# Idiots who pray **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [August 21, 2012, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/idiots-who-pray/632189 "2012-08-21T18:05:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Bill\_Door](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/50afbb/32.png) [@Bill\_Door](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bill_Door)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2012, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/idiots-who-pray/632189/41 "2012-08-21T20:17:50Z")
> [@CC](#): > > Wait - isn’t God all powerful? Why’s he need us? Or is he just a little bit insecure? Dude, did you read what I wrote? He knows what we want, we need to know what he wants. What, you expect a telegram? ---
**Author:** ![Sitnam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Sitnam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sitnam)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2012, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/idiots-who-pray/632189/42 "2012-08-21T20:18:34Z")
If he goes to a medical professional with years of dedicated education, the training the sum total of human knowledge on the subject scratched away from superstition with meticulous testing while making advances with provable results he might have a chance. Though to really push this thing over the edge let’s pray too, and perhaps the god they believe in will see the error of his ways and evict the cancer he set on the Cardinal in the first place. ---
**Author:** ![Sicks\_Ate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/258eb7/32.png) [@Sicks\_Ate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sicks_Ate)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2012, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/idiots-who-pray/632189/43 "2012-08-21T20:19:28Z")
> [@Bill\_Door](#): > > Dude, did you read what I wrote? He knows what we want, we need to know what he wants. What, you expect a telegram? I wouldn’t expect the logistics to be a problem… ---
**Author:** ![Paranoid\_Randroid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/paranoid_randroid/32/18_2.png) [@Paranoid\_Randroid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paranoid_Randroid)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2012, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/idiots-who-pray/632189/44 "2012-08-21T20:29:50Z")
> [@Bill\_Door](#): > > Dude, did you read what I wrote? He knows what we want, we need to know what he wants. What, you expect a telegram? FWIW, in Roman Catholicism — presumably the religious denomination which applies for this discussion — prayer has multiple ends. One of these is communion, as I think you indicate, but another is admittedly intercession: [ > [@Catechism of the Catholic Church](#): > > Since Abraham, intercession - asking on behalf of another has been characteristic of a heart attuned to God’s mercy. In the age of the Church, Christian intercession participates in Christ’s, as an expression of the communion of saints. In intercession, he who prays looks “not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others,” even to the point of praying for those who do him harm. ]([http://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG0015/\_\_P98.HTM](http://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG0015/__P98.HTM)) But this isn’t so much “God, can you do me a solid and cure Jeff’s lupus?” and more, as I understand it, an attempt somehow to participate in God’s mercy (however it shakes out). ---
**Author:** ![CC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f1d935/32.png) [@CC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CC)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2012, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/idiots-who-pray/632189/45 "2012-08-21T20:35:00Z")
> [@Bill\_Door](#): > > Dude, did you read what I wrote? He knows what we want, we need to know what he wants. What, you expect a telegram? And he can’t get what he wants without telling us? What a lame deity. You guys need to pray to something that can do more on his own. ---
**Author:** ![Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/8edcca/32.png) [@Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hentor_the_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2012, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/idiots-who-pray/632189/46 "2012-08-21T20:46:05Z")
> [@Morgenstern](#): > > Everybody dies far as I know. How about a spoiler alert next time. Sheesh! ---
**Author:** ![Paranoid\_Randroid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/paranoid_randroid/32/18_2.png) [@Paranoid\_Randroid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paranoid_Randroid)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2012, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/idiots-who-pray/632189/47 "2012-08-21T20:50:11Z")
> [@CC](#): > > And he can’t get what he wants without telling us? What a lame deity. You guys need to pray to something that can do more on his own. I’m not religious, but if I were, your sense of humor (such as it is, that stunted little organ) would be in my prayers. Fortunately, the age-old theodical conundrum — the Problem of Stupid People on they Internet, evidential version — convinced me that an omnimax deity couldn’t possibly exist. ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2012, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/idiots-who-pray/632189/48 "2012-08-21T21:07:08Z")
> [@Paranoid\_Randroid](#): > > the Problem of Stupid People on they Internet, evidential version — convinced me that an omnimax deity couldn’t possibly exist. How do you know it didn’t create Angels just to have someone to share the laughter? “Oh myself! C’mere Gabriel, do you see what this stupid human wrote! THIS is why I created the Human Race. Those poor stupid bastards are the best entertainment anyONE could ever hope for!” ---
**Author:** ![akwally1](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/akwally1/32/3220_2.png) [@akwally1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/akwally1)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2012, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/idiots-who-pray/632189/49 "2012-08-21T21:19:16Z")
> [@Jack\_Batty](#): > > You mean I shouldn’t have been shitting in my hand for the last half-hour? > > Boy, is my face red. Sounds like you’re pushing too hard. Mark ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2012, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/idiots-who-pray/632189/50 "2012-08-21T21:20:33Z")
