Challenging Prayer | Can You Change God's Mind?
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- Опубліковано 28 вер 2024
- They tell us "prayer works"...but is it true? Let's explore the idea that god answers prayer to see if it's even possible within the Christian worldview.
Please keep in mind that all everything I say here is my subjective opinion, and is intended to deconstruct fundamentalist/evangelical/conservative Christian ideologies from an ex christian perspective
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Outro Music | "Pixels" by Jeff Kaale
tags | Ex christian, deconstructing christianity, exvangelical, former fundie, leaving christianity, gospels, jesus, bible, god, christian, evangelism, apologist, atheist vs christian, agnostic, recovering from religion
I read christians writing how they will "pray" for the victims of the last hurricane here in FL. I wrote back, "why didn't you pray for the hurricane to not come in the first place"!
Why don’t they pray to change the past? Their God isn’t bound by time, right?
You heathens... you will pay oon judgment day
@@TKR377I can't tell if you're joking 😂
@@AnimePokerTX The past cannot be changed.
What about the Maga pastor that “canceled” Hurricane Idalia and told it to stay away from land. Is he responsible for the damage cuz he used the wrong incantation or prayer beads?
When the church has a financial problem they take up an extra collection. When a parishioner has a financial problem they instead say to pray for them.
Best comment on this entire page.
Such a situation is an opportunity for the community of faith to join in helping the stricken member to raise the capital to help obtain the solution. I have witnessed my parish fund motorised wheelchairs, overseas operations for rare forms of cancer, etc. It is an example of the generosity of the congregation in action.
@@lancemarchetti8673Listen, this one is the bomb. But most of them that l red here, have me cracking up.
Sooooo true!!!
@@jameshogan6142how often? .. can you tell me how many times you bore witness to such event personally ?
My mother is very religious. She had an accident in a public transportation many years ago back in the 1960s. She told me that she prayed to god to survive, when she was being pulled out of the wreck in an ambulance, she saw the body of a young boy who laid dead next to his desperate mother who was crying in agony. She has always used that story to “prove” the power of her prayer….. and my thoughts since I’m an atheist have been: I’m glad my mother survived but why he didn’t hear the prayer of the mother who lost her child and cried in anguish?” I asked my mother that question and she justified god by saying, “Well, only god knows if that boy was going to be evil as a grown man and decided to take him while he was young an innocent” 🙄
No matter the monstrosity of god’s acts, the faithful will find a way to justify him.
That's awful!
Geez, how a indoctrinated ones come up with such an excuse. But I was one of um while indoctrinated, am lucky can think critically now.
Using that logic, why didn't God kill Hitler as a boy?
I wonder if that explanation would’ve been comforting to that grieving mother. Unbelievable.
Exactly! Or any number of other horrible people that became serial killers, spouse abusers, etc. @@FluffyChikki
Prayer works until it doesn't (very often) and then they blame the person who prayed for not having enough faith.
Or they accuse folks of not understanding God’s master plan.
They also say it's God's will
the one that always gets me is when a church burns or church bus crashes, there are always survivors who thank god for their survival and not once realize that they are claiming they are better than all the poor bastards that died. Their egos must be as large as the universe or they are dumb as rocks. Love your videos.
Or when a Bible survives and they say, “Look at God’s glory!” While ignoring that someone died or is suffering in the hospital. 🤷♂️🤦♂️
Or I often read online when someone passes to pray for the families, as if that’ll do anything. Better to just send your condolences if you know them.
Or when they speak in voices full of awe as they describe the only building left standing in either Hiroshima or Nagasaki ... was a Church ....
@@whitemountainapache3297or when they marvel that the crucifix survived a church fire, completely ignorant to the fact that the crucifix was made of _metal._ All because they decided the answer was "magic" and stopped examining things closer. 😐
Great observation!
Everyone should be told to pray, it is the quickest way to discover the truth, that it does not work.
If god answered prayers, everybody's grandmother would still be alive
And mine would have died 20 years earlier. Because for many years she asked: God, take me to yourself!
🤣🤣🤣
My grandmother was a devout catholic she prayed the rosary without fail 3x a day. She suffered a heart attack and was in the icu for a month. When she was transferred to a regular room she was soo weak and couldnt even move any part of her body. She passed after a week. On her death bed after she was declared dead for 3 mins she lifted her hands to heaven and left. Lesson is God knows his children and he provides and listens to everyones prayer. He also keeps his promises and delivers.
@@emmanuellorenzodiaz55
Sir, don't want to be rude but this is the internet. Everyone's stories need to be taken with a grain of salt.
Plus, there's already been recorded about this phenomenon since ancient times and no, they are not christian. What about, "The Lazarus sign or Lazarus reflex is a reflex movement in brain-dead or brainstem failure patients".
The little girl I knew from about 10 years ago wouldn't have suffered and died from childhood leukemia.
I relate to this really well. Even when I was a Christian, I had trouble grasping the whole concept of prayer. It always felt silly and pointless to me.
When prayer didn't work, I would always hear "God works in mysterious ways" or that the result is "just part of God's plan."
But then that leads to the question "What is God's plan?"
The response was always something like "It's too great for our tiny, inferior human brains to comprehend", which is just dodging the question.
Exactly. The problem with saying it's God's plan implies that the person saying that knows what God's plan is. If they then say that they don't know what God's plan is, that they CAN'T know what God's plan is, then they cannot possibly know if something was in God's plan or not unless they're a hardcore Calvinist ultra-determinist, and that comes with its own significant baggage (like God basically being morally accountable for everything because he wanted it that way). It's like asking whether you should pray to heal your illness and then go to a doctor or pray and not go to a doctor: Was it God's plan that the doctor would heal you of your illness? Maybe God didn't think you needed a miracle if a physician could address the problem and you're disobeying him by not seeking qualified medical advice. Since we can't know whether any given action or inaction is "part of God's plan," we're just going to do the thing we wanted to do in the first place.
If what you prayed for comes true then "Prayer works", but if what you prayed for doesn't happen then "It wasn't God's will". As you said, it's just dodging the question.
Praying does work but it’s speaking with authority in Jesus’s name and you have to address it against the authority of darkness. All things r wrought in the spirit and you have to recognise behind ever malody there is a spirit of authority that needs to be undone.
@@Commander360-j3tInteresting way to say you're very unwell upstairs.
@@funnibeanboi1363 scoff if u want but you make yourself a victim of circumstance
"They don't recognize that it's privilege, they mistake it for blessings"
Wowwww... this explains some ppl i used to work with at a Christian bookstore. They really got under my skin and i could never quite put my finger on why. Of course, as a Christian, i just felt guilty about getting frustrated and angry when things just seemed to work for them but not for me. But no. It's this. It's totally this.
That really... that was really helpful. Thank you. ❤️
15:31
@@irrelevant_noob thanks! I forgot to put the time stamp
Sorry, is being employed in a bookstore a privilege? I don't get your point.
@jesussaves8386 no, it's was just a reference to how I knew them. They were folks I worked with.
One of the most common prayers is also the most disturbing, at least to me: "Lord, bless this meal." Meanwhile, their god let's innocent children starve and die, but they believe God will bless their feast? That is grossly immoral, and as you pointed out so well, a perfect description of privilege.
Blame God cause you are perfect. But how many staving children have you fed.
It's scary to think that a lot of people completely abandoned medical care in hopes that a miracle would save them only for one to not.
....and those same "Christians" want to deny others of medical care simply because those people are unfortunate!
Look for my LONG post in the root comments.
St Pio a Franciscan friar who had many miraculous cures attributed to his intercession would regularly advise people who asked for his prayers to have an operation if that was what their doctors indicated.
@@jameshogan6142 God can only work miracles on hypochondriacs.
@@jameshogan6142good for him
This is exactly what started my deconversion. It literally started when I would pray to ask god for something simple, and it would "happen". But then I'd think, "but why didn't god answer that other person's prayer? Why does god only answer my prayers about such stupid and small things? Why didn't god help the people who are begging for something to eat, a place to live, or not to have violence committed against them, but yet can answer my prayer?"
It felt really, really icky.
I gained some empathy for others, and the entire belief system just fell apart.
Your empathy outgrew your faith 🫶❤️
@@simonvh7836 "The reason why like a third of the world has no food and water is because they're not Christian"
Are you fucking kidding me? And did you even watch the video?
