Oh, come on now!! …… are you saying JMUDoc is wrong?? Go ahead and mock the TRUTH about *"GOD"* that JMUDoc stated in his IMPRECATORY prayer! Will NOT, even Today, an ALL Powerful, Knowing, Present, "Loving", Holy, Righteous, Wrathful, Immutable, Jealous, Truthful, Wise, Forgiving, Gracious, Sovereign *GOD* do what ever the hell *HE* WANTS for *HIS* own GOOD? (Romans 8:28) AND, there isn't anything we can do about it, .... EXCEPT see the contradictions to be able to wake up from hypno-Christianity OR, be its slave!!
@Carlos Rodriguez instead of accusing him of taking it out of context in a general way explain the context the particular passages should be read in. Matt is just playing with logic and it doesn't look good for the bible.
Thanks for existing Mr Dillahunty. I can’t close my eyes to the FACTS any longer. I know this is unrelated to the topic but, hey.... thanks for creating that doorway in my life - I’m glad I walked through.
@@alexanderblake3569If you cannot find a way to prove God, nor disprove God, than maybe you have not found out a way to test it? And maybe that is a problem. If you are immune to ANY argument, then God himself could not prove his own existence to you. Even if he really existed. So are you immune to reasoning? I hope not! We cannot see God. Cannot touch, cannot smell. same with individual atoms. So how can you know there are individual atoms out there? Well you can know from reasoning and working out a model that fits the reality we see around. And then compare with other alternatives to see witch model fits best. Sooo... if a theistic worldview is better at describing how reality works then a atheistic worldview, then there is higher probability that God exist than that there is no God. Right? That could be a way to prove God.
danielfryxelius mate, were talking eternal life, miracles and a god or gods who can do anything. When that god does something testable, then I won’t be alone in the race to TEST him. So far god (or gods) show up in stories. And why won’t these gods heal amputees?
George Carlin pointed this out (although you take it further) in probably his most famous comedy sketch, certainly among UA-cam atheists. The utter senselessness and futility of prayer. My partner, who is religious, says that the prayer is more for the peace of the person praying, like a form of meditation. I always point out, why not just meditate then, and cut out the ridiculous middle man.
@@deltanovember1672 True, we have radar tracking images of Santa every year, hundreds of them. I wonder how he manages to generate so many radar images at the same time in so many different places. Do you think he bribes all the different local TV stations with extra presents?
In the past I would have not liked you, being a former Christian that has realized I was probably duped for my entire life, 38 now, I really appreciate what you are doing. You seem like a good guy.
NG Hermit, I was duped for nearly 55 years so count yourself lucky you became enlightened earlier. Now go in the name of reason and logic and be happy in your newfound freedom from god. May love lift you and keep you, now and forever. Yolo
@Barthelemy Lazerlips - Fuck, ugh! There is no apparent god. There is no evidence for a soul or "spirit" the way you mean it here. Love is an emotional response, a feeling. Religions were designed to codify the various god myths, without which the myths might likely have failed to perpetuate. If you can prove god, then go collect your Nobel, otherwise, just go away with your tedious nonsense.
Was he being honest when he said he had no problem sharing a stage with David Silverman who sexually assaulted his ex wife, but had a problem sharing with Sargon because he called someone a bad name?
Now contemplate for a nanosecond P-Robes or Jerry Fallwell Junior to do the same with ANY of the million things they used the bible's authority to preach from their pulpits (or tv recliners). Feels weird to even think they might be willing to be so honest, doesn't it? :D Jim Bakker slipping and declaring his bucket powder "food" is disgusting and his wife going full on "Aaaaamen!" to that :D Mark Taylor admitting he's just an alt right angry old man that wanted attention... Josh Feuerstein sharing his books, showing the embezzlement from his congregation for all the watches and other luxury...
I was really hungry this morning but had sensitive teeth so I prayed over my cereal for a while and holy moly my cereal turned to moosh making it very easy to eat.
I bet god made the milk a bit more room-temperature, too, so it didn't zing your teeth with its fridgey coldness quite so much. He's great like that :)
9:19 : “whenever two of you are sincere believers seeking the will of God get together and ask for something, God will do it, if it in fact is the will of God.” 😆 👏 😂
@@JamesRichardWiley you mean the creator of the entire universe, the omnipotent who was defeated by iron chariots? LOL *judges **1:18**-19* The *Lord* *helped* the people of Judah, and they took possession of the hill country. But they did not capture[d] Gaza, Ashkelon, or Ekron, with their surrounding territories. These people living along the coast had *iron chariots,* and so the people of Judah were not able to drive them out.
Apologetics answer number 4,000,576: "clearly if two parents are praying for their child to be cured of cancer, two equally fervent believers are praying for the cancer"
Jay Maverick There are lots of Christians that say it all the time. Myself included. Christians claim that the original text of the Bible is perfect, not the people reading it.
@@edwinharbauer2260 >"...Something you'll never hear a Christian say: A Bible verse I was wrong about.....There are lots of Christians that say it all the time" LOL. Not the real Christians. Real Christians say the Bible is the inerrant and infallible word of God. Because if it's not, why would an Omnipotent Omniscent Omnipresent Omnibenevolent God allow his one book that tells his sheep exactly what happened and what is expected of them to be flawed and to be perpetually misinterpreted and misunderstood? If the greatest power in the universe can't even put out a book that isn't explicitly clear as to what the intent is and is not accurate, what good his he?
Td_kd Name You’re mistaken on a lot of things, and your two points are easily addressed if you understand Christianity or read the Bible. And am I not a “real” Christian because I’ve changed my mind several times on a lot of different topics? Maybe some prideful arrogant know-it-alls won’t admit that they’ve been wrong, but they’re few and far in between.
ScarMsanii Aggrey that’s so vague I don’t know how to answer. Evidence of what? Evidence that Christians constantly admit they were mistaken on? Evidence of Christianity?
I think this whole thing is the beginning of the ‘No true Christian Fallacy’ where those asking and not receiving are constantly kept worrying that they are inadequate Christians, to keep them buying into the mythology.
@Carlos Rodriguez Yes, There are lots of examples of people who claim to be Christians, who tell other people who claim to be Christians, that the they aren't true Christians.
Accusing others of their imperfection is a time tested strategy to establish and maintain control by manipulators - the manipulated ones are the narcissists meat and bread.
Love you Matt,! Thank you for the dedication. So much benefit your voice and life experience brings to all. Thank sweet baby cheez-its in golden fleece diapers.
I fully agree with you. I one defense of prayer is this. I grew up in a religious setting and praying for me turned into a sort of cognitive behavior meditation. Even as a heathen I still talk to my my other self. Again I know this is self talk, but it does quiet my mind mind for a moment and allow me to consider my situation at hand. This is all psych 101 stuff but there is something valuable there for anyone who can stop and think laterally through their life.
Prayers are just thoughts swirling around in ones head. If one gets what one is asking for than God has answered ones prayer, if not then God is testing ones faith. Win win for God
The way I was raised, I tried like a motherfucker to convince myself that I believed. Alas, I wasted decades of my life in the effort. Fucking assholes spreading lies and causing kids to live in fear. (I'm a preacher's kid.) At least my sis came away with a pretty good t-shirt, "Jesus Makes So Me Wet".
@@twelvedozen5075 it's not Matt's narcissism, it's the fake god's. We are taught to praise him, right? For what purpose? To give thanks for war, disease, pain and suffering? Fuck that.
This is why I follow you as a fellow Atheist Matt....you usually clobber people with pure logic, and you still have the sand to admit when you're wrong....every time I see you with a bunch of rubber bands, I keep thinking you're about to get into your version of "Crazy Man's Handcuffs"!...I'm also a devout magician....peace from S. Oregon
My parents pray every night for me to be miraculously healed of my type 1 diabetes, still take insulin every day... I wish I had the odds of a coin flip.
