Friday, December 21, 2012
"Do Not Pray For Me"
Why do some people who are supposedly atheists or anti-theists say, "Do not pray for me"?
Well, I used to be an atheist. When I was an atheist, I did not believe in God. Consequently, I did not believe in the effectiveness of prayers. I did not believe that God answers prayers and so I did not believe that prayers can change anything. If someone said that he or she was praying or going to pray for me, I would not care about it because I "knew" that it would change anything.
Then, why do some atheists say, "Do not pray for me" if they supposedly do not believe in God and God's answers to prayers? Well, I think it is because they actually admit that prayers can have some effect and they fear this effect due to some reasons. It may be a kind of irrational fear actually. They may say, "There is no God and so God does not answer prayers." However, there is something inside of them that tells them, "No. God does answers prayers." Since they outwardly deny God, they know that they are wrong with God. This is why they fear Him and fear His answers to prayers.
How to get rid of this fear? "20 We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God. 21 God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God." (2 Cor. 5:20-21, NIV). The way to get rid of the fear of God and of prayers is to be reconciled to God.
I have been reconciled to God and I have no fears of prayers of other people for me, whatever their prayers may be. Even if somebody is going to curse me in prayers and ask God to do something bad to me, I do not fear it because I know that God will answer only those prayers that are according to His desire. And, of course, if people pray for me in a positive way, I do appreciate it.
Well, I used to be an atheist. When I was an atheist, I did not believe in God. Consequently, I did not believe in the effectiveness of prayers. I did not believe that God answers prayers and so I did not believe that prayers can change anything. If someone said that he or she was praying or going to pray for me, I would not care about it because I "knew" that it would change anything.
Then, why do some atheists say, "Do not pray for me" if they supposedly do not believe in God and God's answers to prayers? Well, I think it is because they actually admit that prayers can have some effect and they fear this effect due to some reasons. It may be a kind of irrational fear actually. They may say, "There is no God and so God does not answer prayers." However, there is something inside of them that tells them, "No. God does answers prayers." Since they outwardly deny God, they know that they are wrong with God. This is why they fear Him and fear His answers to prayers.
How to get rid of this fear? "20 We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God. 21 God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God." (2 Cor. 5:20-21, NIV). The way to get rid of the fear of God and of prayers is to be reconciled to God.
I have been reconciled to God and I have no fears of prayers of other people for me, whatever their prayers may be. Even if somebody is going to curse me in prayers and ask God to do something bad to me, I do not fear it because I know that God will answer only those prayers that are according to His desire. And, of course, if people pray for me in a positive way, I do appreciate it.
Why Does Religion Trigger Some Ex-Cultists?
I noticed that some people are very sensitive
to any religious discussions and tend to overreact. This reminds me of
what I read in The Fight: A Practical Handbook to Christian Living by
John White. I have a Russian version of this book. John White is a
Christian and a psychiatrist. He wrote that when somebody had a very
negative reaction, he asked, "This affects you. Why?" Since I have only
Russian translation, I am not sure about
the exact words in the original question. Maybe, he asked, "This
triggers you. Why?" Really, why? This is an interesting question.
Several months after I left the cult, I noticed that I was able to use my own critical thinking in most areas and discuss these things without any problems. The only exception was religion. Thinking about religion, I still thought in the same way as I was taught in the cult. It made me feel very bad about religion and any religious discussions. It also gave me feeling that my mind was not fully free. Although I was an atheist at that time, I decided that I need to learn about other religious views. So, I began to study theology. I studied various concepts and views. I really liked to study different concepts of the same teaching, compare them and then make my own conclusions. It helped me to develop my own critical thinking in religious matters and it helped me to reconsider my religious views and get rid of the cult indoctrination. It was a very important part of my cult recovery.
What would be if I had not studied theology and just completely turned away from any religion? I think I would still have been in the same condition as 10 years ago. Any thought about religion, about God or about the Bible would have triggered my memory about the cult, their doctrines and abuses. I would have still think about the Bible through the "glasses" of the cult doctrines. Reading any verse of the Bible, I would have understood it according to the cult interpretation. Thinking about any teaching of the Bible, I would have thought about it according to what I learned in the cult.
I think ex-cult members who just turned away from religion completely may have the same problem. No matter how long they have been out, they may still view religion in the same way as they were taught in their cults. Then, religious discussions trigger their memory of their cults and cause overreaction. This may be the real source of the problem.