That's an absolutely disgusting way to think. I am honestly disgusted at your lack of empathy. Beliefs like that are the reason the world has and is going to shit.
That thought process is disgusting, and so is your "god".
I hope you learn to become a better, more empathetic human being.
@@bigbendegen2174 even when I was a Christian, I'm very confident that I wasn't as insufferable or lacked empathy as much as your statement does.
But I'm appalled that when I was a Christian, I would've been associated with people who think like you. Ew.
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Don't approach your faith the way this woman Kristi has, if we believe God has a plan for mankind then he answers prayers in ways that fulfils his plans, not ours. Our will is not God's will, so don't get lost in the same demonic quest as she has.
From her own description of her faith, it seems possible it clearly affected her state of mind and she in-turn turned in hatred towards Christianity instead of facing her real demons, so she continues attempts at ridiculing the faith in her vids.
She informs those that visits her site that it is important for them to find their own truth (i.e. travel their own paths), yet she is not honest with this claim since she is clearly opinionated in her negative views of Christianity (based on her own past).
It does no seem she has addressed her past issues and it remains with her and has manifested as demonic forces within her (note, not all demonic influences are like the Exorcist movie). That is what makes her blaspheme God in every vid she makes...if this is not demonic then what is?. None of the vid's she makes about the faith is supported by Scripture and she does not even try to be unbiased, because her demons won't allow her to.
In some vid she claims she was a "Christian" into her early adult life, claiming not to have found fulfilment in the faith (clearly her problem, so don't make it yours), then claimed she has been looking for the truth for 13 years (which she has clearly not found yet, and she possibly never will) because she is tormented by her past and not prepared to reconciled herself to those issues.
She claims she is still looking for the "truth", yet offers advice as if she has found these truths and it is truly amazing the support she has for this rubbish advice even though she never presents any positive, planned solutions...it just shows the world we live in today...everyone is ready to bash God for their failures in life as if God forces anyone to do his bidding...
God is love, in his love he has given us a choice to follow him or not, these are our own decisions...since God forces no one. Yet it is clear in your comment you are dictating what choices God should make, you expect choices in your own life yet demand that God do what you perceive are the correct things he should be doing, imposing on God who's prayers he should be answering.
Don't fall into the same "hole" this woman has fallen into...she is being consumed by demons from the inside, listen to her closely and you will hear this...yeah, demons are real and they are constantly ridiculing God (through humans) for their fallen state...yet like us they were given choices and they failed. There is no hope for fallen angels but there is hope for those humans still living...so make the right choice while you still have time.
I'm gay and was told for decades that I should pray to turn straight, and when that didn't work they said I wasn't praying hard enough. Looking back, the emotional and psychological abuse from the church makes me hate religion. I'm so glad I finally saw the light and became an atheist.
So sorry for what you went through
You peace is temporary unfortunately
I have been an ex-vangelical for almost 10 years,learning from Sam Harris, Dawkins, Hitchens, Sagan etc. Kristi Burke makes things so simple and easy to understand , and these videos are the best. Thank you for the way you communicate to others!
That's quite a good list 👍
@@frozentspark2105 I agree, Kristi is succinct and clear and (I assume, as it's not my background) can speak authoritatively on the Fundamentalist view.
That being said, I miss Hitchens. I wish Harris and Dawkins would quietly fade from public view now, though. Only Dennett, of the original Four Horsemen, is still a good spokesperson for Atheism.
@@Alan_Duval Hitch was awesome. Dawkins is getting old and Sam seems to be going political. Have not heard of the last, going to have to look though 👍
@@frozentspark2105 let us be careful about idolizing those not around to make mistakes. Dawkins and sam are still making the general case for what Hitch more or less thought anyhow.
Christie is excellent and extremely helpful and we owe her a debt of gratitude...however we still need to examine the fundamental truth of the existence of anything... existence does not necessarily need to be "created" from nothing , being-ness may be transcendent and beyond the abilities or our minds to comprehend however we should strive to evolve our consciousness
Nothing fails like prayer!
One of my favorite “Friendly Neighborhood Atheist” songs by Dan Barker says “How many centuries will it take us, before we realize, There are no magic forces in nature, no watchful eyes in the skies? A single plow is much more effective than a hundred prayers a day, The hands that help are better far, than lips that pray. Nothing fails like prayer….use your mind, and you will find, that nothing fails like prayer” BTW - I’ve gotten many hours of enjoyment listening to his songs, since I came out of Amish Christian fundamentalism and highly recommend his CD set by the above title. Well worth the price. It’ll have you humming if not singing his catchy tunes and lyrics and help to drive out those old and nonsensical gospel songs drilled into our brains since childhood.
You were Amish? That's some old school hard core brainwashing. I was just a Catholic; fairly easy to recover from in comparison.
I’ll definitely check out this cd, thanks for suggestion! I love Tim Minchen, you gotta check him out if you haven’t already😊
@@danmurray1143 Yeah, I was raised Pentecostal, but was radicalized into the Mennonites and Amish/Mennonites in my teenage years. Married into the cult, had a big family, moved into the Old Order Amish and around age 50, astonishingly, I deconverted. I was trying to help an atheist friend to salvation in Christ when I began to realize my theology was not based in reality. It’s been a wild journey!
@@TBlack-dz5bo If you get the CD set, it comes with a paper booklet of all the lyrics to the songs he wrote and sings. Super handy to sing along and memorize them. Much better than those old gospel hymns in my brain! And yeah, Tim Minchen - I love his songs!
"When I was back there, in seminary school, there was a person, who put forth the proposition that you can petition the Lord with prayer. Petition the Lord with prayer. Petition the Lord with prayer. YOU CANNOT PETITION THE LORD WITH PRAYER!" That was Jim Morrison, of the "Doors," beginning the song, I believe, "Break on Through to the Other Side."
"I prayed to God for a new bike. Then I remembered that's not how prayer works.
So I stole a bike and then asked for forgiveness"
-a joke I don't remember the source.
Emo Philips, I believe.
I like when both teams are praying for the win, and after the match you see who god loves more! haha
I wonder why the penticostal faith healers don't go to children's cancer wards in the hospitals and pray for the children to be healed....? We know the answer don't we...😅
"god works in mysterious ways" or something
@@JustADudeGamer
Exactly ...it's not in the scammers rule book needs to be gullible old ladies and large congregations to put $ in the offering....
If prayers really work above everything else, isn't it ironic that about 20% of hospitals in US are religiously affiliated?
And why these false prophets not pray to end gun violence in US? There are 210 million Christians in US (63% of population) and people are being killed like flies each day. But "thou shalt not kill." Christianity is a death cult -- crusades, Inquisition, European religious wars, slavery, world wars etc.
As you know it’s currently Thursday as of now. I’m 13 and my entire family are all hardcore Christians, I’m talking they live in it day and night, night and day, breathing it, eating it, sleeping it 24-7. But recently I’ve had a lot of questions and done a lot of thinking and research about it. I have seen both atheist and Christian viewpoints. Just to make sure I’m getting both sides and then I’ve also used a bit of logic that completely gives a high chance of God not existing. I also started to find things like rape, slavery, beating of slaves, killing and slaughter of millions of children and babies. God killed more than 500 people on the estimate, and then satan only killed 10 which were of fact all approved by God. But as of now, I’m an agnostic atheist in secret from my family. None of my family knows anything about my agnosticism. We still pray together, say grace and do Bible study. So for all they know I’m still a Christian, I’ve also searched on Reddit for anyone going through the same situation I’m going through right now. And to my surprise, I found lots and lots of people who were Christians and then came out as atheists to their parents. So I found comfort in that, but I found lots of people saying that before you come out as agnostic or atheist to your parents. You should become financially independent living in your own home and paying for your meal. But because I’m 13, that would be a long time before that happens. Meaning that I would have to play along and lie to my family for about 7 to 8 years, about being a Christian and having love for the Lord. Before I came out as an agnostic atheist. I said fuck no because I feel like 1. It feels undoubtedly wrong to lie to your family for years and years just because of what they might think about you. 2. I feel uncomfortable playing along in prays and bible study and having to deal with all that, while lying to myself and my family. 3. I should not be scared of what they might think of me just because they can’t deal with it. And finally, it would feel way more comfortable and free if I got it off my chest. And so with all that in mind, I have decided that I am going to come out as an agnostic atheist to my parents this Saturday, or even tomorrow if I feel confident enough. But I want to ask everyone who sees this comment if I should come out as an agnostic atheist to my parents tomorrow or this Saturday. And if so do you have any tips????❤️❤️💕
never take the cowards way. Be true to yourself. Your logic will beat their dogma.