There are other possibilities with these verses. God asking you to pray for something and saying "whatever you ask, I will grant" can be likened to your boss telling you at work, "if you need anything, just ask". If you asked your boss for a golden Mercedes and he doesn't give you it, is he contradicting himself? He meant it in the context of your work relationship and your position in the company. It's assumed that both parties understand that, so your boss doesn't have to stipulate what the conditions are for the request you could make. You wouldn't be able to ask for something that's against company policy or something that's against your boss's will (what he/she wants for the company etc.) So while you can take a plain reading of the verse, I think it's to be taken within the understanding of our relationship to God. Bringing up problems with prayer due to God's (supposed) omnipotence or omniscience are valid, although for the latter, if God knows what you will ask for, he could still want you to ask for various possible reasons ( e.g. to learn what should be asked, to enable some kind of action on your part).
I was about to comment that you were wrong because you hadn’t mentioned that this whole passage had to do with church discipline and correction of “sin.” But you DID say something about it as the video proceeded. Good video.
But with one comma it changes to you will get it in heaven “Again, truly I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything they ask for, it will be done for them by my Father, in heaven. For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them.”
Most of us know, the writers of the book did not put enough thought into every verse as they should have, hence, contradictions, confusion, silliness and hilarious content. When I need a laugh, I start to read Genesis, by the time snake gets into the act, I'm pissing myself laughing. It works every time.
Not to be knit-picky, but I feel most translations of this are lacking not just scriptural context, but culture and linguistic context as well. Back when I was a christian, I studied this verse extensively. I took it to mean that Jesus was instructing the disciples to make agreements about what to forbid and permit (loosing and binding). And if they come to agreement about a matter of the church, it will be made so in the court of heaven by God. 'pantos pragmatos' = any matter, any transaction, any affair. I don't believe it is saying that he was telling them they could have whatever their heart desires, it's saying basically that he is granting them the authority to run their church as a council. And that if they meet in his name, they are familiar enough with him that he would sort of metaphorically be there beside them (i.e., I was going to buy a pack of cigarettes, but I could just hear my wife yelling in my ear). But ultimately, it can be interpreted many ways, and that's one of the major problems with basing doctrine on an ancient writing in an ancient language.
@Alkyl Dimethyl Benzyl Ammonium Chloride: That's a lot of ambiguity for a perfect author to achieve on a topic that influences his eternal judgments on the beings about which he cares infinitely and whose cognitive capacities he created. I have a simpler answer. (Also, the version you formerly believed suggests that God was quite bad at logic, given that pairings within the church could disagree, even unwittingly. What then?)
@@ncooty You have to realize this was not a catch-all verse for them to basically write their own laws. They already had the law. This was about addressing the functioning of an assembly of people. I concluded that Jesus was trying to give the disciples autonomy in leading their own disciples, after he had giviven them enough training and trusted them to do so.
@Alkyl Dimethyl Benzyl Ammonium Chloride: However petty the administrative minutiae JC was delegating, pairs of church members could always disagree, making his statement insufficient and easily improved, if what you've suggested is actually what he was doing. I'm not criticizing you at all. Anyone who used to be religious can relate to the feeling of looking back on bad reasoning. I'm just noting that a perfect author writing the most important book to the people he created would probably be a bit clearer and less prone to misinterpretation.
@@ncooty That's just it, the "two or three" isn't a simple reference to two or three gathered believers, it is about two or three witnesses present for a loosing or binding affair (Deuteronomy 17 and 19). This passage is very efficient from a Jewish legal practice standpoint (and all of the existing culture that goes with that), because it reminds them of the practices of legal bindings they (being Jews) knew well and applies that to discipline in the new "church". But, while do still enjoy examining the Bible and its surrounding contemporary cultural contexts from a sociological and theological standpoint, this all feels so pointless and moot for everyone else. The author Matthew was a practicing jew, and probably added this whole story.
Naa its more like this, boy: Dear Jewisch, Christians and Muslim People, We have to inform you that Scientists have uncovered that a few pot-smoking Socialist Hebrew Hippies, totally stoned out of their pranksters asses, made your fables up just to f@uck with everyone! Sorry for the destruction of your lucrative fables. But it was just a big old prank of a few potsmoking ancient Hippies. So again: there was never,and is no god, just a few heavily stoned Hebrews who pulled theatric crap out of their Hippies' asses. Love, better Weed and godless accurate Science to all yeh religious Abe's fools all.
@@thetruthchannel349 You mean to say your tribal mental illness whom you confuse with a "god" tells you things that you do, son? Man, you better check your Doc, son, your chill pills dosages might need to be UPPED! Gute Besserung to all yeh mentally ill religious fanatics and to all yeh Religious Nazis, Islamic and Zionist extremists as well. Godless Best, A.E. Projectheureka LLC
@@RCmelloman oh shit I got discovered! *Runs away to hide* Glad to see people who enjoy my play also enjoy other things that I do also here :D. Hello and cheers :)
I always took the passage to mean that formal mass gatherings of the believers was unnecessary. That wherever any two or three sincere believers gathered was sufficient to be regarded as a congregation by god. In short, an admonishment against the need for temples or mega churches to be built. Saying that prayers need not be amplified by the numbers of people praying for an outcome to be granted. It's all still some ancient goat herders comic book omnibus anyway to me.
can also interpret to me the greater the number of people joining together to decide what they understand is god's will, the better - i.e. that people should try to join together into collectives of churches and then be bound by the group, Hence this is a passage to give authority to having a communal collective of churches rather than being individuals who (gasp) have independent free-thinking and self determination. I suppose this required/self-evident to an extent - children are taught to follow family initial teaching and then work together in family groups and then to follow local community guidelines (progressively amounting to habits, customs, rules & laws). But whether individuals should summit to that which cannot be seen, tested, verified, questioned or clarified is of course the atheist issue.
@@puirYorick Yeah the bible is the ultimate adult "choose your own adventure" book. Rare the believer that cannot find full confirmation and justification of their presupposed opinions and wishes in its pages... usually that means they won't be believers for much longer.
@@Ugly_German_Truths For me the moment of realization came at the first chance I took to wonder about god *after* I'd realized my parents were actually "Santa" and not everything an adult said was truth. From then onward, Sunday School became just a boring performance drama to be endured until I no longer had to attend.
How did Matt know my mom? Asking her for anything has always been utterly futile. Just like god, she does or gives if she personally feels like it, and if you ask, all you do is irritate her.
When I was a Christian, one of my youth leaders used to use the analogy of building a house as a representation of God's plan. She would say that you could pray to God asking, for example, if you could include a blue brick in the house, and He might say "yes", "no", or "not yet", but you cannot ask him if you can build a boat instead, since God's plan is to build a house, not a boat. Basically the idea is that God has a general way of going about things, so as long as you ask for something that is within His will (i.e. is moral and not self-serving), you'll probably get a "yes". The implication is that if you had not prayed for it, it may not have happened. Of course, there's the issue of whether or not that's even possible given that God is omniscient (this sort of relates to determinism). The other way it was explained was to acknowledge that prayer was effectively useless in terms of getting stuff done, since God was going to do what he wanted anyways, but you should pray anyway because it is how you have a relationship with God. Basically, even though God already knows that you want a relationship with him, you should act on that relationship by talking to him, because it makes him happy. The analogy I would be given for this one is where God is like a parent who is happy when their child gives them a rock or something (something useless in particular). They aren't happy because of how good the gift was (like how prayer doesn't actually change God's mind), but rather because of the intent behind it. I never figured out which of these was correct...
