If there is no God then...?

Question

how do you explain the power of prayer?

My mom had a golf ball sized lump in her breast that needed to be biopsied. The entire church prayed for her, layed hands on her, even made her a prayer quilt. When they went to biopsy the lump two weeks afer the mamogram that found it, 2 docrors and 3 ulrtasound tecks couldn't find it. They did another mamogram and there was nothing there. If God didn't make it go away then what did?

I am a christian who believes that this was God. The lump didn't miraculously show up. She felt it and went to the dr. The church didn't lay hand on her breast they touched her head and shoulders

The Holocoust occured because we have free will. God did not make it occure but man's greed and quest for power did. It is a tragedy that it happened but to say that there is no God because bad things happen is shortsighted.

Answer 1

Something else. Tumors do resolve themselves, you know. How do you explain the many times that prayer does not have a beneficial effect? (I know, you'll just say that sometimes the answer is "no.") How do you explain the study that showed that prayer had no discernible effect on hospital patients, and, in fact, if the patient knew they were being prayed for, their condition often worsened as they then thought they were in more trouble than they had known? The fact is, you can't show a cause and effect relationship here. Just because two things happened is not proof that they are in any way related.

Answer 2

I'm glad you Mum is OK - it must be a great relief for all.

However, what makes you invoke a supernatural explanation when your doctors can offer you a perfectly good rational explanation? Perhaps there was never a lump in the first place. Perhaps there was a lump, but it dissolved naturally? Perhaps they made the wrong initial diagnosis. In general, I usually go for the simplest explanation for something, rather than going for something that is overly complicated or which simply poses other questions?

What makes you think the prayers, quilt and the hands of your fellow churchgoers made a difference? What evidence do you have?

Try this one: get your church - all of them - to pray for peace in the Middle East or the whole world or for an end to poverty say, by the end of next week. Oh, and get them to make 7 quilts as well just to make sure.

You needn't bother letting me know if your god answers your prayers this time - I'll be watching CNN News.

Answer 3

i am not sure if there is prayer the earliest people
while many groups have made the claim , the first discoveries of the new world were the siberians of east asia possibly as early as 50,000 years ago, prehistoric hunters began across from asia into north america

over the the bering strait land bridge, a continental link exposed by shrunken seas during the last ice age, also known as the pleistocene epoch.

Answer 4

I don't know about the "no God idea" but I can say that human beings have an amazing ability to create what we believe in. That's the point of the Mustard Seed story: if I have just a particle of real faith, huge things happen. If that is being a conduit for God's power, okay.

Answer 5

This is the worst argument ever.

What about all the millions of women who die from breast cancer DESPITE having all of their families and friends praying for them?

If all women who had people pray for them were healed, then you'd have a point. One odd situation out of millions doesn't mean anything.

(And for the record, I had a lump in my breast that went away on it's own. It happens. No prayer involved.)

I'm very happy that your Mom is OK, but it is really insulting to the women who've died of breast cancer (despite being prayed for) to suggest that God would favor prayer for just one person over all the prayers of the people who loved the ones who died.

Answer 6

I believe in the power of the mind more then prayer like right now u truly believe in God so God and his creatures are real to you but since I don't really believe in such things they aren't real to me.
Glad to hear your Mom is doing well in the health department. My Mom quiet smoking herself so I expect in a few years she should become a better singer like my high school choir teacher did.
Anyway I'm atheist but have christain friends I just don't argue religion with them.

Answer 7

Let's assume for a moment that the story is true. Isn't possible, from the perspective of a practitioner of magic, that the collective will and positive energy of the church goers was what caused this 'miracle'?

Also, it's possible that it was benign and just cleared up, or that there was an error with the original scan.

Answer 8

Yes, my dear, miracles do happen every day. Faith can move mountains. I have answered a lot of questions on this topic and I know there are things in this life we will never understand, but we have to believe in something. I believe in evolution, but I also believe in God. I will always believe in God and I believe the two can coexist. The Bible to me can't be taken literally word for word. There has to be flexibility there. How do you feel about that? If you ever want to discuss this topic with me, I would be very happy to chat with you. I have a lot of thoughts on God, Eternity, the Universe, etc. Thanks for listening.

Answer 9

My ten year old cousin was diagnosed with leukemia. His entire extended family prayed for him as did his schoolfriends, teachers and church.He spent five years undergoing treatment that was often painful and distressingn yet he still died a slow and miserable death.

If you think God took your mother's lump away, perhaps you could explain why God wouldn't save the life of an innocent child?

Answer 10

I think it is just luck really. I understand people want to believe prayer works, but what about the people who have teams of people praying for them, and nothing good comes from it? If it works, then why not every time and how would God choose who gets their prayer answered? I think sometimes we just get lucky.