@@narcissistinjurygiver2932 Thank so much words cannot describe how much I appreciate this. But should I come out as an agnostic atheist to my entire family tomorrow or Saturday??? Because I’ve definitely decided it’s going to be one of the two.
Good luck. I've been an agnostic atheist for 15 years now and still haven't told my family, at some point I just decided that for me it's something I'm willing to live with. For me it doesn't really affect my life that much, and I don't mind being around it on occasion. My family thinks I believe in Jesus but it should be obvious to them that I don't really prioritize my Christian faith much and am not exactly "on fire for god", so it has kind of settled to a point where I'm not typically asked to pray or do stuff that I dont want to do, because I'm not comfortable praying in public, or the church worship doesnt really speak to me or I'm not a fan of this pastor's style,..etc. It felt much worse though when I was still living with my parents, so I can definitely relate to that feeling where the idea of faking it and living a lie can really weigh on you greatly. My advice is, listen to your gut and do what you feel is right. And no matter what happens, always love and respect your parents.
Tomorrow or Saturday? What is the rush?
What exactly do you want to accomplish by coming out as agnostic atheist? There is no deadline here other than your own. Take your time to be sure.
Maybe express doubts and ask tough questions to test their reaction first. That is still being honest and true to yourself. It may help them process things better.
13 is a vulnerable age to handle a strong negative reaction from your parents.
Before anyone gives advice, we should ask for more information first, because it’s *not* necessarily the “coward’s way” to stay in the closet as an agnostic or atheist. Sometimes it’s the smart thing to do. With that in mind:
1) what kind of relationship do you have with your parents? Are they loving & supportive? Are they strict and quick to punish?
2) if the worst were to happen and your parents disowned you & kicked you out, do you have a safe place to go? Because that has happened to people, and at 13yo, that can be devastating on so many levels. If you don’t have a safe place in case of emergency, DON’T DO IT YET.
If you don’t k ow how your parents will react, start with small questions and see what they say. Mention that you heard something about how none of the Gospels actually say who wrote them, and that you’re puzzled. Or that you read that the earliest fragment of the Gospels we have is from 120-150 years after Jesus died, and if that’s true, how can you know if it’s real? And then see how they respond.
If they immediately get angry and tell you to stop asking those questions, because that’s a sign that Satan is corrupting you, then coming out as even just agnostic could be really bad. But if they’re ok with you asking questions, then keep going.
Personally, I think making a big declaration is a bad idea unless your family will love and accept you no matter what. From your description of them, that seems questionable. Take it slow, get them used to you asking questions and being curious. But above all - be safe! Right now, staying hidden as an unbeliever for 7-8 years might seem like an eternity, because it’s literally half of your life already. But 7-8 years will fly by faster than you can imagine.
There’s an amazing online community of agnostics/atheists to support you and others coming out of faith, even if you have to keep it secret from family & friends for a while.
The worst for me is when they say that the answer was no because something better was planned. Like "I didn't get the job because a better job was waiting." And sure, that works for something like a job, but not lives, mass destruction, physical harms, etc.
Here in Texas, people say they’re praying for me, and “Bless your Heart”. It’s so condescending and insulting knowing that religion poisons everything (as Christofer Hitchens famously said). I just say “thank you” because they don’t really want to think or talk, they just want someone to hate.
Isn’t “bless your heart” a mild insult?
@@pansepot1490 Yeah, like what is so wrong with my heart that it needs to be blessed?
"Bless Your Heart" is just the christian way of saying "Go Fuck Yourself."
@@pansepot1490 mild insult? Yes. Especially when they say sooo sweetly. It cuts like a knife.
I think they are mainly trying to express empathy and that is the way they know how to do that especially if there is no way they can physically help you.
In Catholic nations like mine, people don't pray to God for jobs, or wealth, or football games. They pray to angels and saints, who advocate for you in God's presence. God just does not have the time or patience enough to take your case directly. And if you pray to the wrong saint, you get nothing. God is omnipotent, omniscient, and omnibenevolent, but he just does not know how to do his job without bureaucracy.
I love that you mentioned bragging about being “blessed” when it’s really just living a privileged life! It was so hurtful and confusing to be living below the poverty line and to be struggling with physical and mental health problems. Then for our church to kind of cater to the wealthy members and ignore the poor, needy members. That’s about when I started to deconstruct. Then, several months later I deconverted!
That's really disturbing that your church played favorites with the richer people. That's something that we Christians really need to work on. "Listen, my dear brothers and sisters: Has not God chosen those who are poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom he promised those who love him?" James 2:5 (NIV). Since you now believe that God doesn't exist, it makes sense you wouldn't want to be part of any church, but it still makes me sad to hear how you were treated at your church.
What does Bible have to say about "blessed"
Blessed are the *poor in spirit* , for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are those who *mourn* , for they will be comforted.
Blessed are the *meek* , for they will inherit the earth.
Blessed are those who *hunger and thirst for righteousness* , for they will be filled.
Blessed are the *merciful* , for they will be shown mercy.
Blessed are the *pure in heart* , for they will see God.
Blessed are the *peacemakers* , for they will be called sons of God.
Blessed are those who are *persecuted because of righteousness* , for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me.
So: when are they comforted?
Before - or after, they die?
Also, Jews got persecuted... by many, who thought themselves righteous.
In Christendom. And their targets, thought themselves, righteousness too.
Jehovah... in His 'righteousness' did next... to nothing... about this.
Or the pretty prolonged Western slave trade.
Apparently the perpetrator's free will must outweigh the victims.
Especially when they had... less... actual, legal, or literal, protection?
And being meek often didn't help either. Close to being a door-matt.@@ianbuick8946
Spend forty+ years begging God to show me a shred of His existance, realize prayers are really just talking to myself, feel profound relief at recognizing Ive just woken up from a sleep that was forced upon me as a child. So grateful to be an apostate.
Hey, I am currently an apostate because I chose the commit the “unforgivable sin” it’s kinda my fault in fact it is my fault I should’ve chose my chose wisely but I don’t feel controlled anymore not that the lord was controlling me but religion. Let me to tell you something love God if you have the heart to love him with all your heart don’t attack him he’s soo awesome am I against the people who speak these things to put up these barriers of stress but they mean no harm ❤ let’s just take the time to love and respect them 😊
You can see the circumstantial evidences and not direct evidences. DNA, Fine-tune universe, morality.
@@ianbuick8946 if DNA is evidence of God, it's also evidence for aliens and for multiple Gods and for any other creative force we want to assign. The things you listed do not prove God, and do not prove His existence. I can have moral standards without an invented moral authority.
Nothing fails like prayer. ALL research into prayer has shown it has no effect on any situation.
That's not entirely correct. There are studies that show that prayer has an effect in some instances. For example when a christian falls seriously ill and all their family members pray for them, their chances of survival can drop because of the added stress of knowing that other people are constantly worried about you.
Of course this is not a direct outcome of the prayer itself. But the theatratics around it make it more visible to the sick person.
the situation you cite is the very best example of how prayer fails. Look it up.@@Finckelstein
@@user-wq2gs8eu7l "God is good"
Except when he's pro slavery. Or pro genocide. Or pro sexual slavery. Or pro xenophobia. Or pro murder. Or jealous and petty.
Your god as described by the bible is a monster.
And yes, we 100% know that prayer doesn't work. Your self-delusion won't change that.
@@user-wq2gs8eu7l Easy Ken Copeland.
@@user-wq2gs8eu7lif god is good, then why would he leave a person forever?
