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Orange County Atheists |
This piece appeared in my blog today. I thought I'd repost it here.
It's the the National Day of Reason, and therefore the National Day of Prayer. I totally forgot until I got a call this morning from USC's Annenberg Radio News for an interview on the topic (it's always been a dream of mine to be a "source" when people need to talk to someone about church/state issues or atheism - I hope the trend continues). The following contains some strong criticisms about prayer and Christianity. Easily offended readers may wish to stop reading now.
As for the "holiday", I'm not a fan. You should know that while it's organized by a third party, to conclude that it's not an official government event is wrong. It's a loophole so supporters can say "it's not government funded!" In my mind, it doesn't to be - the close connection between the NDPTF and the government is bad enough.
Second, here's what the bible has to say about public prayer, from Matthew, Chapter 6, verses 5-6:
"And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father in secret shall reward thee openly."
It's always fun to see how that's spun. There's also the issue the explicit Christianity of the event, but that's not surprising to me. Note how Bush always specifically mentions that there's a Rabbi or other Jewish representative - it's nice to have a token.
My larger issue is with why Christians pray at all - a topic that's been done to death here. Simply stated, if you believe your god has a plan (and that plan is perfect), and you believe your god is all powerful (can do anything), then there's no reason to pray for anything - not for strength, not for events to happen, not for health - your god has a plan and can enact it, doesn't he? Asking for anything is asking him to change that, and why would you consider doing that if you think he's perfect and already can do what needs to be done?
There's also the issue of Christians praying for themselves, when there are so many problems in the world much larger than yours. David Mann's quote says it well:
"I am often made sick when a rich person in a rich nation attributes some minor blessing to God on account of his faith and prayers when the same God allows thousands of orphaned, exploited, abused, malnourished, homeless, innocent children to die in filthy gutters around the world every single day."
Past the general issue of belief, it's these issues, along with Christian focus on political issues instead of helping the poor, that really get me worked up. You have scripture that specifically states what you should do (help the poor, spread the word of God), and the actions of a man to follow (who accepted all comers, loved everyone, and was generally peaceful), yet most Christians don't seem to follow this example, regardless of how many Thanksgiving and Christmas food drives they run, or how it makes them feel good a couple days a year. I know all Christians are not evangelical, conservative or literalist Christians - but that's what the rest of us see, good or bad. Regardless, I don't remember too many of you that I've met selling off your possessions, giving all you can to the poor, and leading a life like Christ's - not even close.
I don't hate you, Christians. You're my friends and my family. My words are strong because if you believe you're truly right in all of this, you have an almighty god on your side, and it doesn't matter what I say or do. If you're strong in your faith, why would my words or opinions matter? I just question why you do what you do if you truly believe like you say you do.
For more on the National Day of Reason, and what non-theists are doing to actually make a difference, click the link above.
Posted by mikebdoss at May 3, 2007 11:49 AM