The point about the parents is interesting. Sounds like a good one. Until of course you realize that the point is in the surprise and that the parents are able to be not maximally happy and not omniscient :) but ok, still a point that on first reading strikes a sort of warm, tender, emotional string.
I love this explanation but then it feels so tailored to humans that a God acting in such a manner seems sooooo human and petty. But I really appreciate you sharing this.
@@mikelipinski7615 you are wrong there is much better plans for people than such hurt... Cancer is because of rebellion not just because the person rebelled... God uses many peopel even people infected with cancer, parapelegics, Olympic athelets who give up there fame to work in China... And at the end of the day they say it's worth it to live a life for Christ reality is harsh, but God doesn't promise that such a thing will be forever God does promise a life in complete health and unity forever
People who say praying works are like the people who push the button at the intersection after the countdown display is already running and think that made the light change faster.
Nothing like serving a deity who is omniscient, omnipotent, omnipresent and . . . omni (what's the word for "the most insecure with the most fragile ego"?).
I so appreciate the work you do, Matt. And I absolutely applaud your intellectual honesty. If only the theist apologist would view intellectual honesty as a virtue instead of "faith" (which is antithetical) they would be better received. Of course, they would also be out of a job.
@@rijden-nu wait there are multiple ways to take that statement so i don't know if its word play or just shade....cant-tell.jpg Ambiguous language on the internet too much for me.
@@perpetuaL524 Exactly. I know what *I* meant, but I'm only responsible for what I say, not for what you make of it :) I was talking about the vanishingly small chance that a human exists who is at least not wrong about *anything*.
ok, I need some clarification: "a coin toss" is not the same as "not better than chance". You can win the lottery with a chance of near 0, but a coin toss has a 50% probability. If prayer always worked like a coin toss, I'd be impressed.
Yes, no, and wait. Prayer is conversation. Yes, I have had my prayers answered. If something I ask for is going to harm me, the answer is no. If I keep asking then I end up with his permissive will instead of his perfect will, and that comes with consequences of having what is not best for me. That verse does not stand alone, because there are other verses in the bible that deal with circumstances that can't be overridden. Your pray for salvation of someone that has blasphemed the Holy Spirit cannot be granted. No one that blasphemes the Holy Spirit can be saved.
But just biblical slavery because... you know, that "other type" of slavery is totally bad n' stuff. But not "biblical slavery"! That's, like, waaay different! 😉😆
This gets a thumbs up, simply because comments are not blocked and disabled, i will also watch the video. When comments are disabled, i will instantly give a thumbs down and i will not watch the video.
I feel the same, I hate getting 5 minutes into a video, and feel a need to say something, just to be smacked in the mouth with a "comments are disabled" bar of steel. I instantly stop watching and thumbs down. Fortunately this only happens on theist channels. Have you ever seen it on an atheist channel? If so let me know where.
@@kurtilein3 I know the AXP channel used to block, but point people to their chat server as they wanted all comments in one place, I am glad they changed that. I was not aware this channel also blocked them, It would have gotten a downvote from me. I know there were some Thunderf00t controversies all over the place, I love Thunderf00t.
Hey Matt! I always enjoy your perspective and the challenges you present: good exercise for every believer in Christ😉 ‘Mediation’ and ‘Forgiveness’, I believe are the keys to understanding this portion of Scripture. That Peter continues to question on the topic of forgiveness and the severity in which Christ regards forgiveness between believers, as expressed in v35, keeps us on the target, which the Lord introduced in v15. The matter for prayer at hand in v19, remains consistent with the context of the passage, that there should be forgiveness, especially when the Lord has been sought to mediate.
So cut those prayer strings and spend some time thinking; take some time for yourself, meditate, consider the people who care about you, or kittens and puppies, just unplug for a bit. Turn off you mind, relax, and float downstream, it is not dying.
I happen to tell a Xtian friend about the Prayer Paradox. He got mad because I gave him a headache. I said that's good. At least you're in a stage of being skeptical.
Matthew 17:20 ..."If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you." There's always an "if", isn't there?
@deadend Well, you might say things happened because it was suppose to happen but in my case, things mostly happened after i prayed for. Let me share one incident that honestly it really happened with me. Once my shopping worth of 200$ was stolen which i hanged in my bike outside the store. I really prayed with all my heart that night...and guess what? My bag with all the stuffs with none missing was returned to me the next day in my workplace. I know non-religious would conclude my story with that it was supposed to happenes but i do take it otherwise. I mean what are the odds, right??
@deadend But i can say the same thing to you too. I mean you of being baised towards prayer answered. And reagarding the odds, i think its one in a ten million....but i have come across many such 1 in 10 million incidents where prayers were answered, which ofcourse refutes the odds itself and that sure does makes me believe that it was because of the prayers all along and not some random odds taking place. Really!!
I used to be Christian, now athiest, but I was always interpreted these passages as referring to his disciples (aka leaders of his church at the time). And when I was a Mormon, I was taught it also referred to the modern day apostles in the LDS church. I think any argument against this passage should not assume he is talking to ANY christian.
For those of us who don't know 'scripture' (I'm an Irish Catholic who believed in Santa longer than I believed in God) a few more of these short videos analysing them would be very helpful...and entertaining.
While listening to this I thought about another passage (J 16:7) when Jesus says: 'It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter (Holy Spirit) will not come unto you'. Well, that makes things interesting. It suggests that absence of Jesus is necessary for Holy Spirit to arrive, so when 2 people pray to Jesus, Holy Spirit is never there, because Jesus is present. So, people in every Church when praying to Jesus and saying they feel Holy Spirit in their bodies are horribly mistaken. According to the Bible!
Hi, Matt mentions the inefficacy of prayer fairly often, if anyone has a reference - author, year, DOI etc for a research article that provides evidentiary basis for this, could you please share with us as I would be interested in reading the paper(s)? Many thanks
The reason we know verse 19 goes with the topic of church discipline is because it is sandwiched between what it says about the sinning brother and Peter coming to the Lord and asking the question about forgiving a brother in verse 21. As for why we would pray when it depends on his will, there are times when it is within his will to give us something but only if it is within our will to receive it. A parent might be willing to give their child ice cream before supper, but that parent doesn't necessarily tell the child that. And it could be that the child wants cake instead, and that also might be in the parent's will, but it might not be in the parent's will to give the child both. So, the parent waits for the child to ask. And with God, there is the added thing that by waiting for us to ask it causes us to see our need for him.
Many churches, including the R Catholic offer prayers of “intercession” every Sunday. The only one I remember from many years passed was for the conversion of Russia. That really worked???
Russia is not Catholic. They are orthodox or atheist. Some Jews thrown in. No conversion to the Catholic faith on the horizon. And those that are Orthodox were Orthodox even under Communism. They didn't just start building churches. The churches were already there and they had worshipers. So what you stated is false.
I searched Google for: Bible Errors UA-cam- amazingly I got nothing but apologetics, where are the Atheist Tags? Why is the information so well hid? I mean, cant Atheists tag a video to get the message out? Atheists- consider creating video content with proper tags, it is well needed. Thank You.
7:54 everywhere like air for example , meaning can concentrate focus in some places more than others , like for example a human getting rid of dirt , uses hands with gloves , doesn’t touch dirt with head
i think the passage uses prayer in a tribal and symbolic fashion. the message is about mundane human affairs; instead of praying for cool stuff. it gives a green light to get what you want by using numbers to win against minority, rather than reason. it's telling you that you should recruit like minded christians to get your way in life and that you should attribute your win to your christian god, for He gaveth you this wonderful knowledge of bullying by numbers.