Thank you for this. It annoyed me to no end when strangers I just met asked me if they could put my name on a prayer list when I had cancer and I was like, of course, in our society you can’t say no because that would be offensive to them, but it was really annoying and offensive to me, or I would get the people that would say, well God willing you’ll pull through and I’m thinking that’s a really shitty thing to say to somebody who doesn’t believe in God and is currently battling cancer. I think I’ll make lifestyle changes and do my best to not have the cancer come back, not put it in the hands of an imaginary being. I think people pray to feel good about themselves, and that they’re actually doing something for me when in fact, I would prefer they bring a hot meal to my door or watch my kids when I need to get some sleep or clean my house because when you’re going through chemo, you really don’t feel like cleaning your house but, you know, thanks for the prayer 🙏🏽
In James 1:5 we read, "If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God who gives to all men (and women) liberally." Put God to the test, Francis, and ask Him if He's real and if so... to reveal Himself to you. If He does, then you know He's real... if He doesn't then you can pat yourself on the back and walk away. Fair enough? Take care and Merry Christmas..
When I was a Christian and messaging a non-Christian friend who was going through a rough time, if there wasn't anything I could do, besides the general "hope you're ok", "let me know if there's anything I can do" I'd just say "I'm thinking of you".
Because it seems rude when you don't know if they share your faith to seem to be taking that opportunity to push your religion on them, right?
I thought this even as an evangelical.
Nowadays I say "Sending strength vibes 💜" (sometimes depending on the context) and just reiterate that I'm there if they need me. I know that neither of us (or at least I) don't truly believe that I can literally "beam" strength at them but at least it's empathetic and not moralistic and it can make people feel better to know you care and are rooting for them like a supporter even from a distance.
When you're trying to be there for someone the whole POINT is to think about THEIR needs, NOT yours.
Sadly, Evangelicalism often teaches people to be predatory towards their "unsaved" friends and to hang around for years waiting for a moment when they're heartbroken by grief and loss to ambush them with "Jesus can save you" message.
It's taught as being patient and praying for them and having faith until God "softens their heart" or even "breaks them", but it's actually insidious manipulation - you're gaining their trust pretending to be a genuine friend who accepts them unconditionally but you're actually waiting till they're emotionally vulnerable to pull them into the cult and recruit them.
You're indoctrination them into a high-control system because you've been taught you're saving them from eternal torture so in light of that of course you're doing good - the sheer terror of hell makes the ends seem to justify the means.
And I say "cult" because Evangelicalism IS a cult in how it indicates people- just look at the BITE model.
I find that with most friends and acquaintances, even those of different faiths or none at all that a simple "I will keep your intentions in my prayers" is accepted with good grace.
Kristi has one of the best deconstructing channels on UA-cam
Thank you so much :)
Yes she is!
@@jezebelvibesYou're welcome and I truly mean it. Much love from a super religious third world country in Africa 😊
100% agreement.
@@christophergibson7155 omg you're right, i will repent from being bisexual and atheist right now thanks for leaving this comment you have changed my life ma'am
I had a friend who died from a rare disease on his 18th birthday despite all of the hard work from the doctors. The prayers are useless. I was still a Christian at the time and that was a huge faith shaker.
people die all the time from disease, cancer, illnesses, you name it, all the time .Its a fallen world of death disease and decay. That is why it is so important to have that relationship with Jesus, because you never know when you are going to die. Eventually this world will be no more, as soon as Jesus comes back, and it could be anytime, so its so important to be ready. One day, there will be no more suffering, disease, or pain. Dont give up, have faith. Read his word, and ask him to speak to you and teach you. His Holy Spirit will come to live inside you and will teach you, guide you, and direct you to all understanding. Open your heart and invite him back in. Lean on him again and trust in him. He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. Im praying for you.
If god's real, he's a space parasite that feeds on misery, violence, death and suffering.
@@Outsider4JC
Well we pray bcoz we want what we pray for (to God) [seems 95% want a quick yes - n thereby we make prayer n God like a "wishing well"
In reality we should understand there's always 3 answers from God that my sunday school teacher taught us (a good practical lesson for those who believe in prayer)
1_God grants us ie. yes
2_no
3_wait
@@prof_xhew2929 So prayer is either redundant or futile. Got it.
@carlisroy6666 If u say prayer is redundant - u said it; Cause I didn't say "prayer is redundant"
It's funny that the only people that claim they trust God are the ones that keep asking him to change his plan.
Prayer makes people feel better. Sometimes it seems to work so they keep doing it.
A very nice and simple way to put it 😊
@@jezebelvibesi grew up from a place called nagaland,where majority are Christians,and there's a church in my village,where people would be gather to pray for around 2 hours,with a list of things to pray for.They even use to pray for every young people around the world who are studying,and every human that are suffering.And that's where i first felt the presence of God.
It was a small church with around 100 peoples,and when i was 12 i was a service, doing prayers that's when i first saw someone prophesying in a unknown tongue. And most of the prophecy are true, I've seen evil spirit possessions and i believe that there's a God and prayers works.
It could be delusion though.
@@jianth works how? Did you publish any double-blind studies that show a statistical correlation between anything about it? Or is it just that it makes you feel special, and that's enough for you?
@@irrelevant_noob I started drinking and smoking at 13.Ive been a heavy smoker and drinker for 8 years, I'm still alive because I have a mother and a father that's praying for me.
If you're praying to test God.
You need to learn more about Christ.
My “favorite” is when you pray for someone to live through an illness, for them to be healed, and when they pass, you’re told that sometimes God heals them by “calling them home”. 🙄
It's a win-win for "God".
Yep! They always have an excuse for when he doesn’t answer. It’s a cop out. Infuriates me!
Not only has it been shown that prayer does NOT work, in fact it’s known to work less than not praying because the devout often pray in lieu of taking useful actions.
👍👍
What you mean to say is that they pray in lieu of taking action.
@@pintificate correct. Typing too fast
This hits home with me. I was a devout christian for 19 years. For practically every issue that came along that I had to deal with, I prayed to god that the issue be resolved according to his will. I actually thought that to ASK god to do this or to do that about any issue was an attempt to substitute my will for god's will and would put me in arrogance toward him in that I did not trust him to make the right thing happen. Likewise, I felt that to ACT on my own and not allow god to do what was right or what needed to be done was arrogance toward him. So my life was one grand mess for those 19 years--god never responded so that decisions that needed to be made and things that needed to get done were left undecided and undone. When I finally de-converted and became an atheist/agnostic, I discovered I COULD make MY OWN decisions and take actions based on MY OWN experience and common sense, and my life took a dramatic turn for the much, much better.
Look for my long post in the root comments.
Praying works about as well as Wishing on a Star which means it doesn't work at all.
There is good evidence that prayer leads to better health outcomes.
@@TheMilitantMazdakite well for my prospective prayer does not work everything I've ever gotten my life I got off my behind and got it myself. And I needed no deity or invisible sky wizard to get what I needed.
@@TheMilitantMazdakite actually that is false.. the statics prove exactly opposite.. praying for good health ,are you kidding??,, Many people have died from illness's that could have been healed by a doctor but instead say prayers.. haha
@@desireedebellis6766 No, the study found that all else being equal, prayer does lead to more positive outcomes, on average.
When you wish upon a star, makes no difference who you are, when you wish upon a star your dreams come true. (a little cricket told me)
I praise Kristi for allowing ALL comments to be shown. It's so rare of people to be as opened minded to allow this. Kudos to you Kristi!
I used to have this T shirt that said: “Jesus is coming. Everybody look busy”. I got some nasty looks in the grocery store. I also had this pin at the time which read: “I found Jesus. He was behind the couch the whole time “. My grandma used to ask me to not wear that. I also had this Pride bumper sticker with men and men, women and men and women and women holding hands. One day an elderly couple in the car behind me were glaring at it. If looks could kill, I would have been dead. 😅😂❤
people giving you judgemental looks huh. I do believe in the Bible, however I would say your freedom of speech and religion is just as valid as mine wether I agree with your stance or not. I do hope someday though if you haven't placed your trust in him that you'll be willing to.
Lol. Just collecting the blasphemy
Actions which are contrary to the sixth commandment will not bring God's blessing. If we persist in disobeying God's laws then we have no right to expect God's providence.
Oh, I've got a T-shirt that says that. My parents got it for me, I think. I've only worn it once, though. My wife and I were going somewhere, and she told me to change my shirt, and I put that one on for a joke. She gave me a stoney look. I said I'd go change it, and she said "No, you picked it, you're wearing it." I felt rather self-conscious that day.
