Attention religious Facebook friend: please stop posting on your wall that your pastor needs prayers because he was just diagnosed with a brain tumor. By your Christian logic, God *wanted *him to have that tumor (and he even planted it himself since there’s no free will, right?). Clearly God hates your pastor and wants him to die. So what good is praying going to do? Why didn’t God just prevent that tumor from developing in the first place? Would that make too much sense for your logic-lacking mind?
Oh, and while we’re at it, stop publicly praising God for every positive thing that happens in your life, and praying for help whenever bad things happen. It’s nonsensical.
And before anyone flips this around on me as to why I still have this person as a friend in the first place, it’s because we went to the same elementary school (a *private *elementary school nonetheless) together and later worked together.
Because of course no one should post anything that’s on their mind, or what might be important to them, on their Facebook wall. Or I guess they just shouldn’t post anything that Brandon doesn’t like. Oh, well.
Maybe, but in my experience, atheists tend to have a wider (if not necessarily deeper) knowledge of religions than christians, and serious atheists probably have thought a lot more about the morality of the gods/religions that are popular than their believers/adherents do.
I really am not feeling this rant. If your friend is such a horrible person, unfriend him. If it’s just something that annoys you, hide him.
And, even if prayer doesn’t work, what the heck does it hurt? Do you think the guy isn’t going to a doctor? IF anything, it helps the patient if they know people are praying for them. People remember the study that says that intercessory prayer doesn’t help if no one knows about it, but forget the one that shows it helps if you do tell them.
And, really, if basic Christianity bothers (and apparently baffles) you so much, don’t become friends with Christians. Problem solved.
Religion is a private matter, what you put on Facebook is a public matter. I don’t want to know about your religious beliefs any more than I want to know how many guys/girls you banged last night, or about fights you’re having with boyfriends or girlfriends. Facebook is clearly for posting mundane details of your life.
Not in my experience. I’ve experienced two main kinds of religious people: fanatical people where religion is the central aspect of every single thing they do (like this Facebook friend), or “religious” people who say they believe in God (and probably genuinely believe it) but that’s where their interest ends. People in the former group have likely been taught religion since birth (and really, who would be religious if they weren’t exposed to it until he/she were capable of making intelligent decisions?) and will thusly regurgitate some illogical, canned response they learned from their preacher. People in the latter group rarely question their beliefs, and thus don’t ask or answer such questions.
I could still believe in Santa based on the logic that kids who believe in Santa are happy, but personally, I’m happier knowing the truth and not believing silly stories. I don’t think the fact that prayer makes a few people happy makes up for the lack in critical thinking it’s usually coupled with. Just the fact that someone can hear “voices” and be considered mentally deficient, but if it’s “God” they’re a good, religious person, is a scary kind of double standard that religion gets a pass on.
It doesn’t bother me until it affects me (through the government) or clouds people’s judgments and decisiosn, which unfortunately, happens all too often.
Then don’t read it. If this is an old school friend, and they have something interesting to say to you about the old days, they can write to you directly.
Yeah, but that could potentially cause a really awkward situation if we ever cross paths again. Plus, they’re a really nice person. If only Seinfeld were still around, they could have an episode about Facebook etiquette… “Hate the unfriend!”
Considered, but not rebutted. Petitionary prayer is illogical for more reasons than listed in the OP (and a lot of atheists are extremely well versed in theology, FYI. Sometimes that’s the reason they’re atheists).