The context of this verse is dealing with sin in the Church. If we examine Matthew 18:15-20, Jesus said that if you have a brother who sins against you, then you need to go to him and try to work it out. If he refuses to acknowledge his fault, then you bring one or two more witnesses to help work things out. So including you, that would make two or three witnesses, recognize that phrase? Not only is it repeated in these verses, but it comes from the Old Testament (Deuteronomy 19:15 and more). Legal cases needed to have two or three witnesses to establish a matter. If the sinning brother did not make things right in the presence of two or three witnesses, then the case was to be brought before the church. If he refused to listen to the Church’s decision, then he was to be thrown out of the congregation. It is with this in mind that Jesus said that the Father would grant the request of two or more who gather together in Christ’s name and are in agreement. Agreement on what? On disciplining the erring brother. That is what this passage is about though so many Christians often use it as though Jesus promised to answer their prayers when offered in certain situations. What else does the Bible say about prayer? The Apostle John wrote, “Now this is the confidence we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him” (1 John 5:14-15). John also wrote, “And whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do those things that are pleasing in His sight” (1 John 3:22). So we can have confidence about God answering our prayers when we are obediently following Him and praying according to His will. If someone has not experienced answered prayer, then perhaps that person may not be living in obedience and/or praying according to His will. Or perhaps God did answer and a person may not recognize the response since God often answers in ways we may not expect.I If anyone has ever sad God is a wishing well you are really credulous BUT f someone tells you you can takes a verse out of the general chapter book and Scripture in general you don't get it and are equally wrong
I think the question we ought to ask is: "If something is 'God's Will' and nobody prays for it, will God then NOT do that thing?" Obviously, the answer is no, God will still (and often does) do things that nobody has prayed for (or did somebody ask him to drown the entire world?")
I have never been wrong about anything. One time I thought I was wrong about something, but then when I examined it more closely turns out I wasn't wrong at all.
@Barthelemy Lazerlips - So which is it, since you seem eager to defy the command, "judge not lest ye . . . ", is it "were" or "are"? What a sloppy fucking judge you are.
My first understanding on hearing that passage is that when it says it shall be done in heaven it means when you die it shall be the case for you if you go to heaven.
I've known people who pray about _every_ decision of any significance to themselves or their families. Of course, knowing that prayer for guidance is ultimately just a form of focused meditation that brings to the forefront of consciousness that which one already believes, the result of those prayers is that _they_ unwittingly decide for themselves. If it works out, God gets all the credit rather than the person who made a sound decision. If it doesn't work out, the people rarely realize that prayer is useless. Instead they chalk it up to, "This is the path God has chosen for me, and it isn't for me to question the short term results." While contemplative/meditative prayer may be of benefit in arriving at decisions...as much as any earnest contemplation, prayer creates the illusion of placing _responsibility_ for the outcome in someone else's hands. For that matter, many people pray for things _within their own power..._ only to never have them happen because they're waiting for God to take care of it.
"Dear Lord,
Please do whatever it is you were going to do anyway.
Amen."
Dear Lord,
People will say anything to mock you. Amen
Oh, come on now!! …… are you saying JMUDoc is wrong?? Go ahead and mock the TRUTH about *"GOD"* that JMUDoc stated in his IMPRECATORY prayer! Will NOT, even Today, an ALL Powerful, Knowing, Present, "Loving", Holy, Righteous, Wrathful, Immutable, Jealous, Truthful, Wise, Forgiving, Gracious, Sovereign *GOD* do what ever the hell *HE* WANTS for *HIS* own GOOD? (Romans 8:28)
AND, there isn't anything we can do about it, .... EXCEPT see the contradictions to be able to wake up from hypno-Christianity OR, be its slave!!
Hey your prayer WORKED!! I'm christian now.
@@jeziscricket4448 I'm not mocking Christianity's god - I don't believe he exists.
I'm mocking Christianity itself.
@Carlos Rodriguez instead of accusing him of taking it out of context in a general way explain the context the particular passages should be read in. Matt is just playing with logic and it doesn't look good for the bible.
Thanks for existing Mr Dillahunty. I can’t close my eyes to the FACTS any longer. I know this is unrelated to the topic but, hey.... thanks for creating that doorway in my life - I’m glad I walked through.
Alexander Blake What FACTS?
The Fact that you can’t prove a God!
@@alexanderblake3569If you cannot find a way to prove God, nor disprove God, than maybe you have not found out a way to test it?
And maybe that is a problem. If you are immune to ANY argument, then God himself could not prove his own existence to you. Even if he really existed. So are you immune to reasoning? I hope not!
We cannot see God. Cannot touch, cannot smell. same with individual atoms. So how can you know there are individual atoms out there? Well you can know from reasoning and working out a model that fits the reality we see around. And then compare with other alternatives to see witch model fits best.
Sooo... if a theistic worldview is better at describing how reality works then a atheistic worldview, then there is higher probability that God exist than that there is no God. Right? That could be a way to prove God.
danielfryxelius mate, were talking eternal life, miracles and a god or gods who can do anything. When that god does something testable, then I won’t be alone in the race to TEST him. So far god (or gods) show up in stories. And why won’t these gods heal amputees?
@@danielfryxelius no, most of what you said doesn't sound right at all. The more we understand about reality, the less we need "god".
George Carlin pointed this out (although you take it further) in probably his most famous comedy sketch, certainly among UA-cam atheists. The utter senselessness and futility of prayer. My partner, who is religious, says that the prayer is more for the peace of the person praying, like a form of meditation. I always point out, why not just meditate then, and cut out the ridiculous middle man.
Emotional reasons. I used to pray to God and air all my grievances with him, along with a lot of anger. I always felt better afterwards.
@@zemorph42 you should try Santa claus then, even more rewarding
Brad Zimmerman And there appears to be more evidence that Santa actually exists!
Lol!
@@deltanovember1672 True, we have radar tracking images of Santa every year, hundreds of them. I wonder how he manages to generate so many radar images at the same time in so many different places. Do you think he bribes all the different local TV stations with extra presents?
In the past I would have not liked you, being a former Christian that has realized I was probably duped for my entire life, 38 now, I really appreciate what you are doing. You seem like a good guy.
NG Hermit, I was duped for nearly 55 years so count yourself lucky you became enlightened earlier. Now go in the name of reason and logic and be happy in your newfound freedom from god. May love lift you and keep you, now and forever. Yolo
@Barthelemy Lazerlips - Fuck, ugh! There is no apparent god. There is no evidence for a soul or "spirit" the way you mean it here. Love is an emotional response, a feeling. Religions were designed to codify the various god myths, without which the myths might likely have failed to perpetuate.
If you can prove god, then go collect your Nobel, otherwise, just go away with your tedious nonsense.
yet another fine example of how Mr. Dillahunty prefers to express honesty as oppose to just shirk it and keep going. good job Matt. you rock
yetisuncle that’s why I fuck with Matt and the rest. They’re genuinely showing that they’re only looking for truth, by being transparent.
Good job!
Check out Andrew Yang. He is the same.
yetisuncle If you want check out my comment, just go to newest, you should find it with relative ease.
I think you have review from 4:41 again, because he meant “wrong” with giant quotation marks.
Was he being honest when he said he had no problem sharing a stage with David Silverman who sexually assaulted his ex wife, but had a problem sharing with Sargon because he called someone a bad name?
It's always good to acknowledge when you've been wrong. Especially if you value truth. Well done
Rembrandt I’m sure religious fundamentalists will learn from this. Just kidding.
