Why do athesists ask for prayers
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Anonymous
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If one atheist called and asked for prayers, why would you write "why do atheists ask for prayers"?
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Anonymous
The ones that show that prayer works in exactly the same percentage (or lower!) as the placebo effect. https://www.forbes.com/sites/quora/2018/12/04/the-science-behind-prayer-and-the-placebo-effect/#50f490e0639c https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Efficacy_of_prayer |
. They experienced others praying for them per their request in the most unreal of circumstances when something had absolutely no chance to happen but it did. This is the power of prayer. You either experienced it or not.
Anonymous
| Shame on you, OP. |
Anonymous
Interesting, so prayer = placebo. How would that apply to OP's atheist? If the atheist knows that praying is a placebo (AKA doesn't believe it's a real treatment) is it still effective? |
Anonymous
Because OP's friend is giving OP something to do. You know those people who always want to do something to make themselves feel better (people pleasers), or always *need* something to do? That's OP, and OP's friend was giving OP this task to make her feel like she's doing something... or maybe to altogether leave the friend alone. |
Anonymous
So the atheist is trying to make OP feel better with the "placebo" of prayer. OK, that makes more sense. Very kind of her to be so considerate of OP. I thought the PPs were trying to say that there are studies that show that "prayer" works. And not just in a placebo way like it does for OP. |
Anonymous
There may be no significant medical effect. But if you're giving someone hope, or demonstrating that you love them enough to spend time on them by praying, those things can have non-quantifiable but great impacts on a patient. |
Anonymous
Please don't mis-state facts. There IS NO significant medical effect.
I would assume there are many ways to do this. If the recipient asks for prayers, even as a non-believer I would (and do) consent. but if they don't ask, there are other ways to show support, some which may be more practical. |
Anonymous
The cancer patient could have asked OP to drive her to doctors appointments, or to bake a lasagne for her family while she's doing treatment. Even supposing her first thought upon receiving this devastating diagnosis is that OP has too much free time on her hands. Props for the random speculation that OP's friend wants to get rid of her, though. Some of you are so silly. |
Anonymous
Perhaps. But perhaps OP's friend didn't want those things from OP. Sometimes people who constantly ask "what can I do" bring more stress, and instead of spending time with an annoying/stressful person, you give them a task. A task like praying. |
Anonymous
 Tell yourself what you want.
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Anonymous
Where's the mis-statement? The language here is "may be no...but...." A turn of phrase that's used by educated people everywhere, who understand that it doesn't imply anything definitive about the first clause.
What's your point here? OP's atheist friend asked for prayers, not for flowers or teddy bears. Yikes. Between trashing OP for asking an innocent question, and twisting everybody else's words around, you exemplify what you accuse OP of doing: meddling in somebody else's business and embroidering fantastically on the pretty simply facts in the OP. |
Anonymous
OP is a Christian. Ergo she must have twisted motives and we're so lucky to have atheist pp's services to understand exactly how. |
Anonymous
You pointed out the reason it is a mis-statement yourself. That it "doesn't imply anything definitive". But it should, and MUST, as it IS definitive, and we are dealing with people's health. |
Anonymous
OP likes to generalize atheists? |