Of course, nobody should be held to a standard of perfection, especially in matters of informal communication. So, while it WOULD be rude to tell your devout friends, "Knock off the prayers," feel free to tell them, "The prayers are nice, but in the meantime, could you pick up my kids from school and watch them a few afternoons this week? The person who prays for you is unwittingly praying to something evil... And human nature could be prone to making itself feel better about evil by condoning what cannot be condoned. He went on to say that praying for our atheist friends is the most important thing we can do, because ultimately only God can convert them. An atheist can't lie and utter the immortal words: "She/he will be in my prayers." This page is dedicated to prayer for some of our culture’s most influential atheists, as well as agnostics and anti-theists. Do atheists and agnostics pray? It just so happens that this is our tradition. It’s like emphasizing to a Jew or a Muslim that you’ll pray for them in the name of Jesus. I always want to ask the prayerful, "Do you think your god will refuse to help unless you pray? @nxina The problem here is that philosophy is not a spiritual exercise. The purpose of prayer is to make the person praying more aware of the needs of others, and more empathetic. What a wonderful piece of writing, heartfelt and so moving. Religionists knowingly offering to pray for an atheist may also possibly be acting in a passive-aggressive manner (while hiding their condescension behind the "veil" of righteous caring). Pray also that your life will be a witness to him—a witness to Christ's peace and joy. Americans don’t think much of atheists. When, after the Mass, his wife suddenly was found with well positioned child and no stone, he remembered that I had prayed only because I had told him first. When I tell you I am an atheist it means I do not believe. Pray also that your life will be a witness to him—a witness to Christ's peace and joy. But why is it necessary to share the fact you are praying for someone publicly. No one is better than the other. If God chooses to answer your prayer, it will happen whether the atheist … Also true. Change ), You are commenting using your Google account. We petition a holy God on your behalf. When I was 35 (almost a decade ago), I was diagnosed with a progressive, degenerative neuromuscular disease. Birthplace: none. Thus, it is perhaps more excusable when an elderly well-wisher assumes religiosity and conveys her support by assuring you that she is praying for you. . ] An atheist's lack of belief in a higher power and life-after-death concept means that his funeral arrangements won't follow the traditions included in Christian and other religion's funeral services. When your god plays with human lives like a cat toying torturing a mouse, that's not good. Then I offer to visit when they feel up to it. Why Your Panic Attacks May Seem Random but Aren't, Concussion Can Affect How the Brain's Hemispheres Communicate, What It Really Takes to Become a Musician. She sees the beauty in God but wonders how he turns his back on us and lets tragedies happen. The national organization claims there are 30 million atheists in the U.S. It's easy and could make an eternal difference for someone you love," the campaign states on its Facebook page. Sharing such personal issues is best done one on one. Stay in touch with your atheist friends, love them and pray for them. When your god plays with human lives like a cat torturing a mouse, that's not goodness. We are actually instructed to pray for you. I think we all see whats lacking here and that’s faith, obviously. Understandable. And, yes, you may argue that as long as I don’t know about it it doesn’t matter. Philosophers argue that no answer to how a good God can let evil happen though having the power to stop it works and that attempted answers are themselves evil and offensive. The rest of us get the same treatment. I mind my own business! Even an atheist who has argued that intercessory prayer is not only “in bad taste” but also “immoral.” [ . Now, if a religious friend says, "I'm praying for you," I don't expect you to turn cartwheels. There must be some reason for the announcement that one will be praying for m, some purpose that the Christian has beyond the prayer itself. Pray for them. If you agree with him, then you should act like it. Nxina, that is really a presumptuous and insulting way to approach someone, and I am sorry that people target you for that. When they tell you, “anything you need please let us know.” or “Hope he will be okay soon” and you just want to utter the words, “I just need your prayers.”, how do you say it. Can an atheist pray, and why would she want to? We can quote scripture back at them until we are blue in the face, but this type of person is so self focused they will never see that what they are doing is blowing their own trumpet at the expense of others. Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in: You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. People may argue with what we say, but they can't argue with the reality of a life that's been transformed by Christ. Whenever I'm going through emotional turmoil or have a tough decision to make, she'll say, 'I'll pray for you.' Should one pray for an atheist? All this I ask in Jesus’ name. However she refused to read the bible because in her opinion, because it was not written by God himself but by man, how can it be 100% true when mans emotions and situations could have swayed Gods word? Which is what our godless universe is. We do this out of obedience. Reply. Some of J’s family believe. "We want you to select an atheist friend or relative and pray for them by name each day during the month of April, 2010 (and beyond!). We certainly do not want to use prayer as an excuse to absolve ourselves from responsibility or defend inaction. As I do not share their beliefs why would it trouble me what others do in this way. ", As a child raised in Catholicism, we prayed only in Church and perhaps an awkward on Easter. relieves that person from any other offers. Pray with us for the conversion of the boys at this high school. That's arbitrary and unfeeling. All we have to do is open our hearts up just a little bit and let some of that love in and all our fears dissipate. Still, it's undeniable that atheists are picking up habits traditionally found among the religious. After all, if an atheist feels a need to pray, that itself is an indication of a deep searching, a small opening into a place so intimate to the human soul it simply cannot be expressed in anything other than a silent prayer to something unknowable. Once an atheist mentioned his baby was not positioned in the correct place in his pregnant wife's womb, and she also suffered from a gall stone. In addition, encourage him to face honestly the consequences of his atheism (which many atheists, I've discovered, never do). After a three week series on the flaws of atheism, it's not hard for an atheist reader to conclude that I have nothing good to say about atheists and for a certain sort of Christian to conclude that I assume the damnation of atheists. People like to claim "god works in mysterious ways" when a tsunami drowns 200,000, or thousands of children die of leukemia every year. Prayer recognizes the importance of the wish. However, my personal private interpretation is "don't expect any real help from me, but I will pray for you." If God chooses to answer your prayer, it will happen whether the atheist knows about it or not. I took the pains to explain that the first three chapters of the Judaeo-Christian Bible basically has an alternative to their supposition:- Achetez neuf ou d'occasion And that’s why I would in the same way like to respect people and ask: “Is it ok for you if I pray for you?” or “Do you want me to pray for you?”. ( Log Out /  His love is unending. @John Ranta Everybody knows I'm an atheist and I don't believe in prayers, but some of my friends will be trying to save my souls till the day I die. But say something. To open ourselves up to some change, to pray heartily, and to learn something. I'm simply asking the question of how to pray when you're an atheist because I loved to pray as a Christian and I still love praying as a nonbeliever. Passive aggressive it may well be but why should that trouble me? But I think it do. So, yes, to get the most pressing question out of the way, an atheist can in fact pray (if we stretch the definition of prayer just a little). If both you and the suffering person are religious, promises of prayer might be appreciated. Share the gospel with them. October 17, 2020 by clp 1 Comment. I have heard people say that an atheist who prays is not an atheist. It is in a sense a form of therapy. That is why I never have a problem with prayer for the souls of atheists. Sometimes, the only thing that can bring a person back to God is God, Himself. Amen! HEAR A FORMER ATHEIST'S STORY. Especially to Marvin, Roy, and John.