Now contemplate for a nanosecond P-Robes or Jerry Fallwell Junior to do the same with ANY of the million things they used the bible's authority to preach from their pulpits (or tv recliners). Feels weird to even think they might be willing to be so honest, doesn't it? :D
Jim Bakker slipping and declaring his bucket powder "food" is disgusting and his wife going full on "Aaaaamen!" to that :D Mark Taylor admitting he's just an alt right angry old man that wanted attention... Josh Feuerstein sharing his books, showing the embezzlement from his congregation for all the watches and other luxury...
You should probably watch the whole video lol....
4:39 lol.
@@thetruthchannel349 Great argument. The premises are sound, supported by evidence and reality, and the conclusion fits. 🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄
So much love for this guy!
Perfect logic. Fear of the unknown is what causes people to suspend and ignore reality and logic
"Oh Lord, I pray that you do whatever the hell you were going to do anyway. Amen."
I was really hungry this morning but had sensitive teeth so I prayed over my cereal for a while and holy moly my cereal turned to moosh making it very easy to eat.
I bet god made the milk a bit more room-temperature, too, so it didn't zing your teeth with its fridgey coldness quite so much. He's great like that :)
Did you have Cheerios that lined up into the Maiden Mary being impregnated by an invisible man? If not, then you're no better than a tax collector.
9:19 : “whenever two of you are sincere believers seeking the will of God get together and ask for something, God will do it, if it in fact is the will of God.”
😆 👏 😂
It's hard to know what the Will of God is
since he is unknowable
and acts in mysterious ways.
Solution:
Whatever just happened was god's will.
@@JamesRichardWiley you mean the creator of the entire universe, the omnipotent who was defeated by iron chariots? LOL *judges **1:18**-19* The *Lord* *helped* the people of Judah, and they took possession of the hill country. But they did not capture[d] Gaza, Ashkelon, or Ekron, with their surrounding territories. These people living along the coast had *iron chariots,* and so the people of Judah were not able to drive them out.
Apologetics answer number 4,000,576: "clearly if two parents are praying for their child to be cured of cancer, two equally fervent believers are praying for the cancer"
Something you'll never hear a Christian say: A Bible verse I was wrong about.
Jay Maverick There are lots of Christians that say it all the time. Myself included. Christians claim that the original text of the Bible is perfect, not the people reading it.
@@edwinharbauer2260 >"...Something you'll never hear a Christian say: A Bible verse I was wrong about.....There are lots of Christians that say it all the time"
LOL. Not the real Christians. Real Christians say the Bible is the inerrant and infallible word of God. Because if it's not, why would an Omnipotent Omniscent Omnipresent Omnibenevolent God allow his one book that tells his sheep exactly what happened and what is expected of them to be flawed and to be perpetually misinterpreted and misunderstood? If the greatest power in the universe can't even put out a book that isn't explicitly clear as to what the intent is and is not accurate, what good his he?
Td_kd Name You’re mistaken on a lot of things, and your two points are easily addressed if you understand Christianity or read the Bible. And am I not a “real” Christian because I’ve changed my mind several times on a lot of different topics? Maybe some prideful arrogant know-it-alls won’t admit that they’ve been wrong, but they’re few and far in between.
@@edwinharbauer2260 Do you have evidence?
ScarMsanii Aggrey that’s so vague I don’t know how to answer. Evidence of what? Evidence that Christians constantly admit they were mistaken on? Evidence of Christianity?
God always grants the war prayers of the side with the strongest airforce.
Lmao!
funny
Except in Vietnam or Afghanistan..
God has a hard on for jets, bombs and marines.
Judicial78: True. But he can't handle iron chariots.
I think this whole thing is the beginning of the ‘No true Christian Fallacy’ where those asking and not receiving are constantly kept worrying that they are inadequate Christians, to keep them buying into the mythology.
@Carlos Rodriguez
He's talking about a variation of the 'No true Scotsman' fallacy.
@Carlos Rodriguez Yes, There are lots of examples of people who claim to be Christians, who tell other people who claim to be Christians, that the they aren't true Christians.
Carlos Rodriguez I’ve heard lots of people using the bible to defend their version of Christianity against other versions. Eg: AIG
Carlos Rodriguez actually, both could be wrong.
Accusing others of their imperfection is a time tested strategy to establish and maintain control by manipulators - the manipulated ones are the narcissists meat and bread.
Love you Matt,! Thank you for the dedication. So much benefit your voice and life experience brings to all. Thank sweet baby cheez-its in golden fleece diapers.
I really respect Matt's integrity for publicly admitting he got something wrong
I fully agree with you. I one defense of prayer is this. I grew up in a religious setting and praying for me turned into a sort of cognitive behavior meditation. Even as a heathen I still talk to my my other self. Again I know this is self talk, but it does quiet my mind mind for a moment and allow me to consider my situation at hand. This is all psych 101 stuff but there is something valuable there for anyone who can stop and think laterally through their life.
I have a coffee cup I now pray to and I get the same results... All hail the mighty coffee cup!
Prayers are just thoughts swirling around in ones head. If one gets what one is asking for than God has answered ones prayer, if not then God is testing ones faith. Win win for God
Matt’s apologist translation of this verse was hilarious! Has anyone ever done a full bible translation according to apologists?
That was a great video Mr. Dillahunty.
another possibility: there has never been two christians who agreed on anything.
Excellent video today, Matt!
I still get days where I wish I could believe I've never had that ability and when I tried and tried just felt silly
been there, done that, not even got a t-shirt.
The way I was raised, I tried like a motherfucker to convince myself that I believed. Alas, I wasted decades of my life in the effort. Fucking assholes spreading lies and causing kids to live in fear. (I'm a preacher's kid.)
At least my sis came away with a pretty good t-shirt, "Jesus Makes So Me Wet".
as most of the time clarity and honesty this is why i love hearing your debates you truely are a logic herald keep up the awsome work !!!
Now if the Hovinds and Ken Ham had the spine to admit they were wrong about evolution.
Ferrari King they make way too much money by denying it for that to ever happen
Wouldn’t that signal the start of the End Times? 😂
They haven't evolved spines yet.
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!........... Even GOD can't achieve that!
*Whats sad? Is that Hovind and Ham are indeed HACKS but they are STILL RIGHT ABOUT EVOLUTION!* LOL
That whole destroying the infinity gauntlet strategy and explanation was actually kind of clever.
What I take from this is that the only prayer I need, in god's eyes, to give is to stroke his narcissism.
The Iron Atheist 50 Are you unable to pick up on Matt’s narcissism?
@@twelvedozen5075 it's not Matt's narcissism, it's the fake god's. We are taught to praise him, right? For what purpose? To give thanks for war, disease, pain and suffering? Fuck that.
This is why I follow you as a fellow Atheist Matt....you usually clobber people with pure logic, and you still have the sand to admit when you're wrong....every time I see you with a bunch of rubber bands, I keep thinking you're about to get into your version of "Crazy Man's Handcuffs"!...I'm also a devout magician....peace from S. Oregon
My parents pray every night for me to be miraculously healed of my type 1 diabetes, still take insulin every day... I wish I had the odds of a coin flip.
Ask them if insulin might be in the way of god's healing to determine exactly how much they love you compared to the sky-daddy. :O
People have been healed from type 1 diabetes and stopped using insulin.
@@twelvedozen5075 Which people and how?
JWAM Shop If you really care, you will research.
@@twelvedozen5075 Don't be silly. The whole scientific world cares! What ARE you referring to?
There are other possibilities with these verses.
God asking you to pray for something and saying "whatever you ask, I will grant" can be likened to your boss telling you at work, "if you need anything, just ask". If you asked your boss for a golden Mercedes and he doesn't give you it, is he contradicting himself? He meant it in the context of your work relationship and your position in the company. It's assumed that both parties understand that, so your boss doesn't have to stipulate what the conditions are for the request you could make. You wouldn't be able to ask for something that's against company policy or something that's against your boss's will (what he/she wants for the company etc.)
