It is important as Christians for us to examine atheist arguments as it strengthens our faith. Here is one:
Atheists attack Christains for saying that God answers our prayers with yes, no, and wait and that this is NO proof of God because if you prayed to a milk jug, you would get the same type of results.
Example: You really need money to pay bills and bankruptcy is not an option at the moment so you pray for help to a milk jug.
1. The Yes answer: A relative could immediately come and help bail you out making you think the milk jug instantly answered your prayer
2. The No answer: The help never comes
3. The wait answer: The money eventually comes but not first without some hardship.
Here's the rebuttal:
God answers our prayers through "yes", "no" and "wait" because He realizes that sometimes the things that would be best for you NOW, would NOT be good for you in the long run and sometimes you do need something, but NOT at the current moment.
2007-10-17 10:45:21 · 39 answers · asked by Anonymous in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
Sometimes No can actually be a good answer too.
Are you a parent? Chances are you've used ALL THREE answers with your own kids at times.
This atheist argument looks good at first glance but is actually full of it.
Agree?
2007-10-17 10:46:26 · update #1
The prayer argument shot down: I had a sick relative once...I prayed for them to get better, they died. Awhile later, someone else I knew was sick. Everybody was telling me that I needed to pray for them, but I didn't. They got better. Where's the logic in that?
Liesel.
2007-10-17 18:58:57 · answer #1 · answered by Liesel 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The MILK JUG answers our prayers through "yes", "no" and "wait" because IT realizes that sometimes the things that would be best for you NOW, would NOT be good for you in the long run and sometimes you do need something, but NOT at the current moment.
You can still apply this to a Milk Jug and get the same results. You have not accomplished anything.
2007-10-17 10:51:34 · answer #2 · answered by Take it from Toby 7 · 8⤊ 1⤋
Here's the response to your rebuttal.
The Milk Jug answers our prayers through "yes", "no" and "wait" because It realizes that sometimes the things that would be best for you NOW, would NOT be good for you in the long run and sometimes you do need something, but NOT at the current moment.
The point is that I could simply endow the milk jug with the ability to reason and decide whether or not I deserve a "yes," "no," or "wait" answer to my prayer.
2007-10-17 10:50:59 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 8⤊ 2⤋
"God answers our prayers through "yes", "no" and "wait" because He realizes that sometimes the things that would be best for you NOW, would NOT be good for you in the long run and sometimes you do need something, but NOT at the current moment"
It begs the question:
WHY BOTHER!
Why not just wait around and see what God has in store for you?
Oh! No money for rent this month? More character building! My children are starving to death? There must be a profound lesson here somewhere! Thanks God!
All of which is wonderful, but really, why bother praying if God is just going to do whatever he wants to do anyway?
2007-10-17 10:50:54 · answer #4 · answered by Bigmouth Strikes Again 3 · 8⤊ 1⤋
You don't understand the atheist argument at all, it seems. What it says is that your yes, no, or wait argument as proof of God is not valid. Because yes, no or wait would happen REGARDLESS of whether God exists. It is not proof of anything. Justifying why you "think" God answers in this way changes the lack of foundation for your argument in no way whatsoever! If yes, no, or wait happens whether God exists or not, in fact in ALL cases, then the fact that one of those things happened in NO way proves anything.
I can turn the argument around with the EXACT same logic. If no God exists, then one of these results will happen if you pray to the non-existing God. Either your problem will solve, it will not solve, or it is undetermined whether it is solved or not. Since one of those things happens, THERE MUST NOT BE A GOD!.
2007-10-17 10:55:25 · answer #5 · answered by Tikhacoffee/MisterMoo 6 · 2⤊ 2⤋
What a rebuttal!!! That could convince any Christian!!
Wait...a minute, milk jugs answers our prayers through "yes", "no" and "wait" because milk jugs realize that sometimes the things that would be best for you NOW, would NOT be good for you in the long run and sometimes you do need something, but NOT at the current moment.
2007-10-17 10:50:23 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 6⤊ 3⤋
It really bothers me that this is like a competition between Christians and Atheists, when both sides sound so ridiculous! If God does exist he loves his Atheists just as much as anyone else, either way both sides lose!!! besides Christians.......if God exists I am sure he is capable of defending himself, I know if I were God I would have rid this world of the both sides and be done with it!
2007-10-17 11:12:22 · answer #7 · answered by robink71668 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Do they really say that? About the "milk jug" I mean...unbelieveable..and profane too..
Let them pray to a milk jug then, next time they have a desperate need.
The word of God is surely true when it calls unbelievers..fools.
2007-10-17 11:55:08 · answer #8 · answered by Eartha Q 6 · 0⤊ 1⤋
You still don't show how praying to a milk jug leads to different results than praying to God. All you've done is substitute your own reasoning for that of God, which is to be expected because God is a product of imagination.
2007-10-17 10:50:18 · answer #9 · answered by Subconsciousless 7 · 6⤊ 2⤋
So explain again how praying to your God is any better than praying to the milk jug?
You'd get the exact same results if you didn't pray to anything, except that you'd be able to use the time you spent praying actually solving the problem.
2007-10-17 10:54:02 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 4⤊ 2⤋