The "I don't have anything else to say" hit me deep, just like in Forrest Gump. Never stop running, Kristi! 😊
I recently found your channel and just subscribed. I’m still deconstructing my faith after leaving my controlling family.
Welcome ❤️ happy you're finding your own path
@@jezebelvibesthank you 😊
This channel is about nothing more than making money.
I appreciate you so much.❤ You make me feel like I am not alone.
You are definitely not alone!
I used to be a hospital chaplain and struggled with praying for patients. Often they asked my to pray for healing. The way I sort of resolved the issue was thinking about it as praying for god to be comforting to them. I have moved on but that is the only positive outcome of prayer I can see... some sort of comfort during difficult times.
The problem with this is that it takes away the premourning period, which makes it harder to cope with loss after the fact. If you're certain that a "miracle" will occur, you're not spending time accepting reality. So when reality finally comes knocking, you're having an even worse time. Religion at large has a terrible track record when it comes to healthy coping mechanisms, since it replaces almost all of them with prayer and fanaticism.
That's why people who experience trauma after leaving their faith often times struggle much more than life long atheists who were fortunate enough to develop actual coping mechanisms.
It's nothing more than false hope though..I'd rather be told the ugly truth than a beautiful lie
Can’t tell you how much I prayed for my daughter throughout her short life. Neither of us ever got any comfort from those prayers. In fact, I felt worse because I felt rejected and couldn’t figure out what I was doing wrong. A few years before she died I realized, there was no god to hear my prayers, reject me and I wasn’t doing anything wrong. So glad I realized it before she died so I wasn’t left with a ton of anger.
@@26beegee How many "christians" did you want to punch in the face for telling you that "god wanted another little angel" or that "she's in a better place now"?
My sister lost her son at 4yo to an accident as well. And even though I live in a way less religious country than most people on here, I still saw assholes tell her this asinine nonsense.
I never punched anyone over it and only told them off instead. But the desire to do it was real.
I wish you all the best and all the strength. Just reading and writing about this leaves a knot in my stomach.
@@Finckelstein Exactly. And I can’t forget the, “you wouldn’t want her back like she was” (my father) and the “you will be together in heaven” statements either. Not only doesn’t help but, actually makes the pain even worse. 🤬 Thank you for your kind words. ❤️
Prayer is just another example of the placebo effect
Nope.
I don’t think that prayer helps anyone to get anything. You have to decide what you want and work towards getting it. Simple!
If you give up after 40 years for healing then God will say, If you would have waited another 40 years i might have healed you! 😂
Yup!!
Heads I win tails you lose.
Thank you for another powerful video. It is amazing how I could now clearly see how unreasonable I was within my previous views. Great job !
It makes u think like why are u so privileged to have your prayer answered but the starving children around the world that truly believe, are struggling everyday , what makes you so special for god to not care for the people that really need help it baffles me. It just comes down to who has access to resources. It makes me feel like god plays favorites
This was always a point with me when I was Christian. If you pray to God to heal Tom's leg, and he's already doing it, then what's the point? If you pray to God to get you into a better job, but he wants you here, then whats the point? Many others I spoke to just pointed out that it was a command that we're to pray. Or that God is beyond our understanding. I eventually just decided maybe God did it to make people try to practice being considerate to others, to think of their wellbeing and so forth. But that was like a half answer to me, I still just didn't get it.
Now whenever anyone hears I'm an atheist and says "ill pray for you"? Oh man. That's just like, my hot button. I get unreasonably upset, tho maybe not, I've never had it said in a respectful way. It's their way of both leaving the conversation while putting you lower than them.
It's so condescending
My personal take on prayer is the the Christian God in particular is a narcissist who craves the attention. As well as a sadist who delights in saying "no" and screwing you over anyway.
@christophergibson7155 Bro I've literally argued with you before. Do you just seek out vids like this to evangelize in the comments section? It's entirely both ineffective and annoying, I'll be real
Best answer when you are told “I’ll pray for you.” is “Thanks a lot, I’ll think for you.” 😅
@@Ipsolus Bro, if you haven't noticed... You're kinda doing the same thing.
You express your viewpoint on gods, prayers, pirates or whatever an expect others to believe in what you're saying. So allow others to express their convictions on those topics too. It's called basic tolerance. Now lettuce prey🙏😄
Thanks for your thoughtful comments on prayer. By praying we want god to bend the universe so we can have something good happen for us.
But if God already has a perfect plan for everything how will praying change his mind?
Wasn't God already looking out for people, do you think you have a better idea than God what is good for you?
@@nati0598 Gosh, god must have sneezed or yawned or looked away for some reason when (name any deadly catastrophe) happened. "God" doesn't care one iota about any of us.
@@stevepierce6467 Yeah, but is that what OP thinks?
@@nati0598 What is OP?
I am agnostic, and I certainly have seen my fair share of friends and family misled by the less reputable aspects of Christianity, but I rarely discourage prayer. One of my dearest friends is devout and prays daily. When she's done with the actual practice of praying, she goes about her day, but she also keeps an eye out for "signs" that her prayers have been heard. She sees these signs as opportunities to take some small step towards solutions to the challenges she has prayed about. Prayer keeps those challenges in the forefront of her mind: and she would likely have never noticed those chances or had the confidence to act on them without that. She tends to believe that God has given her opportunity: I gently remind her that, regardless, she is the one who saw that opportunity and did the actual leg work. In effect, the effort she puts into prayer enables her to answer her own prayers. Her challenges are addressed, and she comes away with more peace and confidence. If prayer kept her passive, waiting for her problems to miraculously disappear, I wouldn't feel the same, but as it is, I won't discourage it.
Praying but also believing in “god’s will” is something I thought I was the only one who knew it was contradicting! Even when I was a christian (over a decade ago now) I usually didn’t believe in god’s will/god’s plan I kept hearing about. And I especially hated when sometimes when I would tell a friend or acquaintance I was interested in a certain guy, instead of giving me advice I needed or just listening to me, I would be told to just pray about it or god already has a perfect guy for me, or both.
Everyone should be told to pray. It is the quickest way to prove that it doesn't work! Look for my long post in the root comments.
I couldn't agree more with you, as a ex catholic guy, I passed my whole life praying at the point to calluses on my knees, first when I was a kid/teen I just asked god to give me things, nothing crazy like god give me a Bugatti or something like that and after I became adult and realized that I didn't got what I've been praying for, I just prayed to god give me wisdom and give me what he wants when he wants, but anything changed and for a while I thought I was his time, but my life was passing and nothing was changing for good, things is getting worse my country is a mess in part because people a way too religious and they are blind and easily blinded by powerful people, and nothing that church told me to be "good things" happens to me and after a lot reflection I realized that god doesn't exist and at bare minimum he didn't like me, because I passed my whole life following his teachings and nothing good happens to me, but I saw many people that were either didn't have faith as I did or was straight up bad people and they got everything I prayed for and when a try to say that to a religious friend he said that I had envy, but wasn't envy I just saw my praying not working and wasn't like if I wanna what they had, I want to have my own and they have theirs, like how finding a good job needs to be in detriment of someone's resignation, but for my friend that was the case, same friend that told me he will help me and never did, because for him his life was good.
I'm catholic too and as a catholic you should have known that God cooperates with us. God won't do all the work you must put some effort too.. if God did all the work, anything you pray for wouldn't have meaning.
@@demonsnow1413 I asked for help and he didn't helped me, I was asking nothing crazy, just to not lose my faith.
Work hard, pray and when you succeed you thank prayer. If you don't, blame your sinful self. How moronic y'all Christians are!
In the meantime, Catholic guy, how are the altar boys faring?
A great woman once said: “Nothing Fails Like Prayer”
That is indeed the case if we want our will which is often corrupted with selfish desires to prevail. True prayer is asking that God's will be done. Jesus prayed in the garden that he would not have to suffer his scourging and crucifixion but accepted the will of his heavenly father.
So then Jesus prayer was selfish according to your logic.
@@jameshogan6142
@@jameshogan6142 You didnt "listen" to anything in this video did ya? Unless I'm misunderstanding what your saying, it seems you are still trying to support prayer with still no logical proof that it works. You say:
"That is indeed the case if we want our will which is often corrupted with selfish desires to prevail."
