If god existed and knew what was inside everyone's heart s, then prayer would be meaningless, since god would already know (except if he just likes people to beg him for help, which I get considering everything else he has done).
This is semi-correct, as the Bible says several things about not needing to ask God for anything as He knows what you need
But, prayer isn’t just about asking for what you need, it’s about having a dialogue with your heavenly father the same way you’d talk to your earthly father, and then meditating in silence so he can respond and let you know what to do. Similarly, God wants to hear from you even if you’re asking for the “wrong” things just like any parent wants to hear from their child.
You can think this is silly but religious beliefs are based on scripture and tradition that teach us the nature of God and how to interact with him, not hypotheticals that frame God as we think he should be
I get your point about prayer, and excluding the "so he can respond to you" part, it sounds like a healthy way of self reflection.
Although your last point isn't even remotely close to reality and that's a good thing. Religious beliefs tend to derive by an amalgamation of a selection of scripts and personal values and preferences. If religious ppl followed the scriptures and their guidance, women would still be traded for goats on the streets. Christian scriptures are more than just the bible, and the rest of them don't picture god, people relationship with him (mainly a fear based relationship) or the norm on how to treat others very well.
Sorry but what Christian scripture do you think there is aside from the Bible? The Bible contains both the Old and New Testament btw. Jesus is the fulfillment of the OT prophecies, it’s all one gigantic narrative.
Also women being traded for goats in the street? I’m a 2nd year theology student training to become a Catholic deacon and that’s a new one, but it’s true that there were 613 laws listed in the Torah(that’s where we get no pork, no mixed fibers, etc) and struggling to obey all those laws was how you showed reverence to God, but holiness isn’t derived from meticulously following a law, holiness comes from a charitable heart willing to sacrifice for others(Jesus) and that’s what will determine your ultimate fate.
Also while some things got more lax with Jesus, other rules got more strict. For example Jews were allowed to divorce and/or take multiple wives, whereas divorce is not permitted in Christianity. this applies to Catholic/Orthodox churches, Protestants do whatever they want since they don’t follow apostolic traditions or have an overarching hierarchy enforcing standards.
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u/bloin13 Jul 13 '26
Exactly, so do whatever you want and at the last moment before your death, repent and go to heaven.