Someone you care deeply about is in the hospital dying. There is nothing more the doctors can do. they have run out of options. Would you pray? I'm not talking about any specific religion or anything like that just the act of praying to a higher power. Or would you accept the fact that there is nothing more to do and let them die.
Is having hope a bad thing?
I truly don't mean any disrespect. I'm curious and I value your insight on this.
2006-07-19 13:09:16 · 16 answers · asked by Red Yeti 5 in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
OK I'm getting some really good answer here.
Now, if this person happened to be religious and asked you to just to comfort them. Would that change your answer?
2006-07-19 13:29:13 · update #1
I will tell you one thing. I hope you listen very very close.
Be careful what you pray for. You might get it.
If it is God's Will, the time is now, accept it. If you pray to keep this person here, God may allow it, but it will be under HIS circumstances. It is these circumstances that you may regret.
God Bless You.
2006-07-19 13:33:15 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
I am not an atheist but having no particular religion I follow at the moment, and not believing in the christian/islamic/judiasm deity here is my answer.
I would not pray... I never did even when I was as christian although granted I was a child/teen then. I would stay with the person, I would give them the comfort they asked for, I would read to them if they wished it - even from a religious book if that is what they desired. If the medical doctors have run out of options I don't believe prayer to a deity I don't believe in will make a difference.
Hope is not a bad thing to have, but when all is said and done I prefer it not to be false hope.
2006-07-19 20:17:09 · answer #2 · answered by genaddt 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Of course I would pray that they are allowed to pass from life to death peacefully, I don't like to see anyone or anything suffer. Knowing what the condition of the dead is, and what my god is going to do about those that die, no I would not be afraid of them dying, nor do I fear death myself, for I know that there is going to be "a resurrection of .both the righteous and unrighteous." That is a bringing back to life, to earth, and an opportunity to live in a paradise condition forever. No, having hope is not a bad thing, it's not having any hope that is truly sad.
2006-07-19 20:22:44 · answer #3 · answered by Nancy 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It's pointless to pray. Sitting there talking to an invisible god will accomplish nothing. I would get a second opinion and look at other, more advanced hospitals. Then I would spend time with the person and try to make their last moments enjoyable, try to remember that person.
2006-07-19 21:36:54 · answer #4 · answered by holidayspice 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I had a friend ask me a question like that one time. Would I pray for him, even though they knew that I was not a Christian?
I asked him why they would want a prayer from me. And he told me that he knew that my prayer would not only give him comfort, but would also be heard, because I knew how to pray in the proper manner.
I still have no idea what he meant, but it was rather flattering to know someone understood me when I said that one does not have to be religous to pray.
2006-07-19 20:19:14 · answer #5 · answered by sunfell2001 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I wouldn't pray, that would be like me asking a religious person to denounce their faith when they felt like there was no hope left! I would try my best to get the best doctors around to help but failing that i would spend every last second i could with that person, i wouldn't waste precious time with them by praying. As long as u keep someone alive in your heart then u never really lose them :-)(yeah sick soppy stuff i know but it's true!)
2006-07-19 20:15:06 · answer #6 · answered by bobatemydog 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Pray about what or to whom?
It has been determined that prayer is ineffective, so anyone who prays is wasting his time, irrespective of religious beliefs.
There is no other viable option than accepting reality and doing whatever possible to ensure the loved one is as comfortable as possible.
We all die, so "letting" people die is not an option, it is an inevitable fact.
2006-07-19 20:17:28 · answer #7 · answered by Left the building 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
You address your question to Atheists...
I used to be an atheist. Over a period of time however, I grew convinced of the existence of the Christian God, and ultimately committed my life to Christ (e.g., see http://www.godsci.org/gs/chri/testimony/seek.html ).
--
As a Christian I would pray... and pray that if it is God's will that they die, that they would die in peace (with minimal pain).
Hope is a good thing. As a Christian however, I have hope not just for this life, but also for the next.
You ask about prayer...
For discussion of "what is Christian prayer", see http://www.godsci.org/gs/new/prayer.html
Cordially,
John
2006-07-19 20:14:36 · answer #8 · answered by John 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
live and let live and vice versa. praying never accomplished anything except ease one soul in times of despair. it makes you feel better much like eating a bar of chocolate of something. besides, who will answer the prayer if you're just praying to any god or deity? hope raises spirits and expectations but blinds those from the inevitable truth. if you pray and pray and nothing comes about, do you blame your god for not caring? do you attribute it to his master plan? does it lessen or strengthen your faith in him and, if it does, why?
2006-07-19 20:13:21 · answer #9 · answered by Thank You..Come Again 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I would stay with them if at all possible, and I'd make their passing as comfortable as possible.
I see no point in praying. I didn't pray when my Grandma died, and I didn't pray when my sis-in-law had a miscarriage.
If I needed to talk to someone, I'd talk to someone real or else I'd write down my feelings.
2006-07-19 20:17:06 · answer #10 · answered by mikayla_starstuff 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