Who says that everybody is praying for their selfish desires? What about the people praying for poverty? praying for world hunger to end, praying for other people who are sick and ill. Praying for the children who are sick and ill. What about them??? What about prayer for the people who are caught up in wars between two countries that are dying, innocent Men women and children???
Prayer: The most effective method to demonstrate the ineffectiveness of prayer.
Another great opinion Kristi! When I pray, i get bad luck, for example, i fractured my ankle by walking down the stairs after a minute i prayed, was tormented by my neighbours for years after a prayer, lost my job after a week thanking God for the job. Now i don't pray anymore and lost faith in God. Why is God bringing me bad luck or allowing Satan to attack me ? God and Angels are supposed to protect and guide us with prayer, but that's not the case in my experience and i was raised in up church just like Kristi experience. The lack of proof and evidence of pray or the biblical God is non existence to me now
I love your reasoning. I actually believe that we are all part and parcel of God, so we all participate in the creation of our universe. I think that is THE major flaw in Christianity, is that it separates us from God. I experience a lot of synchronicities in my life now. I was an atheist until I journeyed and then I was guided to very esoteric information and that led to my praying and some of my prayers have been answered, possibly. Note that I am not sure about that. Being sure is the path to egotistic ignorance. I am only one small part of the universal whole, so my power is very limited. I can only add a straw to the camel's back and sometimes that might be enough. So, I will continue to pray, but mostly I just give thanks for what they have shown me and their continued personal, support.
If God answered prayer my cousin would still be alive. When my step-grandfather prayed it always seemed like he was ordering god around.
Kristi, The lady in the store was nice about your shirt because she was afraid to offend, lest you put a hex on her. Soon as she got home though, she probably prayed that your 'evil wicked' shirt would spontaneously combust while you were still wearing it. 😂
🤣 you're probably not far off!
This problem is even deeper. Any omniscient god already knows if I am destined for heaven or hell. The bible says that he is constant and doesn't change his mind, yesterday, today or forever. It doesn't matter what I do, he can't be wrong. So, where did my free will just go?
the bible never says that God never changes His mind. There are many examples in scripture where God did change from what He said He was originally planning to do. The scripture says that God changes not, meaning His nature and character never changes. It doesn't mean that He never changes His mind about doing something or not doing it.
@@marshallbrooksjr7666 Thank you for your interpretation. Malachi 3:6 and Hebrews 13:8 declare that, "God is the same always and never ever changes. He is always good, always loving, always all-powerful. No matter how this world changes around us, we can trust God is consistent. He is the same yesterday, today, and Forever!" We appear to define these biblical verses differently. I don't see how you can separate omniscient knowledge of an outcome from predestination.
@@martynsnan Thank you. There is a difference between knowing ahead of time what will happen and causing or forcing that thing to happen. Actually, God does have a general predestination for all of us, in that He desires all of us to be saved and to come to the knowledge of Him and to be added to His Kingdom. And He may have a general plan for all of us, that He desires for us to follow, but that does not mean we are not free to choose or to reject that plan. And also that doesn't mean that there are not specific things that He does not care one way or the other what we choose. He may not care if I decide to dye my hair brown or blue, but He leaves some things up to us, concerning what we prefer, for we all are different with different tastes and styles. Someone may desire to have a car and someone else desires to have a truck. And He loves to hear His children express those desires out to Him, just as if one of us has a young child and we would desire to hear that child communicate out to us about what he would like. Even if we already know what he likes, we would still love to have dialog back and forth with that child about those tastes and styles and preferences.
@@marshallbrooksjr7666 I understand your point about not being forced but it doesn't change the basic concept. God is omniscient and must know how each life will unfold. He cannot be wrong, therefore, his foreknowledge must be correct and unchangeable. If that is true, my journey and destination are predestined no matter how I choose to live my life and I have no way to alter that.
A similar difficulty arose for the philosopher Epicurus when he considered the problem of omnipotence versus evil.
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 whence cometh evil?
Is he neither able nor willing? Then why call him God?
Epicurus
@@martynsnan Yes God knows what you will choose, but you are the one who decides to choose it. Therefore you have free will. There is no conflict between Gods foreknowledge and your free will. God knows what you will freely choose. Now that would be different if somehow you were given foreknowledge of what you would choose and then we're locked into that choice and couldn't change your mind. But that is not what is happening. We are allowed to change our minds back and forth 100 times before finally doing something. But you are the one who ultimately decides what to do, not God.
To me there is no conflict between the two and His foreknowledge does not distinguish our free will. Both are true at the same time. We have free will and He has foreknowledge of what we will freely choose to do.
At my former church earlier this year, we had two elderly gents: one going in for an operation to repair an esophageal tear, the other for, in his own words "a simple and routine procedure."
So the prayer requests went out and the congregration did their bit.
The results?
The operation for the esophageal tear FAILED. He went septic and ended up a lot worse and was in the hospital for six weeks until they were able to get him stable enough to send home, and (last I heard) he's still been in and out of the hospital.
By contrast, the "simple routine procedure" went well, as expected, and he was home within a couple of hours.
What was ridiculous (and telling) was that this guy then goes home and composes an email to the church stating "BEHOLD THE POWER OF PRAYER!" and that his experience PROVES that "prayer works!"
Now think about this: the very moment he is composing this narcissistic email, the other guy is in critical condition from septicemia because his operation FAILED.
It is certain that the same people were praying for him too.
Could god not take care of the esophageal tear and only deal with simple routine outpatient medical procedures? Could god not handle two people from the same congregation on the same day? (A quota perhaps)?
Surgery is always a risk and surgeons are human beings who make mistakes. A friend of mine suffered a punctured lung because the person operating on her had a slip of the scalpel by accident. Fortunately she recovered from both injuries.
You can't always get what you want. The Great Prophet Mick Jagger told me that when I was 12.
It's weird that I need faith to "move the hands of God" while the person that saved my life as I was unconscious and didn't know they were there didn't care if I believed or not that they would save me, and didn't care what I did in my life up till that point.
Spot on and a perfect example why “free will” makes ABSOLUTELY NO SENSE WHATSOEVER.
Wow thank you for another wonderful video😊😊😊😊😊
Thanks for watching!
good one! - sometimes my prayers are like "please help me understand why you are not answering my prayers" lol - that's when i start getting imaginary voices in my head saying "my grace should be enough" ( I sleep with an audio bible every night, only way i can get a good nights rest without nightmares, so i have lots of dialogue in my subconscious for reference lol ) - and I'm like ok, then I'll study quantum physics and the quantum observer effect, still haven't figured out how to travel to an alternate reality -sigh- - then i'll study self help books that go on and on about visualizing your success ( still visualizing!! -in sarcastic tone- ) - then I go back to thinking that God is perfect so it must be me thats missing something that I have to learn the hard way -deep sigh- - then a strange twist happens, I find happy things happen to me that I didn't pray for, and i get all philosophical and faithfully saying "well you can pray all you want to be a doctor, but if you don't go to med school and study hard, it's not gonna happen!" - and thats when i hear that voice in my head again saying "faith without works is meaningless" -sigh- and here i am making music that no one listens to, while STILL praying for a hit record. So, for the record, I'm a believer, not a knower, I just keep it moving along and working in faith while hearing strange voices in my head, preparing for the worst and hoping for the best -eye and head twitch- Still waiting!! lol.
@@userp176 - -waves hi- yes, I'm still a lone christian and yes i still have a wish list over a mile long - i consider how much Jesus prayed to not suffer, even asking "why have you forsaken me ?" while he was dying, yet he still got beaten and crucified. it's humbling to consider my frustrations verses getting nailed to a cross literally and feeling abandoned to die in agony, and in his case, he knew God and talked to him directly, his own father, yet still that prayer went unanswered.
@@userp176 - I understand your point, i often wonder why humanity doesn't do their part to help and care for each other, that would answer about 90% of our prayers...so I believe God would see something wrong in that too.
Attribution is overlooked. When a prayer is answered, God is a miracle worker. When it’s not, God is mysterious, or it’s the “enemy”. You can attribute your desires happening or not happening to pretty much anything.
Thank you Kristi for another very true video! Have a great night.
