I've posted these before and thought this one very interesting. https://www.theredhandfiles.com/detached-myself-from-religion/ Over the years I detached myself from religion until I became an atheist. Yesterday, I had video contact with friends in the USA and a husband of one, Paul E, an American banjo player with whom I play, has cancer and is very weak. His wife asked us to think of him, which I do all the time, but also to pray for him. I find myself caught between my desire to respond to the request and that of preserving an intellectual honesty that would avoid being confronted with a lie. Although I am not an atheist myself, I have a lot of time for their position, because I do struggle with the notion of God’s existence to a certain extent. Atheists, though, fall decisively on one side of the dividing line, whereas I have moved back and forth across that line over the years, spending more time with the believers than the non-believers these days. Many atheists are well informed on religion and hold a view on the significance of the nature of the theological struggle, and so I feel closer to them than I do to the spiritually complacent, the religiously dogmatic or those who are simply indifferent to these matters. I think complacency and indifference are more of a problem for the embattled soul of the world than emphatic disbelief. But in regard to your dilemma, Jean-Marc, I can’t think of an act more generous than an atheist at prayer, who temporarily puts aside their disbelief in a god in order to bring comfort to a friend. Loosening your position for a moment, and doing something difficult because it has been asked of you by someone you care for, demonstrates a confidence in your beliefs, and shows that they are not so prideful or absolutist that they manifest into a smallness of being. Of course, to some this act will seem intellectually dishonest, a sham and a lie, but to others it will appear as the purest kindness, where heart eclipses mind, a true and complex gesture of what it means to love somebody. We show that in times of need we can do whatever is required of us, with a magnanimous heart, bending to the will of those we love. Understandably, it will be difficult for you to pray, but that is the very reason to do it. What is true friendship if we are not tested at times, if we are not prepared to soften our cherished ideals as an act of fidelity and commitment to those we love. In the end, this act of friendship may be the most eloquent prayer of all. If it is appropriate, please send Paul E my thoughts and prayers.
A drink in bed can be a warm and blissful experience... this I know ... but sticking to a glass ... rather than a full bottle... can help you avoid awkward moments ... if you get my drift?
Yeh but what if Paul lives, that's going to proper fck Jean Marcs head up. I can't see a win here for Jean at all. Except Paul living.
Not really it's part of the same conversation. If it's about the conflict within himself between his kindness to his friend and being true to himself, then he needs to think it through and ask himself how he would feel if his friend survived following his prayer. Would he then question his atheism? And wouldn't that also depend on whether he prayed with faith in something? The fact he feels it's such a dilemma suggests he would otherwise he wouldn't be asking the question, he'd simply go through the motions without meaning any of it.
In that case I think there's only one choice he has to make. Either pray for his friend, or just pretend he has. But if he does the latter and there's a God, then come judgement day his mate's going to kick the **** out of him on his way to hell.
On a serious note - for once - I find myself conflicted - the thought that the earth and it's 'life forms' occurred by the collision of random particles in space as opposed to the whim of a creative sky fairy are very much counter balanced - and I would not disrespect the beliefs of those that subscribe to either ...
It's certainly a strange one, I'm very much like the person answering. Conflicted yet drawn to something and at times drawn to both sides of the argument.
I'm not an atheist nor a follower of any particular religion, albeit my early schooling was CofE and the customary Sunday school so mum could dump me off her hands for a few hours. In my younger troubled years I attended a kids club funded by religion (evangelical). I've also attended church to play as part of a school band, any religious connection outside of that, would have just been Christmas midnight mass in Germany and the ocassional visiting of some churches in the UK. Despite all of that I have what I can best describe as an open mind on religion, and don't know what or whom (faith) to believe, altthough if I did ttake up another religion outside of that of my parents, I've often joked it would be buddhism lol - alongside which I also have an interest in cosmic creation but that does not mean I believe in the big bang - it's a we just don't know. But I often ask myself what's it all about, just that simple one word question... 'Why?' When I was at school I had to pray and sing hymns, it was never given as a choice, in older life looking back, it seemed more of discipline, teaching people respect for want of better words, did it actually teach me anything about Christ / God / Christianity, NO! I learned more from a book my Nan gave me as as a child and I merely saw them as stories, that had me asking questions in my mind, finding my way. You would have to be someone really special for me to pray for you, because it really is stepping outside of my boundaries of engaging in open feelings, but even then it wouldn't be taking any visible formality as you sometimes see with prayer. What is a true friendship if we are not tested at times, but knowing reality is we all die at sometime and people don't often like talking about it. I'm happy to keeping going as long has I've got my mind, even though I find life very challenging and more so tiring as you get older, you no longer have the strength or desire you may have once had. For me the line between life and death is simple, once the mind goes, it's time to let go. There yer go Luv. I could have wrote several pages but I'm bored now.
My conclusion on religion is that I have much more time for the 'Great Spirit' of North American Indigenous peoples than for any God that seeks to convert people to a particular ethos- Christianity, Islam, Judaism etc - why would God need to do that? - and surely a real God would not need intermediaries? - I.e a Pope, Imans, Chief Rabis etc to speak to and for us? - his children?
I don't think this is a general question on religion, more a specific question and how you would react in those circumstances.
