Dude ain’t dead.
I’ve sat through a few prayers that would have to be described as malicious. The Cliff’s Notes version: “Oh, Lord, please forgive all these people here who disagree with me. I’m sure it’s just their sinful nature causing them to allow Satan to sow dissent. Show them the error of their ways and make sure they’re able to properly compensate me for all the unappreciated sacrifices I have made for them.” My father was a piece of work. (But then he also got kicked out of not just one but two churches, so let’s not let this color all Christians.)
Whatever Dawkins thinks of our “superstitions,” we can still pray for him. And certainly we can feel sorry for Lalla.
Do not attribute to malice that which can be explained by ignorance.
Or, in this case: Not Really Thinking It Through.
For the religious (Christian at least) the “I’ll Pray for you” response is simply a way to say “Best Wishes”. It would never occur to them to think about “Not in This Case”.
My Episcopal church prays for terrorists and the leaders of North Korea and Syria. I don’t think God minds.
I’m sure the sentiment is sincere, but by posting it on twitter there’s surely a hint of mischief too, and that’s fair enough. Dawkins isn’t exactly shy himself on that platform.
I don’t think he’s bothered by that sort of thing anyway, iirc. He was recently defending as a free speech issue the CoE placing a cinema advert that used The Lord’s Prayer.
I’m not trying to pick a fight. Hell, it wasn’t all that long ago that I was on the agnostic side of the fence, but I’m trying to understand how sincerely praying for someone is an insult to an atheist. I get you don’t believe in it, but if you truly do not believe in God, how can one be insulted by something that surrounds a non-entity. It would be like someone telling me they’ll pray to Zeus (or the FSM or Santa) to heal me. I may think that’s silly or stupid or pointless, but I certainly wouldn’t be insulted if I didn’t feel the same way. And certainly, if they were pouring their little hearts out (and there was nothing else to do), I’d be touched. At least, I was when I wasn’t a Christian.
In that case it’s obviously an attempt to impart even greater suffering on him and his family,
This X10.
Can anybody look at the Twitter posting habits of CoE?
Do they routinely comment on passing news stories?
Do they bait (or rise to other’s bait) on a routine basis?
If this is the first time they have posted on twitter, I may think it is a malicious comment.
If they offer prayer to every notable person who is reported ill or dead, this is most likely a matter of carelessness.
I gather that it’s standard Christian doctrine that the more evil people are, the more they need praying for.
Bonus points for “Cake or death!”.
IMO, offering prayers to a vocal atheist such as Dawkins is rude, given what Dawkins has said about prayer. The CoE should’ve offered well-wishes, nothing more.
Trolling? Maybe a little. Maybe a lot. Maybe not at all. Who knows?
If I can manage to not say “STOP PRAYING AND DO SOMETHING!” when someone has a bunch of Facebook prayin’ going on for an illness or tragedy, you’d think that others could return the favor and not say something boneheaded like “Jesus is holding you in his arms” (I shit you not; I received a card saying just that after my fiance died suddenly and unexpectedly, and I’m an “out” atheist).
I have no problem with them making such prayers. I have problems with making those prayers known to the public. And Jesus probably would too. Matthew 6:5 - Wikipedia
I wish that people would shout “Matthew 6:5” whenever someone mentions who they are praying for. If the prayer actually did anything, the target and the community would not need to know that they are being prayed for to benefit from it. Thus the only reason for making it known to the public is to show how righteous of a person you are, which seems to go counter to what Jesus was talking about there.
Well, no, that’s not the only reason—not unless you think that’s also the only reason for saying publicly that someone is in your thoughts, or you wish them the best, or you hope things turn out well for them. It seems awfully cynical to universally regard expressions of care and concern as displays of “look how righteous I am to be concerned.”
Another alternative in this case is that the terse wording of the tweet, “prayers for Prof Dawkins and his family,” might be interpreted to mean, not “we are praying for Prof Dawkins,” but “we suggest our members pray for Prof Dawkins,” in which case your objection would not apply.
(I also notice that, interpreted literally, what Jesus is denouncing in Matthew 6:5 is praying in public, not announcing in public that you’ve been praying in private; but I’m not sure that makes any difference.)