Rant #9: Praying
Why do people even suggest prayer for solving any problem? No one actually believes in the power of prayer (or at least no one who is remotely sane). People will always say we must pray for the victims, the soldiers, your sick parent, the Mets (and I have tried), etc. I would argue that reacting to a crisis by praying is about as useful as reacting to a crisis by playing Angry Birds. The only thing less helpful to the troops than praying for them would be actively fighting against them.
If you truly believe in the power of prayer and that prayer can really solve problems, then think about how you would react to the following:
- President Obama deciding to replace our military with a 500,000 person prayer brigade.
- The American Medical Association announcing that the cure to Cancer is prayer.
- The NRA suggesting that we replace guns with prayers (actually this would be a good one).
- The 911 operator suggesting that instead of sending an ambulance for your sick grandmother, you should ask God to take care of this one.
- Your dietitian suggesting that it is NOT your lack of commitment to exercise NOR your insistence on inhaling Krispy Kreme that has made you fat, but instead you are fat because of your LACK of commitment to God.
The only problem that prayer solves is the age old dilemma “How can I pretend to help?”