Why does prayer seem to offend so many?

Answer 1

Because in our ultra politically correct society,prayer, the one thing that is so sacred to many,does not have a place.But when people are in peril,they will cry out to God.I also think people's guilt overwhelms them,instead of realizing that prayer is just a conversation with God. I believe that we all have talks with our parents,right?

Answer 2

Reborn,
good to hear from you again my brother-in-arms.

I would have to agree with "nebtet" above me. If the person/people/or general situation are receiving the benefits of the prayer in a situation that could be deemed by "some" as aggrandizement and for purposes of power then the prayer is only a self serving "crutch". This "crutch" will then cause alienation and will only breed resentment and other ill feelings.

Consider first where the prayer is being "said" and like any other situation - here too is an audience - who are they? "What purpose" is the prayer for?

Merely a suggestion - I could be way off the mark. Just wanted to take the time to say "hello" to you my friend.

Semper Fi,
Gerry

Answer 3

I don't think that it's prayer that offends so many, I think that it may be the WAY that some people pray that may offend others. If a person is in a PUBLIC PLACE and not a house of worship and "puts on a show" while praying by speaking loudly, groaning, rocking back and forth or even making a big deal out of crossing himself I get the impression that:(1)he is trying to impress everyone around how pious or religious he is or (2) that he is trying to wake up the god he is praying to.Praying loudly and all those other things in and of themselves are not bad at all and are often done in some churches or relgious gatherings and may help the worshippers feel connected to thier God. In my humble opinion those things are best done in the house of worship and not in the public. I believe that one may pray quietly in public in ways that don't call attention to one self. Infact there is a story in the bible about a rich man and a poor man that were praying. The rich man was loud and showy while he prayed and the poor man was quiet and humble and God was pleased with the poor mans prayer because he was sincere. We are told not to do our "alms" or good deeds with alot of pomp and circumstance (showing off) but instead to them quietly and humbly (sincerely).

Answer 4

I can figure out following reasons for this,

1. Every one possesses his/her specific set of paradigms.

2. We are not taught how to be Proactive and not reactive.

3. These are some of the basic reasons which create offensiveness in any area.

4. Now why prayers seem to offend? I think, there is a minute difference, We BELIEVE in PRAYER, they BELIEVE in not believing PRAYER,so, BELIEF and PRAYER are basic notions. Only the paradigms and tendency to react yield this.

5. And i personally feel, when someone is offended by the prayer done at any place, actually s/he is offended by their unanswered prayers( that is again her/his frame of reference ) over the time because desires are unending.

Sir, very good question indeed. We must pray for them who are displeased with prayers.

May God bless all.

Thanks.:)

Answer 5

"Why does prayer seem to offend so many?"

...because prayer exemplifies the Solipsistic superstition that our subjective mental experiences are real and can actually alter the physical realm. This is, of course, egregiously false. The truth is that the only the physical realm is objectively real and that our thoughts (and prayers) are nothing more than the imaginary creations of our own living brains.

Public prayer is a display of a believer's willful systematic ignorance of the true nature of objective reality. It is offensive because it symbolizes the believer's deliberate choice to remain ignorant of rational truth and their willingness to embrace unsubstantiated superstition. Prayer can be an insult to rational minds because the act of prayer itself is essentially a declaration that the believer prefers ignorant Solipsistic superstition to factual Scientific truth.

Now that I've given an honest answer to your question, please do not assume that I am personally offended or outraged everytime I encounter prayer. As a rule, I avoid places where people are likely to pray in public. If I'm caught by surprise, I generally just quietly leave the premises. It's really not a big deal for me, other than as a matter of principle, because I pretty much prefer to avoid contact with all superstitious people -- except, of course, for this forum.

Answer 6

Because as the Bible says in many verses, that in the end times they will mock, etc. People in our society are over the edge in everything, just look at what's on TV now. The sex, violence and everyday bad language out there is at an all time high. I won't even go into movies.

But one thing these people don't seem to understand is, that they are prejudice, these are most likely the same ones that would defend gay rights or some other group that now people tolerate. If someone gets in my face about my beliefs, believe me, that is the last time they do that! I let them know, this country was build on Christian ethics and just look at what is printed on the currency, "IN GOD WE TRUST". If they don't like it, they can move to a country where Christianity does not make up the majority. It makes up the vast majority here, well over 65% of the population considers themselves Christian.

Answer 7

For me, I'm not offended by prayer. If someone wants to pray quietly in any religious tradition in a public place, I'm not offended. If people's prayer ceremonies start getting a bit loud and intrusive (think some of those wacky groups out there), it starts to border on annoying but still ok. When people proseletyze and tell me I'm praying wrong, that's when I get annoyed!

For me, prayer and my beliefs are a very private thing, and I go somewhere very private to pray. That's just my personal preference though :-)

Answer 8

In my heart I have asked this question many times. I would have to say that the reason I feel in my heart, is that they want so badly to believe in prayer, that they want to be prayed for, and they can't say it. They are afraid to admit that it might actually help them, and afraid to believe in something that they can not see.
For some, they were disappointed when a prayer was not answered, and do not yet realize that some of the most beautiful moments in life come from unanswered prayers.
Something that can only be felt by the love of others, and prayer is the strongest form of love that we can share with others.
It is only my opinion, from my heart to yours, but it feels right to me.

Answer 9

I think you mean prayer in schools, publics places ect.

The matter is a point of Constitutional Law.

First Ammendment, Bill of Rights "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion" This has been correctly interpreted that Religion should not be a part of Government functions.

The founding fathers made a very special effort to make this a secular nation. In one of his lesser known writings. “Notes on Virginia”, Jefferson wrote: "Millions of innocent men, women and children, since the introduction of Christianity, have been burned, tortured, fined and imprisoned. What has been the effect of this coercion? To make half the world fools and half hypocrites; to support roguery and error all over the world.

When Hamilton when asked why the Constitution did not mention God, is said to have answered sarcastically, "We forgot."

Before everyone starts screaming about "Prayer in School", ect ask your self which parayer and which Religion will decide?

It is wrong for taxpayer money to be used fro Christmas Decorations, A plaque with the 10 commandments on it, what ever. There are many non Christains that apy taxes.

How would Christains like it if the Quran was required reading in schools and students were required to pray to Allah? That's the way it is in a lot of countries. Our founding fathers were smart enough to create a barrier for any religious interference or preferance in Government.

Incidently, this is often ignored and many government functions have a Christain Prayer or the like.

Un-Constitutional.

Fred Thompson
www.isnrblog.com

Answer 10

Prayer does not paintings on such user-friendly "enter" and "output." At its root, prayer is a mechanism of aligning the guy recommendations with the cosmic recommendations (some individuals call this God). whilst this cosmic alignment is in result, then the cosmic recommendations can furnish the guy recommendations with awareness, which in turn facilitates the guy to end the flaws they choose. This works no remember what non secular persuasion a individual occurs to be, in spite of in the event that they're atheists. the base line is finished alignment with the divine, no longer inevitably a particular theory-approximately what the divine is. on the different hand, many "non secular" people the two do no longer understand a thank you to align themselves with the divine, or they attempt to make the divine over into what they think of nature might desire to be. The pray loudly to be heard by potential of adult men, and that they've their reward. The pray for prosperity, yet their hearts are aligned with poverty; and that they convey about the poverty provided that's their real concentration.