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Do atheists PRAY to anybody ?

McBell

mantra-chanting henotheistic snake handler
Can I pary, or not ?
You didn't answer my question. why ?
You did not answer my question first.
And I asked it not once, but twice...

So you did not answer my question first two times.

What exactly would be an "extreme" danger situation?

Will it now be three times?
 

chinu

chinu
You did not answer my question first.
And I asked it not once, but twice...

So you did not answer my question first two times.

What exactly would be an "extreme" danger situation?

Will it now be three times?
Middle of the sea, sinking in the water :)
 

SalixIncendium

Qur'an Reciting Transtheistic Mahdi Claimant
Staff member
Premium Member
When I was young...I don't recall the exact age, only that I was just tall enough to keep my nose above water in 4 feet of water...I was "swimming" in a friend's pool. I put "swimming" it quotes, because I was doing anything but...I couldn't paddle or even tread water and had all the buoyancy of a rock. So I was just bobbing up and down in the water along the edge of the pool and started feeling brave and straying from the sides.

It was one of those above-ground pools that was 4 feet deep around the ends and a little ways in dropped off to 6 or 8 feet deep. I was aware the drop off was there, but at one point, I slipped at the drop and sunk into it. I was able to push from the bottom up to the surface once or twice to shout for help, but there were more than a few kids in the pool, and the parents were on the deck, but no help came.

I knew I couldn't breathe and knew that if no one came, it was on me to save myself. I tried to move sideways to get back to the shallower part but couldn't, probably because all my movement was panic driven. It was becoming harder to push to the surface, and I was not getting high enough to get enough air, and the gasps were bringing in water instead of air. I knew no one was coming, so I forced myself to stop panicking let myself sink to the bottom and began to crawl along the bottom, and eventually made my way back up to the 4 foot section. I bobbed my way to the wall, pulled myself up the side, and started coughing up water.

Later, when I asked the adults why no one came, my mother told me that she heard me, but just thought I was playing.

At no point during this did praying even cross my mind. When I realized the people I was calling for help weren't coming, I knew it was on me to save myself or drown.
 

Hermit Philosopher

Selflessly here for you
Do atheists PRAY to anybody when they find themselves in extreme danger ? :)
In my experience, yes, oddly enough.

In face of true fear, many atheists do “pray”. Though, as soon as their fear passes, that odd act mostly becomes incomprehensible to them and they cannot elaborate on their reasons for having done so.

Cultural “instinct” is a probable explanation.


Humbly,
Hermit
 

ChristineM

"Be strong", I whispered to my coffee.
Premium Member
In my experience, yes, oddly enough.

In face of true fear, many atheists do “pray”. Though, as soon as their fear passes, that odd act mostly becomes incomprehensible to them and they cannot elaborate on their reasons for having done so.

Cultural “instinct” is a probable explanation.


Humbly,
Hermit

I don't think this is accurate, maybe a few but most atheist know that prayer is a waste of time.
 

Stevicus

Veteran Member
Staff member
Premium Member
Middle of the sea, sinking in the water :)

Yes, but who would you actually pray to? Poseidon? Neptune? Njord? Which god of the sea is the right one?

I remember in the movie Titanic seeing a brief scene of people gathering in prayer. Now it sure would have been quite a thing if the damage was miraculously repaired and the ship didn't sink. Picture it: A giant hand coming down from the heavens, lifting the ship out of the water, then angels coming down with blowtorches and tools to repair the damage, pump out the water already in the ship, set it down gently, and let them go on their way.

If stuff like that happened every time people prayed, more people would do it.
 

chinu

chinu
Yes, but who would you actually pray to? Poseidon? Neptune? Njord? Which god of the sea is the right one?
Dear, a situation where mind is still working and making expressions like -- pray to? Poseidon? Neptune? Njord? blah? blah? blah? It means one has NOT yet realized an extreme danger.

A situation where a vacuum happens in the mind, and mind becomes incapable of thinking anything -- that is known as extreme danger, and a true prayer starts automatically in such situation, regardless of one is theist, or atheist. :)
 

chinu

chinu
I don't think this is accurate, maybe a few but most atheist know that prayer is a waste of time.
a situation where mind is still working and making expressions like -- prayer is waste of time, It means one has NOT yet realized an extreme danger. A situation where a vacuum happens in the mind, and mind becomes incapable of thinking anything -- that is known as extreme danger, and a true prayer starts automatically in such situation, regardless of one is theist, or atheist. :)
 

ChristineM

"Be strong", I whispered to my coffee.
Premium Member
a situation where mind is still working and making expressions like -- prayer is waste of time, It means one has NOT yet realized an extreme danger. A situation where a vacuum happens in the mind, and mind becomes incapable of thinking anything -- that is known as extreme danger, and a true prayer starts automatically in such situation, regardless of one is theist, or atheist. :)

What are you talking about? Not thinking of a god when you have no god to think about is pretty normal for an atheist. In such dangerous situations chances are they are thinking of their families or how to get out of the mess they are in... I.e. relying on themselves, not a mythical god
 

chinu

chinu
What are you talking about? Not thinking of a god when you have no god to think about is pretty normal for an atheist. In such dangerous situations chances are they are thinking of their families or how to get out of the mess they are in... I.e. relying on themselves, not a mythical god
Prayer starts, where thinking ends in danger.
 

Mock Turtle

Oh my, did I say that!
Premium Member
Prayer starts, where thinking ends in danger.
Prayer starts perhaps when thinking stops - and where the result will be bad - given you will have little evidence for prayer actually producing a better result than thinking does, and as to such providing decent solutions, if available. o_O
 

Evangelicalhumanist

"Truth" isn't a thing...
Premium Member
Do atheists PRAY to anybody when they find themselves in extreme danger ? :)
What I find hard to understand is why you would even ask such a question. I mean, it does seem to betray a very shallow understanding of what "atheist" means.
 

Stevicus

Veteran Member
Staff member
Premium Member
Dear, a situation where mind is still working and making expressions like -- pray to? Poseidon? Neptune? Njord? blah? blah? blah? It means one has NOT yet realized an extreme danger.

A situation where a vacuum happens in the mind, and mind becomes incapable of thinking anything -- that is known as extreme danger, and a true prayer starts automatically in such situation, regardless of one is theist, or atheist. :)

In a situation of extreme danger and duress like that, a person may become hysterical or incoherent. Panic may set in, causing a person to freeze up or scream in terror. As you say, the mind is incapable of thinking anything? Are you so certain that "true prayer starts automatically"?
 
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