The "prayer without works" line always get me. Why need to do the work if prayer to an all powerful being is effective?
Then they say, in the same breath, that the faith is not work based.
Matthew 25:36-40
English Standard Version
I
was naked and you clothed me,
I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.
Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you?
And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers,[a] you did it to me.’
@@visaman 2 Kings 2:23-25
English Standard Version
[23]He went up from there to Bethel, and while he was going up on the way, some small boys came out of the city and jeered at him, saying, “Go up, you baldhead! Go up, you baldhead!” 24 And he turned around, and when he saw them, he cursed them in the name of the Lord. And two she-bears came out of the woods and tore forty-two of the boys.[25] From there he went on to Mount Carmel, and from there he returned to Samaria. God also kills 42 children for you also!
@@visaman You have a brain use it..
@@pyroblast3000 Such a loving god, concerned with a crazy bald man being taunted by children! Hallelujah praise the all mighty and evil god of the Hebrews and of Christinsanity!
My thought about "thanking" God for my blessing is often like..." so I'm thanking God for not screwing me over as bad as other Good people?... and settling for a life that is not nearly as "blessed" as people I know who have things much better off?" It's hard. I'm thankful for a lot of my life, but a lot of the positive things are either my effort or other people being good to me... like It can be hard to see any God there...
It's really just a form of meditation. The only thing prayer does is change the person praying. Gives them peace of mind, or confidence, or whatever. Within Christianity I find prayer particularly interesting, given supposedly Jesus said Matthew 21:22 "If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer." Which would seem to suggest that either no one truly believes or Jesus was wrong. (or never said it.)
I listened saying, "right??" "exactly!"... I struggled with this for years before I left church. When I prayed for a baby for 2 years, I got 2 miscarriages. All the church people who would protest an abortion clinic, didn't really care about my 2 lost babies. (All fine, now, sorry to bring up an old, sad story.) The point being, I felt very lost and alone for years. What was wrong with ME that prayer worked for others but not for me? Not just that one situation. I was in a high demand, cultish church so it was all a mess. We even prayed in tongues. Seriously, I tried everything to get prayers answered. We tithed until we went bankrupt but "God can't bless you unless you tithe"...uh...? All with the blessing of our pastor. All he cared about was that we kept tithing through the bankruptcy process.
Now, I can look at it all and see how ridiculous it all was. Insane, really. I feel pretty gullible and duped by it all but at least I'm much healthier now. I've deconstructed over the last 12 years or so and have a good therapist.
But, yeah, when an NFL player scores and points to the sky, I have to say every time that it had NOTHING to do with God. Like if one team prays more, they'll do better? It's really ridiculous.
I can't blame you for not believing in God. I believe that God loves you though I can't think of any possible explanation for why he would allow you to suffer miscarriages. As for your pastor, it sounds like he was consumed with greed. I can't believe he said you had to still give the church money even though you were going bankrupt.
Sorry about the miscarriage, God is cruel (if exists) actually will not hear a desperate prayer of yours that time. Same here about the tithes, asking for donations. Christian group I was in will say God blesses our literatures, books, buildings, stuffs, cuz we donate, but when it comes to lives, life are gone, God is somewhere hiding. I regret why I believed, donated, and was praying actually to MAN who says they are God.
Prayer has done nothing but create a passive version of myself that believe all I had to do is talk to some being about my requests, and it would be so. Realising that my life is in my hands has created a more involved and active version of myself. I now know that the outcome of my life is on me.
I am 64, I was raised in the evangelical church circle. I did not believe from my earliest memories, because when I was three, (before I can remember hardly anything) my mother punctured my ear drum with a hair pin, trying to clean the wax out! I am from a LARGE family, and I am one of the youngest. My ear was infected, painful, and would occasionally pop the cap on the eardrum and would bleed until I was about ten or eleven. The pain was unbearable, and I can remember many nights crying from the pain. My mother, a true believer, did not take me to the doctor, but instead would call the minister over to pray for me (my future step father) and he would stop praying and ask me if it felt better, and me being raised to always tell the truth, I said NO. So, the idiot would call a bunch of people from the church over to our house, to build a prayer circle around me.
They would all say a very solemn prayer over me, realize this started when I was three, but mostly I remember it from when I was six and seven, after that I quit telling my mother I was sick or in pain. So, here they had a four, five, six, seven year old child who was in tremendous pain, and their solution was to pray. When they would ask me if I was feeling better after all of their hard efforts on my behalf, I would of course start by telling them the truth, NO, so the idiots, praying for a child with an ear ache, that is bleeding, and infected and that spread to my throat, and sinuses, would decide that since I was saying no, they must not be praying hard enough, or loud enough, so they begin praying again, only louder, and shouting to their god to "Help deliver this child from the demons of pain." Let me tell you, going to sleep with your ear throbbing with every single heartbeat is terrible for a child. Because it was my eardrum, it was very sensitive to my blood pressure, which goes up with pain, which causes more WHOOSH, WHOOSH sounds in my ear which would not stop. As I am sure you can imagine, I had nightmares from that sound, paired with the suggestions of demons causing my pain, I can remember quite vividly the nightmares I had of demons coming at me from the church. So, they would pray harder and louder as if their god was hard of hearing, but I wasn't, my ear was in pain, and any sound was painful, and the extended yelling, lamenting and crying to god would cause me so much discomfort that I was forced to learn to lie and tell the idiots what they wanted to hear, that yes, I felt better, now, can I go lie down and shut out all the external noise I can, and simply suffer listening to the WHOOSH WHOOSH of my own heart?
So, as you can see, I have had the ineffectiveness of prayer demonstrated to me again and again and again. Because I would eventually LIE and say ENOUGH! My mother got the idea that her prayers were effective, and me being a child could never have convinced her that her god did not exist and certainly did not heal me in any way, shape, or form. You would think that the repeated sessions would have told her that it wasn't working at all. I suppose if it hadn't been that the pain was so severe and never went away is what kept me from being brainwashed into belief. If my issues had been stubbed toes, or blisters, headaches, things that clear up naturally with in days if not hours, the kind of things that people BELIEVE god can affect, then I might too have fallen for the lies and fallacies. Lost limbs, severe birth defects, severe injuries that are life changing are beyond god's abilities.
It has been over sixty years, and my ear still bothers me. When my blood pressure goes up, so does the pain in my eardrum. I am about 60% deaf in that ear, which causes me to SPEAK VERY LOUDLY without realizing, this has been all my life. I am known as LOUD, because it affects my hearing my own voice.
If ANYONE ever tries to tell you that prayer does no damage, send them to me, PLEASE.
I'm loving the recent uploads. Keep up the great work! 💙
Thank you 😁
Have had tinnitus for 3 years and prayers too but I still have it!! Damn Jesus!!!!
While indoctrinated, I always thought why doesn’t our Bible God hear the prayers of the ones in sick bed, especially children’s. I was pushing aside the stories in the Bible, actually this God was punishing the children he didn’t like😢The fact was/is, Doctors and medical staff has more good morals, will save ANY children without thinking if they have faith or not.
I usually just say thank you and move on with my life since I don't want to get into a fight. But I agree with your point of view, your video is helping me find arguments to explain why I prefer them not to 'pray' for me.
Prayer works, as long as you use some combination of the correlation/causation fallacy and the Texas sharpshooter fallacy.
One of the hardest things about losing my belief was not being able to say to someone with issues that I will pray for them. Now I always say, how can I help?
Prayer, when you care so little to give the least effort, but don't want to feel quilty for doing so.
How can I help is the best thing to ask, if they ask for prayers then you can offer one if you are sincere.
As a child I realized early on that if there was a god and if he, now and again, answered your prayer and if he was all knowing. He would know what I wanted. So, my conclusion was that prayer was useless, he would or would not do what I wanted to be done. I never prayed since then.
I was lucky that I was brought up in a family that did not indoctrinate me with a religion.
I was a huge Bible Thumper during my college years. I knew the scriptures for when praying: there is no situation God can't handle, that when asking, belive it's already been done, and ask with a pure heart/ intentions (don't pray to win the lottery, or someone's death come upon them).
And of course there is the scripture about: ask, seek, and knock.