> [@CC](#): > > The part where he says, “yet I often try to send some sort of mental help to my favorite sports team or to friends I want to do well.” Nope, nowhere did **shiftless** say that he actually believes his “trying to send some sort of mental help” will “actually affect the outcome”. In fact, he explicitly said the exact **opposite** of that: namely, “I know it is useless”. All he was saying was that it’s natural to have an impulse to mentally “push” for a desired outcome by wishing/rooting/hoping, even if you are rationally well aware that it will accomplish nothing. You completely misinterpreted his statement and then gratuitously scolded him for superstitious thinking. Way to fly the logic-and-rationality flag there, champ. > [@Fear Itself](#): > > I would like to introduce you to my friend, Metaphor I’ve met him before. If he’s the guy responsible for the shit-in-one-hand wisecrack, he was having an off day. ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2012, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/idiots-who-pray/632189/51 "2012-08-21T21:31:10Z")
> [@CC](#): > > What do these people think they’re doing? Showing off how virtuous and religious they are. That’s why they make a point of saying that they are praying, instead of just doing it. They want everyone to know that they are properly pious. I do wonder sometimes how many of the people who talk about how they’ll “pray for you” actually bother to do so. ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2012, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/idiots-who-pray/632189/52 "2012-08-21T21:41:08Z")
> [@CC](#): > > And he can’t get what he wants without telling us? What a lame deity. You guys need to pray to something that can do more on his own. CC, how old are you? I’m curious. (serious question) mmm ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2012, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/idiots-who-pray/632189/53 "2012-08-21T21:55:24Z")
> [@Morgenstern](#): > > I’ll bet if you were on the Titanic on that fateful morning, you’d have found a little prayer anything but offensive. Bullshit. It would have been offensive then too. I don’t know if you’ve heard about Pat Tillman’s last moments before death, as told by his buddy, who was cowering next to him while they were both getting incoming “friendly” fire. The buddy started praying aloud, and Tillman said something like, “Stop your fucking praying. I need you here, now.” In other words, stay focused on dealing with reality. ---
**Author:** ![MsWhatsit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/eb8c5e/32.png) [@MsWhatsit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsWhatsit)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2012, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/idiots-who-pray/632189/54 "2012-08-21T22:03:58Z")
> [@Der\_Trihs](#): > > I do wonder sometimes how many of the people who talk about how they’ll “pray for you” actually bother to do so. My mom is a member of several “prayer circles.” She has a standard prayer that she says every morning “for the intercession of others” or something to that effect. So whoever the prayer circle is praying for that day (usually several people) just gets slotted in. Doesn’t take her any extra time at all, really. One does have to wonder about the supposed benevolence and magnificence of a God who apparently requires people to submit the equivalent of a form letter with someone’s name typed in a different font where the blank spots are. ---
**Author:** ![Bozuit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/edb3f5/32.png) [@Bozuit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bozuit)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2012, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/idiots-who-pray/632189/55 "2012-08-21T22:04:22Z")
This just in: religion is not logical. ---
**Author:** ![BubbaDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bubbadog/32/333_2.png) [@BubbaDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BubbaDog)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2012, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/idiots-who-pray/632189/56 "2012-08-22T00:31:07Z")
Amen, brother ---
**Author:** ![Makeitstop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/bb73d2/32.png) [@Makeitstop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Makeitstop)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2012, 1:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/idiots-who-pray/632189/57 "2012-08-22T01:06:15Z")
Spock could have told you that. ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2012, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/idiots-who-pray/632189/58 "2012-08-22T01:07:36Z")
> [@Der\_Trihs](#): > > Showing off how virtuous and religious they are. That’s why they make a point of saying that they are praying, instead of just doing it. They want everyone to know that they are properly pious. God hates that shit. The sneaky kneel gets the grace. ---
**Author:** ![Steken](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e274bd/32.png) [@Steken](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steken)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2012, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/idiots-who-pray/632189/59 "2012-08-22T01:14:54Z")
> [@CC](#): > > Except when those people try to get everyone else to do it their way, such as in school, at a baseball game, at a graduation, etc. If some of these idiots had their way, we’d be forced to participate in group prayer at any public gathering - like going to a concert. They’re idiots, I tell ya. Movin’ the goalposts much? None of that shit was in the OP. ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2012, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/idiots-who-pray/632189/60 "2012-08-22T01:26:10Z")
> [@VinylTurnip](#): > > The sneaky kneel gets the grace. _\_ [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/idiots-who-pray/632189.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/idiots-who-pray/632189.md?page=4)