Actually, I think it is one of the problems of completely secular approach to cult recovery as well as atheist propaganda to ex-cult members. The religious issues are just neglected and put away instead of being properly addressed. In my opinion, these issues needs to be addressed, which does not mean that ex-cult members should necessary become religious believers. These are two different things.
Several months after I left the cult, I noticed that I was able to use my own critical thinking in most areas and discuss these things without any problems. The only exception was religion. Thinking about religion, I still thought in the same way as I was taught in the cult. It made me feel very bad about religion and any religious discussions. It also gave me feeling that my mind was not fully free. Although I was an atheist at that time, I decided that I need to learn about other religious views. So, I began to study theology. I studied various concepts and views. I really liked to study different concepts of the same teaching, compare them and then make my own conclusions. It helped me to develop my own critical thinking in religious matters and it helped me to reconsider my religious views and get rid of the cult indoctrination. It was a very important part of my cult recovery.
What would be if I had not studied theology and just completely turned away from any religion? I think I would still have been in the same condition as 10 years ago. Any thought about religion, about God or about the Bible would have triggered my memory about the cult, their doctrines and abuses. I would have still think about the Bible through the "glasses" of the cult doctrines. Reading any verse of the Bible, I would have understood it according to the cult interpretation. Thinking about any teaching of the Bible, I would have thought about it according to what I learned in the cult.
I think ex-cult members who just turned away from religion completely may have the same problem. No matter how long they have been out, they may still view religion in the same way as they were taught in their cults. Then, religious discussions trigger their memory of their cults and cause overreaction. This may be the real source of the problem.
Actually, I think it is one of the problems of completely secular approach to cult recovery as well as atheist propaganda to ex-cult members. The religious issues are just neglected and put away instead of being properly addressed. In my opinion, these issues needs to be addressed, which does not mean that ex-cult members should necessary become religious believers. These are two different things.
"It Is Possible To Prove Anything, Using the Bible"
Sometimes I heard people saying that it is
possible to prove anything, using the Bible. In principle, it is true if
a person ignores basic principles of interpretation of the Bible.
One of these principles is that it is very important to consider the context: the context of the verse, the context of the paragraph, the context of the chapter, the context of the book, and the context of the Bible.
There is an old joke that illustrates the importance of this principle: the Bible says that there is no God. How can it be that the Bible says so? Let's read Psalm 14:1 (NIV): "There is no God." Well, this is only a part of this verse. The whole verse:
"The fool says in his heart,
“There is no God.”
They are corrupt, their deeds are vile;
there is no one who does good."
So, from the context of the verse, it is clear that it is was the fool who says that there is no God. The Bible only quotes the fool's words here.
Now, who is the fool? Modern readers of the Bible may think that the fool is a stupid person. However, in order to understand the meaning of this word it is necessary to consider how this word is used in Psalms and in other Bible books such as Proverbs, checking all the other verses where this word is used. In Psalms and Proverbs, this word is used rather for an immoral person than for a stupid person. The context of Psalms 14:1 also implies that the fool is an immoral and not stupid person.
So, I think this example shows the importance of the context. There are some other frequent errors: http://lemanal.blogspot.com/2008/12/hermeneutical-errors.html
One of these principles is that it is very important to consider the context: the context of the verse, the context of the paragraph, the context of the chapter, the context of the book, and the context of the Bible.
There is an old joke that illustrates the importance of this principle: the Bible says that there is no God. How can it be that the Bible says so? Let's read Psalm 14:1 (NIV): "There is no God." Well, this is only a part of this verse. The whole verse:
"The fool says in his heart,
“There is no God.”
They are corrupt, their deeds are vile;
there is no one who does good."
So, from the context of the verse, it is clear that it is was the fool who says that there is no God. The Bible only quotes the fool's words here.
Now, who is the fool? Modern readers of the Bible may think that the fool is a stupid person. However, in order to understand the meaning of this word it is necessary to consider how this word is used in Psalms and in other Bible books such as Proverbs, checking all the other verses where this word is used. In Psalms and Proverbs, this word is used rather for an immoral person than for a stupid person. The context of Psalms 14:1 also implies that the fool is an immoral and not stupid person.
So, I think this example shows the importance of the context. There are some other frequent errors: http://lemanal.blogspot.com/2008/12/hermeneutical-errors.html
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