As we all know, the south in the US is in severe drought conditions. The Governor of Georgia is asking folks to join him and a group of ministers to pray for rain. They are going to hold a public prayer today. An atheist commented that people will look on at this and think that the citizens of Georgia are "dumb," and is gathering protestors to be there during this prayer. No one is saying that science or divine intervention is better, all ideas are welcomed..why the protesting? So....what are your thoughts R&S crew?
2007-11-13 02:27:58 · 32 answers · asked by Mookie 5 in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
Attn nonbelievers: you must have faith when praying. God knows the intent; if you pray only when in trouble or just to "test" God, He will answer accordingly...when He gets to it. To nonbelievers, prayer appears to be ridiculous, like all our Christian beliefs. Again: Why protest? You protest because you think it's dumb? In that case, why not apply your time and resources to a scientific way of overcoming this drought, or anything else plaguing this world. I understand the why nots of a public prayer, but why protest against it?
2007-11-13 02:59:45 · update #1
There is nothing wrong with praying for rain. In this case, it is praying for one event to happened and sustain a greater majority, an entire state is in need. Just like those of us who prayed for people in multiple cities, but in the air and on the ground on September 11, 2001; those who prayed for people living in Louisiana, Mississippi, Texas, Florida, etc., during hurricane seasons. There is nothing wrong with asking God to bless them, protect them, it is a very kind act, and not to mention, a ver Christian thing to do - pray for others. I pray for all armed services, police, fire and everyone to serves to protect all citizens. If more people did that, maybe we'd be a bit more kind towards one another.
2007-11-13 02:46:42 · answer #1 · answered by Hot Coco Puff 7 · 3⤊ 0⤋
God can do anything at any time. The main question would be where are their hearts? If their hearts are on helping others and they want relief from the drought then I am sure God will answer their prayers, but if praying is done with a cold heart then God will not bless those in need. I am not saying what God will or won't do - I firmly believe that God will help those who need help.
As for the Athiests they do not believe in God so they have to believe in something - maybe themselves? Maybe a rock? Who knows, but what I will say is this do not allow those who do not believe to sway you or others into their unbelief. They will learn in due time that the mistakes they have made will not lead them to anything good.
2007-11-13 02:38:11 · answer #2 · answered by waeyeaw 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Praying for rain even if it does not work, at least it can calm people down, and focus them. Connecting with God is alway good. The main thing is not to ignor any possible action, that can be taken to help the situation now, or in preparing for future droughts.
2007-11-13 02:37:43 · answer #3 · answered by astrogoodwin 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
People who pray for rain do look dumb. Science has shown us that rain is caused by weather and climate patterns, not by some guy sitting up in the sky. If I lived in an area that thought making a public spectacle of praying for rain was a good idea, I'd protest it, too, just to show the national media that everybody in Georgia isn't living in the stone age.
Science is patently better because divine intervention has never, ever been proven to work. If it did, then why didn't God save all the people who drowned in Hurricane Katrina? In fact, why didn't God just prevent those storm surges from coming into the city at all? Why did God make so much rain fall in Tabasco recently so that all the rivers burst their banks and the city was disastrously flooded? Don't you think the people of Tabasco prayed that the rain would stop? If God was fair and listened to prayers, don't you think he would have sent all that Mexican rain up to Georgia? I mean, that is within his powers, right?
I hope the protest against this stupidity is simply huge. It's fine if people want to pray in their churches and homes for rain. Or if they want to pray publicly for rain - I think that's pretty stupid, and it's against Jesus' teachings to pray publicly, but whatever. When they try to make a national spectacle of it by involving the media, that goes too far because it incorrectly casts all citizens of Georgia as bible-thumping public-prayers. They're not. There are plenty of people in Georgia who know that God doesn't have a thing to do with whether or not it rains, and those smart people don't deserve to be classed by the national media as superstitious rubes.
Any bets on how many thumbs-down votings I get for this post? I'm guessing 9.
2007-11-13 02:35:57 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 4⤋
There is nothing silly, wrong, immoral or sinful about praying for seasonal weather. Knowing that God cares for us all, we know that He causes the rain to rain on the just and the unjust. Since we are in an unseasonal drought, praying to God for relief is just, good and within His providence for us all.
Yours in Christ Jesus
2007-11-13 02:36:36 · answer #5 · answered by Grace 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
There is nothing wrong with praying for rain, nor is it a problem for the Georgia governor to request a day of prayer. You will find nothing in the Constitution forbidding it.
2007-11-13 02:39:10 · answer #6 · answered by digi 2 · 1⤊ 1⤋
It is not dumb. People fail to understand that God is in Control, and forget to put him first. If God want it to rain, he will make it rain. Its obvious he wants people's attention.
SO those of you who are praying keep praying, and while you are praying, build a closer relationship with God.
2007-11-13 02:38:01 · answer #7 · answered by Nikki 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Prayer is as harmful as it is helpful. It's neither.
The problem arises when, three weeks from now, it rains...and they think they did it with prayer.
It's like the old joke, "I can make a traffic light turn green just by staring at it."
Praying for inevitable occurances is proof of nothing. You can't pray for the sun to rise the next morning and then say, "See! It works!"
2007-11-13 02:33:14 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 3⤊ 1⤋
Because relying on prayer during real crisis, is not a responsible thing for leadership to do.
Imagine the response if he had some Iroquois Native Americans come in to do a rain dance. Wouldn't he be ridiculed? It is the same thing, the only difference is that many of the people in America have been indoctrinated to believe in this flavor of Myth.
The real danger here is that there is already a 60% chance of rain for the area tomorrow (thx Deke update), so the Governor is essentially using his office as a platform for indoctrination.
2007-11-13 02:31:56 · answer #9 · answered by ɹɐǝɟsuɐs Blessed Cheese Maker 7 · 6⤊ 3⤋
There's nothing wrong with praying for rain, it makes people feel as though they are helping somehow. People pray for world peace, the end of disease, of course they would also pray for favorable weather. I don't see how it hurts anyone.
2007-11-13 02:37:26 · answer #10 · answered by Equinoxical ™ 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