So, when i would go to my secluded spot on campus to study, I would always pray to God for his wisdom to pour down on me, open my mind to understand and absorb that subject matter as I read my textbooks, do research, hear what the professor was lecturing.... I asked believing it was done, my requests was of a good intention. Asking, Seeking, Knocking day after day, year after year, subject matter after subject matter and especially prior to an exam.
Here is how God answered my prayers.... I'd fall to sleep within the first couple pages in reading the textbook. Had difficulty understanding, absorbing the subject matter when it seemed to come so easy to my classmates. My score on exams in the range of B- to C-
But i never lost faith in God and would always find an explanation why my prayers were not answered with the outcome I desied.
However, today I've come to the conclusion that prayer is meaningless, worthless, a big Joke on us...
God may have created this world and the entire universe. Establishing the laws of physics, chemistry, biology, Genetics, and yes even evolution that we and all in this world have to follow and obey. But he long gone now... off creating other universes and people with different scenarios... He isn't there listening to our prayers, ready to wipe the tears from our eyes, heal the sick, mend the broken...
Ah, the outcome YOU desired. That's the trap that many Christians fall into, trying to make God serve you, instead of serving God.
This is such a great video and such a great point! Its one of my favorite questions to ask believers. I'm glad you covered so many aspects of prayer.
The only "answer" I've ever gotten that was closest to being adequate was that god requires the prayer as part of the plan. The idea being that god has a plan for you to get the job, but he won't enact that plan until you first pray. This of course is just a massive dodge of the question, god would already know if you are going to pray or not, but it has been the best effort I could find.
I did particularly like the aspect you brought up about someone requesting of god being someone knowing better than god. This alone seems like an avenue of prayer that could consume an entire video by itself!
Seems to me that if prayer works, we should be able to get a big enough group together and pray to change anything we want about God (not a believer). Let's democratize the almighty.
omg the story at the end i bet she thought about it all day 😂 hopefully she’s one of us lmao
I couldn't watch the full video, what's the story??
@@jianth 16:53
I noticed when things are going well most people rarely pray but when things get desperate - they pray alot ..
I notice that, too. It's human nature to look to god or a higher power when things go south. I'm not sure that proves a god or higher power exists. I think it just says a lot about how humans react when they are afraid.
Personally, I've been through some pretty tough and scary stuff over the years. But i haven't prayed in a long time. Now i just look to myself and try to work out solutions within.
@@jezebelvibes thank you for your response,as a Catholic school boy who served the church as an altar boy I lived most of my life in the past feeling guilty most of the time ,then going to evangelical church ," I was told we are worthy or we are dirty sinners ,etc.." I think 💬 these are just tactics to micro manage us into tithing and keeping people down . It's funny ,in evangelical church's ,when they hear I was Catholic altar boy for 5 years ,they will say " well that doesn't mean much" . I m very happy to find your channel & will continue to share it with everyone I know ! You rock 👍 keep up the great work 💯
@@jezebelvibes oops I meant to say " In the evangelical churches ,I heard we are not worthy and we are dirty sinners etc. etc. I now work in a non profit which helps feed the community,and I do this because I want to help my fellow human being no matter what religion they are . We help every one regardless of what faith or creed they are . We are all human beings just trying to live and survive .
Wishful thinking, on which religious belief is based, has absolutely nothing to do with reality or logic as normally defined. It creates its own reality (non-reality) and its own logic (non-logic). "Praying" is wishful thinking at its most delusional. It makes no sense whatsoever, so good for Kristi to make that point.
One thing I learned growing up Christian was to end all prayers with "thy will be done", essentially, so as I would remember that god wills all things.
A big part of my deconversion was coming to grips with the fact that I really only prayed that was as a coping mechanism for when the prayers I desperately needed answered *didn't* get answered.
Prayer became useless over time for a bunch of reasons, but knowing that my prayers meant nothing was a big one.
When my mother died, my father held it against god of the church. She did about everything in that realm to survive. She converted my father for a church wedding ect ect. I was already deconstructing then, however lacking the skills, didn’t say much and just figured it doesn’t work. Life happens, and we are just a part of it. It’s been a tough task deconstructing since my indoctrination goes back to shortly after my birth, since my baptism days after I was born, perhaps even before then. Superstition has crept in then I have a WTF moment, freedom is coming at a cost. Keep posting p.
I guess god didn't know about the Holocaust, slavery, and 9/11.
Why are YOU still supporting modern day slavery then? Buying cheap stuff from China and therefore supporting North Korea? Just because you don't see it doesn't mean it's not there.
I remember my father saying in a conversation "blessed are all the mothers who keep trusting in God when losing a child". And I said: "but please have compassion with all those mothers who cannot trust God after that anymore (and btw go to hell because of it) after losing a child.
Whenever a person says they will pray for me I ask if they were honest. They tend to say yes so I say then pray to god to prove himself to me where I cannot deny and it is to my satisfaction while I still retain free will.
10 years of doing that and still nothing. I have literally asked that a couple of hundred times and not a single thing has happened.
There is proof, you don't seek it. And i could literally send you evidence. Your answer? It's fake/ staged/ or people are crazy. So no one will convince you.
@@oldol12 There is no proof. If the evidence is real then I could NEVER deny it, as I said in my comment you replied to. Pray for god to show you the proof I need that I could NEVER deny.
You clearly didn't read what I wrote because if you did then you couldn't say "Your answer? it's fake/staged/ or people are crazy". If the proof is what I need then I cannot ever say that.
You lack faith in your belief that is clear.
@@ThyBountyHunter do you disagree, that the statement from Matthew 7:12,: "So whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them", could possibly be the perfect solution to achive world peace?
@@oldol12 Changing topic...noted. However as that is not relevant to what I brought up....I can safely ignore it.
@@ThyBountyHunter ua-cam.com/video/RmnUkNT55gU/v-deo.htmlsi=nHeRALttgD_H5laN
Here you have proof
I enjoy your videos. I was raised as a JW and had to spend some time figuring out what mainstream Christians teach. The way the JWs would explain it is that the Bible says "time and unforeseen occurences befall them all." Or some such words. God's plan or purpose is concerning his universal sovereignty and returning the earth and humans to the original state of perfection. He may not concern himself with every aspect of an individual's details because they have free will. Nothing is pre-destined. So, a prayer might bring his attention to something that the individual might want to achieve. But, only if in harmony with his general purpose. Some requests are likely not to be answered. And terrible things happen to all of us now, until his will is done on earth as it is in heaven. I never even when practicing my religion believed that God or the Devil were so involved in our day to day lives. Still, your points are well taken. I'm amazed at how many Evangelical or fundamentalist struggle as I did in a minority religion with cult like features.
If pray works everyone has won the lottery
Many times I pray to thank God for something good that happened but that I hadn't asked for.
Another brilliant video. 😻😻😻
Glad you enjoyed it! :)
Praying is casting a magic spell, just without the eye of newt.
If prayers worked there would be no hospitals.
When people post on Facebook that they're praying for something I really want to say something like, "you know prayer doesn't work right?" But I don't cause I guess it would just make people upset. However I think it's like ripping off a bandaid. It hurts at first but it's better to live in reality than magical prayer power land.
Enlightening. Penetrating the deepest thoughts that have long been felt as taboo to approach
Prayer is; magical thinking, the belief that one's ideas, thoughts, actions, words, or use of symbols can influence the course of events in the material world. Magical thinking presumes a causal link between one's inner, personal experience and the external physical world.
The reality is, praying to a god and to a box of soap, the outcome is exactly the same. Just prove it to yourself. Put a bowl of soup on the kitchen counter and pray that god will make it hot. Then do the same and pray to a box of soap to make the bowl of soup hot.
I sought His face concerning your “bowl of soup” theory. I begged and pleaded with the Lord while allowing His word to envelope me as His spirit guided me step by step. I concluded that praying to God to heat a bowl of soup is not scripturally, theoretically, or doctrinally sound. Therefore I will abstain from accepting your challenge, while also (with Gods help) claiming victory over your theory.
@@DrPhilGoode Your holier-than-thou attitude just might claim a victory for Satan!
@@mylesmarkson1686 I’m pretty sure even Satan didn’t take my nonsense seriously. 🤣🤣
@@DrPhilGoode My mistake Phil. I thought you were one of them!
I prayed that God bless your channel. You SEE. God answers prayers!