So while you can take a plain reading of the verse, I think it's to be taken within the understanding of our relationship to God.
Bringing up problems with prayer due to God's (supposed) omnipotence or omniscience are valid, although for the latter, if God knows what you will ask for, he could still want you to ask for various possible reasons ( e.g. to learn what should be asked, to enable some kind of action on your part).
That was the most acceptable use of clickbait I have come across.
I was about to comment that you were wrong because you hadn’t mentioned that this whole passage had to do with church discipline and correction of “sin.” But you DID say something about it as the video proceeded. Good video.
All prayers are answered. The vast majority of the time ... Its a no.
OMG! You mean to say that all my preyers have been a waste of time, God damn it!
But with one comma it changes to you will get it in heaven
“Again, truly I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything they ask for, it will be done for them by my Father, in heaven. For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them.”
paul 1 are you saying god has poor grammar ?
@@oldtimer5111 no I'm saying the way Mat read it out that is how it sounded.
So basically, "you get your wish AFTER your dead". Hmmm... convenient. XD
@@francischimenti1374 no, only if you friend also wants the same thing
@@paul-zy9xo Ah, double tap. Got it 😉
Most of us know, the writers of the book did not put enough thought into every verse as they should have, hence, contradictions, confusion, silliness and hilarious content. When I need a laugh, I start to read Genesis, by the time snake gets into the act, I'm pissing myself laughing. It works every time.
Not to be knit-picky, but I feel most translations of this are lacking not just scriptural context, but culture and linguistic context as well. Back when I was a christian, I studied this verse extensively. I took it to mean that Jesus was instructing the disciples to make agreements about what to forbid and permit (loosing and binding). And if they come to agreement about a matter of the church, it will be made so in the court of heaven by God. 'pantos pragmatos' = any matter, any transaction, any affair. I don't believe it is saying that he was telling them they could have whatever their heart desires, it's saying basically that he is granting them the authority to run their church as a council. And that if they meet in his name, they are familiar enough with him that he would sort of metaphorically be there beside them (i.e., I was going to buy a pack of cigarettes, but I could just hear my wife yelling in my ear).
But ultimately, it can be interpreted many ways, and that's one of the major problems with basing doctrine on an ancient writing in an ancient language.
@Alkyl Dimethyl Benzyl Ammonium Chloride: That's a lot of ambiguity for a perfect author to achieve on a topic that influences his eternal judgments on the beings about which he cares infinitely and whose cognitive capacities he created.
I have a simpler answer.
(Also, the version you formerly believed suggests that God was quite bad at logic, given that pairings within the church could disagree, even unwittingly. What then?)
@@ncooty You have to realize this was not a catch-all verse for them to basically write their own laws. They already had the law. This was about addressing the functioning of an assembly of people.
I concluded that Jesus was trying to give the disciples autonomy in leading their own disciples, after he had giviven them enough training and trusted them to do so.
@Alkyl Dimethyl Benzyl Ammonium Chloride: However petty the administrative minutiae JC was delegating, pairs of church members could always disagree, making his statement insufficient and easily improved, if what you've suggested is actually what he was doing.
I'm not criticizing you at all. Anyone who used to be religious can relate to the feeling of looking back on bad reasoning.
I'm just noting that a perfect author writing the most important book to the people he created would probably be a bit clearer and less prone to misinterpretation.
@@ncooty That's just it, the "two or three" isn't a simple reference to two or three gathered believers, it is about two or three witnesses present for a loosing or binding affair (Deuteronomy 17 and 19).
This passage is very efficient from a Jewish legal practice standpoint (and all of the existing culture that goes with that), because it reminds them of the practices of legal bindings they (being Jews) knew well and applies that to discipline in the new "church".
But, while do still enjoy examining the Bible and its surrounding contemporary cultural contexts from a sociological and theological standpoint, this all feels so pointless and moot for everyone else. The author Matthew was a practicing jew, and probably added this whole story.
Thanks Matt, fantastic video.
Let us pray...."Dear god, just stay out of our way."
@Josue Olivas
Oh okay, thanks..
@Josue Olivas - no prayer will be granted.
Davos Holdos he’s out of your way because he knows that you’re going to end up in his presence .
@Barthelemy Lazerlips agreed..but southparks better.
@Barthelemy Lazerlips are you some type of king?
Dear Christians: He's just messing with you guys. LOL.
Naa its more like this, boy:
Dear Jewisch, Christians and Muslim People,
We have to inform you that Scientists have uncovered that a few pot-smoking Socialist Hebrew Hippies, totally stoned out of their pranksters asses, made your fables up just to f@uck with everyone!
Sorry for the destruction of your lucrative fables. But it was just a big old prank of a few potsmoking ancient Hippies.
So again: there was never,and is no god, just a few heavily stoned Hebrews who pulled theatric crap out of their Hippies' asses.
Love, better Weed and godless accurate Science to all yeh religious Abe's fools all.
*Ya, no*
*Oh, hes not messing with me. I see through all of you as if though you were made with thin wet toilet paper*
@@thetruthchannel349 You mean to say your tribal mental illness whom you confuse with a "god" tells you things that you do, son?
Man, you better check your Doc, son, your chill pills dosages might need to be UPPED!
Gute Besserung to all yeh mentally ill religious fanatics and to all yeh Religious Nazis, Islamic and Zionist extremists as well.
Godless Best,
A.E.
Projectheureka LLC
joking i am. havin fun, you know?
NOTHING FAILS LIKE PRAYER!
dang it Matt...why did you have to upload so much content this late...I was going to go to bed...but that turned out to be...falsifiable XD
OMG! You are one of my favorite UMVC3 players to watch!
@@RCmelloman oh shit I got discovered! *Runs away to hide*
Glad to see people who enjoy my play also enjoy other things that I do also here :D.
Hello and cheers :)
@@Gbtx6 Yes man! Same here! No need to hide. I'm more of a fan of you now! Let's embrace Marvel and skepticism together my brother!!!
It takes a very honest and humble person to admit, very publicly, that they are wrong. I salute you
nobody:
Matt: god is under rocks on mars
-2019👌🏾🤣
I always get confused. Sometimes they say he is everywhere, sometimes they say he is nowhere. It's almost like they don't know.
Kinda makes you wonder if he’s up my ass as I text
He was on his way to his second coming and crash landed on Mars.
Brilliantly concise video, one that I’m likely to share. Thanks Matt!
I always took the passage to mean that formal mass gatherings of the believers was unnecessary. That wherever any two or three sincere believers gathered was sufficient to be regarded as a congregation by god. In short, an admonishment against the need for temples or mega churches to be built. Saying that prayers need not be amplified by the numbers of people praying for an outcome to be granted.
It's all still some ancient goat herders comic book omnibus anyway to me.
can also interpret to me the greater the number of people joining together to decide what they understand is god's will, the better - i.e. that people should try to join together into collectives of churches and then be bound by the group, Hence this is a passage to give authority to having a communal collective of churches rather than being individuals who (gasp) have independent free-thinking and self determination. I suppose this required/self-evident to an extent - children are taught to follow family initial teaching and then work together in family groups and then to follow local community guidelines (progressively amounting to habits, customs, rules & laws). But whether individuals should summit to that which cannot be seen, tested, verified, questioned or clarified is of course the atheist issue.
@@bi1iruben I didn't get that at all. Goes to show how much each reader makes of a passage what they will.
@@puirYorick Yeah the bible is the ultimate adult "choose your own adventure" book.
