# Why do some people pray to Jesus? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 28, 2007, 8:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-some-people-pray-to-jesus/397805 "2007-03-28T08:17:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2007, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-some-people-pray-to-jesus/397805/21 "2007-03-28T22:13:36Z")
[QUOTE=ianzin] No, it isn’t. It is _praying_ to the saint, and asking the saint to do something for you or on your behalf. [/QUOTE] Yes, but what you’re asking him or her to do is pray to God about it. Not do anything on their own. > [@benny73](#): > > And so God, whom it is said is so holy that He can’t even look at sin, gives more weight to what Jesus asks of Him (although He absolutely does hear and considers what we ask directly of Him, especially if it is sincere). As long as you’re not denying that Jesus IS Him. > [@Si Amigo](#): > > Just to clarify some of the good points that you brought up. Catholics are Christens, there are no non-Christen Catholics. I have heard a few times (not here) from uneducated people that Catholics were not “real” Christens. They are. > > Second, the concept of the Holy Trinity is not just a Catholic thing. All major Christen religions are in agreement on this point. He was saying “Catholic Christians” as opposed to non-Catholic Christians, not saying that there is any other type of Catholic. Don’t the Unitarians not believe in the Trinity? Of course I don’t know if you consider them “major”. ---
**Author:** ![Dragwyr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dragwyr/32/2855_2.png) [@Dragwyr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dragwyr)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2007, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-some-people-pray-to-jesus/397805/22 "2007-03-28T22:26:42Z")
What I mistakenly did in my previous post is what a lot of other Christian Idenominations do. They equate praying with worship. You can worship while praying, but praying in and of itself is not worship. What I was trying to differentiate was what **Chronos** and **ianzin** brought up… that Catholics don’t worship saints. Thanks for setting me straight, and sorry about the hijack. ---
**Author:** ![Crafter\_Man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crafter_man/32/458_2.png) [@Crafter\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crafter_Man)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2007, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-some-people-pray-to-jesus/397805/23 "2007-03-28T23:06:46Z")
[QUOTE=Chief Pedant] In Christian theology, Jesus is God [/QUOTE] So who was Jesus praying to? Himself? 😕 ---
**Author:** ![Triskadecamus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b19c9b/32.png) [@Triskadecamus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Triskadecamus)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2007, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-some-people-pray-to-jesus/397805/24 "2007-03-28T23:21:14Z")
Well, I speak with no authority, and certainly not the level of theological expertise of many of our members, some of whom are not Christians, but have very cogent and perspicacious explanations of what Christians do, and why, but I can tell you why I pray to Jesus, rather than to God, or to the Holy Spirit. I feel as if I know Jesus better. I think He is more likely to see what I am trying to say, since He is human too. Not that I doubt the compassion of God, only that I have my own difficulties relating with Him, that seem not to be there when I am praying to Jesus. I am sure this is as foolish, and as theologically indefensible, and entirely illogical as all the other aspects of my faith, but I am not terribly troubled by that. Jesus has not made me feel it is unreasonable, or unwanted, and that is good enough for me. Tris ---
**Author:** ![enigm4tic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7ba0ec/32.png) [@enigm4tic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enigm4tic)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2007, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-some-people-pray-to-jesus/397805/25 "2007-03-29T01:20:18Z")
> [@](#): > > Christians (except for Unitarians) [nitpick] Actually, in modern times (relatively) the Unitarians merged with the Universalist Church to form the Unitarian Universalist church… Some UU churches are more christian than others but no UU theology or doctrine (of which there isn’t much) explicitly commands or recognizes the divinity of Jesus or any other deity, but allows members to believe what they choose provided they uphold the 8 core beliefs of UUism. As a member of a UU church for a good 7 years I’d be happy to share the 8 core beliefs, but suffice it for this thread to say that Unitarian Universalism doesn’t even explicitly acknowledge Jesus as the savior, much less a part of the holy trinity [/nitpick/hijack] ---
