longtimers, they'll tell you pretty much the same thing.

AND, here's ANOTHER point I've made... I get no respect around here anymore. Ever since I got suspended twice for others' bullcrap, I'm the village idiot around here, and this was one of the last places I expected this to happen.

 

[BeakerSqueedom]

AND, here's ANOTHER point I've made... I get no respect around here anymore. Ever since I got suspended twice for others' bullcrap, I'm the village idiot around here, and this was one of the last places I expected this to happen.

Do you seriously think it was just other people's bull crap that got you banned?

No, Snowth, what you fail to realize is YOU were at fault and you can't point fingers. You behaved like a bully and an investigator so you haven't got anybody else to blame except yourself for what happened. Perhaps if you matured, didn't bait others or play the victim in such a way, you'd get respect.

There is no enemy camp or dark side or whatever you refer to it as. It's your own responsibility to treat others like you'd like to be treated or just ignore them. Isn't that what all of us have learned on Sesame Street? Come on.

 

[Oscarfan]

I'll admit, I'm not pious. At all. I pray occasionally, mostly for others safety.

Related story: Last year, a freshman brought a gun to school (but didn't use it). On Tumblr, everyone was talking about it, and my atheist friend made a post, saying prayers, wishes on 11:11 etc. wouldn't help him. Like I said, I'm not that very religious, but that made me very angry.

 

[SSLFan]

Does prayer work? I grew up mostly in a Christian family and have heard prayer so many times, so in short, yeah. I consider myself mostly a Spiritual person however. I pray from time to time, and have had others pray for me, and it really does help.

 

[frogboy4]

There appears to be some sort of effort to try to create drama in this thread where there isn't any. Religious and non-religious people have shared their feelings without demeaning others who feel differently. This has been a freakishly good example of that! I don't see any mean-spirited on-topic responses here or any on-topic point of view being repressed. I was a moderator here for a few years and have seen all types of reported conflict on MC. I actually thought twice about posting in this thread, but things have worked out well and I don't think we should let it be derailed by an off-topic rant. Everyone has a right to be here and should share with mutual respect and dignity.

 

[Nick22]

Do you seriously think it was just other people's bull crap that got you banned?

No, Snowth, what you fail to realize is YOU were at fault and you can't point fingers. You behaved like a bully and an investigator so you haven't got anybody else to blame except yourself for what happened. Perhaps if you matured, didn't bait others or play the victim in such a way, you'd get respect.

There is no enemy camp or dark side or whatever you refer to it as. It's your own responsibility to treat others like you'd like to be treated or just ignore them. Isn't that what all of us have learned on Sesame Street? Come on.

exactly! EXACTLY! i am totally agreeing with you!

 

[Convincing John]

I see God as more of a tinkerer than a creator.

The first thing I thought of when I read that was Doc at his workbench: "Sprockie? Have you seen that solar system? It was right next to my stave shaver..." (Doc ruffles through his tool box, tossing planets over his shoulder).

But your theory is valid. Think of Doc's inventions (that huge musical instrument he made from party favors comes to mind). It's weird looking, but it worked (I'd like to have one of those things myself).

Now compare the concept of that to all the odd things in nature. Ever seen a platypus? It exists, it eats, breathes, grows, but it looks like it was cobbled together from spare parts.

Look at a magnified picture of a flea or a mosquito. No matter what your beliefs, we can all point to a platypus and say "Yeah, that is weird-looking." Same thing with the bugs. The list goes on--the archeopteryx, the coelacanth, the dodo...

Same thing applies to people, too. One of my old 7th grade teachers looked like Bunsen Honeydew wearing a bad toupee and Groucho Marx glasses with the nose and mustache attached.

There was a comic who said "God must have a sense of humor. Look at the giraffe." Maybe that's true, too.

I was going to bring up another topic, but I don't want to open up another can of worms, so I'll just say what I read in one of my Fraggle Rock books. Red said this to Boober: "You have a right to feel the way you do."

That's what I believe. As for prayer, sometimes it's worked for me, and sometimes I don't get what I asked for. Still, I choose to keep my faith and that's that. It works for me, but everyone needs to decide what works best for them. (I'm Christian, by the way).

There are so many unanswered questions out there. The trick is to try and discuss what we believe in a civil manner and not fight like Jerry Springer guests when we disagree.

Convincing John