Rare the believer that cannot find full confirmation and justification of their presupposed opinions and wishes in its pages... usually that means they won't be believers for much longer.
@@Ugly_German_Truths For me the moment of realization came at the first chance I took to wonder about god *after* I'd realized my parents were actually "Santa" and not everything an adult said was truth. From then onward, Sunday School became just a boring performance drama to be endured until I no longer had to attend.
How did Matt know my mom? Asking her for anything has always been utterly futile. Just like god, she does or gives if she personally feels like it, and if you ask, all you do is irritate her.
A similar verse brought me out of Christianity: the mustard seed faith one.
*LOL*
Dear Matt keep your heart open.
When I was a Christian, one of my youth leaders used to use the analogy of building a house as a representation of God's plan. She would say that you could pray to God asking, for example, if you could include a blue brick in the house, and He might say "yes", "no", or "not yet", but you cannot ask him if you can build a boat instead, since God's plan is to build a house, not a boat. Basically the idea is that God has a general way of going about things, so as long as you ask for something that is within His will (i.e. is moral and not self-serving), you'll probably get a "yes". The implication is that if you had not prayed for it, it may not have happened. Of course, there's the issue of whether or not that's even possible given that God is omniscient (this sort of relates to determinism).
The other way it was explained was to acknowledge that prayer was effectively useless in terms of getting stuff done, since God was going to do what he wanted anyways, but you should pray anyway because it is how you have a relationship with God. Basically, even though God already knows that you want a relationship with him, you should act on that relationship by talking to him, because it makes him happy. The analogy I would be given for this one is where God is like a parent who is happy when their child gives them a rock or something (something useless in particular). They aren't happy because of how good the gift was (like how prayer doesn't actually change God's mind), but rather because of the intent behind it.
I never figured out which of these was correct...
The point about the parents is interesting. Sounds like a good one. Until of course you realize that the point is in the surprise and that the parents are able to be not maximally happy and not omniscient :) but ok, still a point that on first reading strikes a sort of warm, tender, emotional string.
I love this explanation but then it feels so tailored to humans that a God acting in such a manner seems sooooo human and petty. But I really appreciate you sharing this.
Apparently giving bone cancer to children is part of God's plan.
Did the youth leader stop to think of the third option? It is all made up because there is no god to answer prayers.
@@mikelipinski7615 you are wrong there is much better plans for people than such hurt... Cancer is because of rebellion not just because the person rebelled... God uses many peopel even people infected with cancer, parapelegics, Olympic athelets who give up there fame to work in China... And at the end of the day they say it's worth it to live a life for Christ reality is harsh, but God doesn't promise that such a thing will be forever God does promise a life in complete health and unity forever
People who say praying works are like the people who push the button at the intersection after the countdown display is already running and think that made the light change faster.
Tom Smith Everything humans have ever invented was initiated in the immaterial realm first.
In other words, you're supposed to let god know you know he knows you know. Piece of cake.
Nothing like serving a deity who is omniscient, omnipotent, omnipresent and . . . omni (what's the word for "the most insecure with the most fragile ego"?).
I so appreciate the work you do, Matt. And I absolutely applaud your intellectual honesty. If only the theist apologist would view intellectual honesty as a virtue instead of "faith" (which is antithetical) they would be better received. Of course, they would also be out of a job.
Matt wrong about something? ... oh he wasn't, really. all is well. carry on.
If Matt wasn't wrong about something, something would be wrong.
@@rijden-nu wait there are multiple ways to take that statement so i don't know if its word play or just shade....cant-tell.jpg
Ambiguous language on the internet too much for me.
@@perpetuaL524 well, it's like the Bible. Interpret it as what you would like it to mean.
@@rijden-nu Oh treat it like I treat the bible? okay *tosses in trash*
@@perpetuaL524 Exactly. I know what *I* meant, but I'm only responsible for what I say, not for what you make of it :) I was talking about the vanishingly small chance that a human exists who is at least not wrong about *anything*.
Walking away from understanding something is the reason why YOU WILL NEVER UNDERSTAND IT
This guy here is playing 3D chess while religion leaders still play rock paper scissors.
Why ro sham bo? And Not shoots and ladders??
kokichi ouma Aw, chute! You spelled it wrong. :-(
Agree
hantz more like Matt is playing GO and religious leaders are playing checkers.
ok, I need some clarification: "a coin toss" is not the same as "not better than chance". You can win the lottery with a chance of near 0, but a coin toss has a 50% probability. If prayer always worked like a coin toss, I'd be impressed.
these verses are irrelevant, ask any christian and they'll tell you that every other self identifying christian isn't a real christian.
All of the millions of christians around the world each thinking that there is just one true christian.
Yes, no, and wait. Prayer is conversation. Yes, I have had my prayers answered. If something I ask for is going to harm me, the answer is no. If I keep asking then I end up with his permissive will instead of his perfect will, and that comes with consequences of having what is not best for me. That verse does not stand alone, because there are other verses in the bible that deal with circumstances that can't be overridden. Your pray for salvation of someone that has blasphemed the Holy Spirit cannot be granted. No one that blasphemes the Holy Spirit can be saved.
Therefore....slavery is OK!
But just biblical slavery because... you know, that "other type" of slavery is totally bad n' stuff.
But not "biblical slavery"! That's, like, waaay different! 😉😆
The point of prayer is to make our will the same as His will. He chooses to use us in His plan, He doesn't have to.
Everyone who believes in the bible is wrong about the bible. Take your understanding to a church of a different denomination on the next block over.
This gets a thumbs up, simply because comments are not blocked and disabled, i will also watch the video. When comments are disabled, i will instantly give a thumbs down and i will not watch the video.
I feel the same, I hate getting 5 minutes into a video, and feel a need to say something, just to be smacked in the mouth with a "comments are disabled" bar of steel. I instantly stop watching and thumbs down. Fortunately this only happens on theist channels. Have you ever seen it on an atheist channel? If so let me know where.
@@truthseeker2275 This channel used to have comments disabled for years. They also blocked Thunderf00t from their website.
@@kurtilein3 I know the AXP channel used to block, but point people to their chat server as they wanted all comments in one place, I am glad they changed that. I was not aware this channel also blocked them, It would have gotten a downvote from me. I know there were some Thunderf00t controversies all over the place, I love Thunderf00t.
Hey Matt! I always enjoy your perspective and the challenges you present: good exercise for every believer in Christ😉 ‘Mediation’ and ‘Forgiveness’, I believe are the keys to understanding this portion of Scripture. That Peter continues to question on the topic of forgiveness and the severity in which Christ regards forgiveness between believers, as expressed in v35, keeps us on the target, which the Lord introduced in v15. The matter for prayer at hand in v19, remains consistent with the context of the passage, that there should be forgiveness, especially when the Lord has been sought to mediate.
So cut those prayer strings and spend some time thinking; take some time for yourself, meditate, consider the people who care about you, or kittens and puppies, just unplug for a bit. Turn off you mind, relax, and float downstream, it is not dying.
I happen to tell a Xtian friend about the Prayer Paradox. He got mad because I gave him a headache. I said that's good. At least you're in a stage of being skeptical.
This is frikkin' brilliant!!!
There's also something about pray for what you want and God will give you what you need
Matthew 17:20 ..."If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you."
There's always an "if", isn't there?
It is possible to believe anything if you grant authority to the source. This is a problem that we as a species have to face and overcome.
*Prayer doesnt necessarily changes things for you. sometimes it changes you for certain things*
@deadend
I know i cant prove my personal experience but it does and it did to me. So, for me it does many things.
@deadend
Well, you might say things happened because it was suppose to happen but in my case, things mostly happened after i prayed for.