**Author:** ![Malacandra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Malacandra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malacandra)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2007, 8:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-some-people-pray-to-jesus/397805/26 "2007-03-29T08:26:08Z")
[QUOTE=Crafter\_Man] So who was Jesus praying to? Himself? 😕 [/QUOTE] Yes and no. The Trinity doctrine holds that the Father, the Son and the Spirit are fully Three Persons _and also_ fully One Person. It’s not exactly intuitive. 🙂 So they are distinct enough that Jesus can pray to the Father, and yet unified enough that the Athanasian Creed can specify that we must not say “there are three Gods”. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2007, 11:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-some-people-pray-to-jesus/397805/27 "2007-03-29T11:24:13Z")
[QUOTE=Crafter\_Man] So who was Jesus praying to? Himself? 😕 [/QUOTE] What, you never talk to yourself? ---
**Author:** ![Bridget\_Burke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7cd45c/32.png) [@Bridget\_Burke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bridget_Burke)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2007, 1:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-some-people-pray-to-jesus/397805/28 "2007-03-29T13:06:49Z")
[QUOTE=the raindog] The short answer: Because they’re misguided. The long[er] answer: In the bible record, God has delegated many things-- proseltyzing for example. But one thing God has always reserved for himself is prayer. According to the bible, Adam condemned mankind to death through his actions; we inherited death and an estrangement from God, the same punishment Adam was warned he would receive if he rebelled. But he did. Jesus, as the only other perfect man to walk the earth, came and gave up his perfect life as a “corresponding ransom”, or “propitiatory sacrifice” that lifted the ‘curse’ from Adam. It’s because of this that Paul refers to Jesus–among other things–as a “mediator” between God and man, and says that Jesus’s action allows man to come to God in prayer with a clean conscience. In what is commonly called “The Lord’s Prayer”, Jesus gives mankind and example of how to pray and shows that **prayers are directed to God alone.** **(Matt 6:9)** At any rate, the bible indicates that no where are we to pray to Jesus, but rather to pray to God, in Jesus’s name. IOW, we may pray directly to God, and end [appropriately] “in Jesus’s Christ name we pray.” This is because Jesus–through his sacrificial death—provided mankind a means to have a hope of life lost due to Adam’s sin. He can be called a “mediator” as Paul referred to him. There is no biblical record anyhwere that allows for prayers to Mary, the saints or anyone else. There is no biblical basis to Pray to Jesus, but rather the record indicates prayers are to be directed to God **alone** , _through_ Jesus Christ our “Savior.” (as the one who “saves” us from Adamic sin) [/QUOTE] For further information on the “misguided” who Pray to Mary, I refer everyone to [this eminent theologian.](http://www.chick.com/reading/tracts/0040/0040_01.asp) God the Father is scary–read the Old Testament! The Holy Ghost is somewhat abstract–leave Him/Her/It to the mystics. Jesus was actually human, as well as being God, but some worry that he might still be angry about what we did to Him. Therefore, talking to His Mom might be the best way to get your message across. As a female, she’s fond of “makeovers”–so you can probably find a Lady who makes you [feel at home.](http://puffin.creighton.edu/jesuit/andre/snows.html) The saints just increase your options. Who might understand your situation best? Who can “plead your case” with The Big Guy? Which image will help you concentrate? [Here’s the “menu.”](http://www.catholic-forum.com/saints/patron00.htm) As many will guess, I was raised Catholic. Many years ago, I realized I didn’t believe in God–but I find many aspects of Catholic belief admirable. So–excuse my levity! ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2007, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-some-people-pray-to-jesus/397805/29 "2007-03-29T14:02:15Z")
[QUOTE=Crafter\_Man] So who was Jesus praying to? Himself? 😕 [/QUOTE] Jesus, completely God, was also completely human and prayed to the Father. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-some-people-pray-to-jesus/397805.md?page=1)