Wednesday, February 2, 2011

Do Christians Ever Listen to Themselves?

We now have this helpful guide telling us step by step how to pray and exactly what to pray in the face of natural disasters:

http://opsafeintl.com/2011/01/how-to-pray-when-disaster-strikes/

But note the admissions against interest:

1. Pray for God himself to rescue those in need of rescue? No. Pray that the human rescue teams arrive sooner to provide rescue. Note that it is the humans are expected to get the job done. God is relegated to a minor supporting role. This hour earlier arrival is the "miracle" that will be credited to God.

2. (My personal favorite). Pray for the encouragement of the rescuers. Why? Becasue we all know that even with all of our praying "they will fail many more times than they will succeed"! Wait. How can that be? in number one we were praying that God would help them do their job better. Is this an admission that, even with God's help, we expect failure many times more than success?

3-4. And that sets the tone for items 3and 4. The phrasing does not even suggest that the prayer will actually help anyone. They will suffer but pray for them.

5-7. And here we are back to praying that the humans do better in thier efforts.

8. Pray that you will do more. What? I have to pray to god to make me do more?

This whole excercise seems to be an admission that God really does nothing. All of the prayers are really directed at ourselves and our fellow human beings to do better. That I can support. But why pretend any god is involved?