Let me share one incident that honestly it really happened with me.
Once my shopping worth of 200$ was stolen which i hanged in my bike outside the store. I really prayed with all my heart that night...and guess what? My bag with all the stuffs with none missing was returned to me the next day in my workplace.
I know non-religious would conclude my story with that it was supposed to happenes but i do take it otherwise. I mean what are the odds, right??
@deadend
But i can say the same thing to you too. I mean you of being baised towards prayer answered.
And reagarding the odds, i think its one in a ten million....but i have come across many such 1 in 10 million incidents where prayers were answered, which ofcourse refutes the odds itself and that sure does makes me believe that it was because of the prayers all along and not some random odds taking place. Really!!
A puppet acknowledging the strings. Love it.
"Hey, god! I sure hope you've got a good plan, otherwise I'm fucked."
Might as well be praying to reality if that's the deal you get.
Awesome as usual.
I used to be Christian, now athiest, but I was always interpreted these passages as referring to his disciples (aka leaders of his church at the time). And when I was a Mormon, I was taught it also referred to the modern day apostles in the LDS church. I think any argument against this passage should not assume he is talking to ANY christian.
For those of us who don't know 'scripture' (I'm an Irish Catholic who believed in Santa longer than I believed in God) a few more of these short videos analysing them would be very helpful...and entertaining.
I believe my book is right because my book says so Humpty Dumpty.
My favourite apology of all time.
I wonder what the few people, who gave this a thumbs down, could say in defense of this scripture.
While listening to this I thought about another passage (J 16:7) when Jesus says: 'It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter (Holy Spirit) will not come unto you'. Well, that makes things interesting. It suggests that absence of Jesus is necessary for Holy Spirit to arrive, so when 2 people pray to Jesus, Holy Spirit is never there, because Jesus is present. So, people in every Church when praying to Jesus and saying they feel Holy Spirit in their bodies are horribly mistaken. According to the Bible!
I love this because I know exactly what's going to be before I even start the video
That's exactly how I understand prayer; even as a former Christian, I thought that. It made me realize prayer didn't make sense
Hi,
Matt mentions the inefficacy of prayer fairly often, if anyone has a reference - author, year, DOI etc for a research article that provides evidentiary basis for this, could you please share with us as I would be interested in reading the paper(s)?
Many thanks
The reason we know verse 19 goes with the topic of church discipline is because it is sandwiched between what it says about the sinning brother and Peter coming to the Lord and asking the question about forgiving a brother in verse 21. As for why we would pray when it depends on his will, there are times when it is within his will to give us something but only if it is within our will to receive it. A parent might be willing to give their child ice cream before supper, but that parent doesn't necessarily tell the child that. And it could be that the child wants cake instead, and that also might be in the parent's will, but it might not be in the parent's will to give the child both. So, the parent waits for the child to ask. And with God, there is the added thing that by waiting for us to ask it causes us to see our need for him.
Many churches, including the R Catholic offer prayers of “intercession” every Sunday. The only one I remember from many years passed was for the conversion of Russia. That really worked???
Russia is not Catholic. They are orthodox or atheist. Some Jews thrown in. No conversion to the Catholic faith on the horizon. And those that are Orthodox were Orthodox even under Communism. They didn't just start building churches. The churches were already there and they had worshipers. So what you stated is false.
story1951 You got my point
I searched Google for: Bible Errors UA-cam- amazingly I got nothing but apologetics, where are the Atheist Tags? Why is the information so well hid? I mean, cant Atheists tag a video to get the message out? Atheists- consider creating video content with proper tags, it is well needed. Thank You.
7:54 everywhere like air for example , meaning can concentrate focus in some places more than others , like for example a human getting rid of dirt , uses hands with gloves , doesn’t touch dirt with head
i think the passage uses prayer in a tribal and symbolic fashion. the message is about mundane human affairs; instead of praying for cool stuff. it gives a green light to get what you want by using numbers to win against minority, rather than reason.
it's telling you that you should recruit like minded christians to get your way in life and that you should attribute your win to your christian god, for He gaveth you this wonderful knowledge of bullying by numbers.
Praying is not always asking for something. It’s also asking for answers. If the prayer was answered or not., you get an answer.
Nice way to shoe horn bs into a converstation.
The context of this verse is dealing with sin in the Church.
If we examine Matthew 18:15-20, Jesus said that if you have a brother
who sins against you, then you need to go to him and try to work it
out. If he refuses to acknowledge his fault, then you bring one or two
more witnesses to help work things out. So including you, that would
make two or three witnesses, recognize that phrase? Not only is it
repeated in these verses, but it comes from the Old Testament
(Deuteronomy 19:15 and more). Legal cases needed to have two or three
witnesses to establish a matter.
If the sinning brother did not make things right in the presence of
two or three witnesses, then the case was to be brought before the
church. If he refused to listen to the Church’s decision, then he was to
be thrown out of the congregation. It is with this in mind that Jesus
said that the Father would grant the request of two or more who gather
together in Christ’s name and are in agreement. Agreement on what? On
disciplining the erring brother. That is what this passage is about
though so many Christians often use it as though Jesus promised to
answer their prayers when offered in certain situations.
What else does the Bible say about prayer?
The Apostle John wrote, “Now this is the confidence we have in Him,
that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we
know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the
petitions that we have asked of Him” (1 John 5:14-15). John also wrote,
“And whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep His
commandments and do those things that are pleasing in His sight” (1 John
3:22).
So we can have confidence about God answering our prayers when we are
obediently following Him and praying according to His will. If someone
has not experienced answered prayer, then perhaps that person may not be
living in obedience and/or praying according to His will. Or perhaps
God did answer and a person may not recognize the response since God
often answers in ways we may not expect.I
If anyone has ever sad God is a wishing well you are really credulous BUT f someone tells you you can takes a verse out of the general chapter book and Scripture in general you don't get it and are equally wrong
I think the question we ought to ask is: "If something is 'God's Will' and nobody prays for it, will God then NOT do that thing?"
Obviously, the answer is no, God will still (and often does) do things that nobody has prayed for (or did somebody ask him to drown the entire world?")
Matt admits he was wrong. Beware of people who are too stubborn to admit when they are wrong!
Props to you, Matt!
I have never been wrong about anything. One time I thought I was wrong about something, but then when I examined it more closely turns out I wasn't wrong at all.
@Barthelemy Lazerlips - So which is it, since you seem eager to defy the command, "judge not lest ye . . . ", is it "were" or "are"? What a sloppy fucking judge you are.
Matt.
The man who doesnt believe the impossible is possible.
What a useful career
That's why when you to go church you always hear the same old safe Bible passages.
What will be your new Thanksgiving dinner prayer based on what you learned in this video?
My first understanding on hearing that passage is that when it says it shall be done in heaven it means when you die it shall be the case for you if you go to heaven.
That's an interesting logical(sort of) end-around
I've known people who pray about _every_ decision of any significance to themselves or their families. Of course, knowing that prayer for guidance is ultimately just a form of focused meditation that brings to the forefront of consciousness that which one already believes, the result of those prayers is that _they_ unwittingly decide for themselves. If it works out, God gets all the credit rather than the person who made a sound decision. If it doesn't work out, the people rarely realize that prayer is useless. Instead they chalk it up to, "This is the path God has chosen for me, and it isn't for me to question the short term results." While contemplative/meditative prayer may be of benefit in arriving at decisions...as much as any earnest contemplation, prayer creates the illusion of placing _responsibility_ for the outcome in someone else's hands. For that matter, many people pray for things _within their own power..._ only to never have them happen because they're waiting for God to take care of it.