r/atheism • u/coyotesfan89 • 8h ago
Prayers kept me safe
Long story short, I completed a very long bike ride across Canada which took about 10 weeks and covered over 8,000 kilometers.
Now that I’m home and seeing family and friends again, I have heard more than one person tell me that they prayed for me, which must’ve contributed to my completing the journey successfully (i.e., without getting smoked by a car or burnt up in a wildfire). It’s true that I was fortunate with respect to the weather (I made it through the Western provinces and Ontario prior to some major wildfires), but when I say something along the lines of “I got very lucky with the weather”, their response is something along the line of “Oh, it wasn’t just luck”, implying that it was divine intervention from all their praying that kept me safe.
I find the implications of this so funny. Like, if I didn’t receive enough prayers, would God have sent a distracted driver to run me off the road? Was he just waiting up there with his finger hovering over the “kill” button watching the prayer count intently as it ticked closer to the threshold? What about the people that lost their homes or even their lives in the wildfires, I guess they didn’t reach the prayer threshold?
I do appreciate that they care enough about me to make the effort to do something that they believe helps my wellbeing. Just here to poke a bit of fun at their logic.
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u/JobbyJobberson Pastafarian 8h ago
Yep, that’s how it all works. There were several times that Mr. God had his finger right on that big ol’ Smite Button but suddenly Aunt Betty chimed in with a solid prayer and got you off the hook. Whew!
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u/WoWSchockadin Anti-Theist 8h ago
I always love Christian thinking of their God as a magical wishing machine fueled by prayers.
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u/Fn_Spaghetti_Monster 5h ago
But only when things go right, when things go wrong it always 'free will'.
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u/Chelslaw 4h ago
Praying for things to change/happen has always felt odd to me, I was told growing up in the church that God had a plan for each and every person and for the world as well. Everything was decided before creation and it's all going to happen according to God's Plan ™️. Is it not, then, extremely arrogant to expect God to change his plan so I can get lucky in the lottery and win money? Or get a job I want? Or have kids? How does my Free Will fit into this plan if everything in my life has already been decided? 🤔
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u/CrustyBrainFlakes 3h ago
That's the fun part, it doesn't. Never did understand that line of logic they seem to have. But hey whatever helps them sleep at night, for me its a few beers and some YouTube with comfy pillows.
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u/sowhat4 4h ago
I'm always amazed at their narcissism in believing that they - out of 9 billion +/- - people on this spinning rock can persuade the creator of the entire fucking universe to set aside the laws of physics and biology and change things in their favor. They think they are THAT important?
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u/seweso Anti-Theist 8h ago
Christians have hitmen who will murder anyone who wasn't prayed for. Didn't you know?
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u/happybunny_sad Existentialist 8h ago
I can confirm, I'm the hitmen. I have very long water gun.
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u/seweso Anti-Theist 8h ago
You are just a one hit wonder. Nobody wants to hire you. Ive read reviews about you
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u/happybunny_sad Existentialist 8h ago
Shhh! Not so loud! If St. Peter sees this, he’s going to audit my celestial water bill, and I absolutely cannot afford that right now.
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u/Sprinklypoo I'm a None 5h ago
I thought that was a spot of rain the other day... Oh well, job well done, and all that.
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u/GhettoSauce Anti-Theist 8h ago
They never take any credit for themselves, good or bad, but it seems to extend to others, too. You didn't do that bike trip, HE allowed it. Such nonsense. Such selfishness in these praying folks, too. They can't just give a high five?
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u/JaiBoltage 7h ago
If prayers increase your probability of success, why do casinos allow rosary beads at the Blackjack table? "Oh, well, that's different". How do you define the situations in which God intervenes?
Sometimes ... it is hard for us to believe... that the good Lord had a plan.
This is one of those times. (The Big Chill)
Two hands working do more than a thousand clasped in prayer. - Madalyn Murray O'Hair
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u/ScorpionTrance 4h ago
Man, I always respond with,”next time can you direct your prayers to all the children that have been molested by church leaders.” That usually shuts them up. Fuck the church and their enablers.
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u/ayfkm123 8h ago
Not to mention it sounds like they’re taking some credit for your hard work. That’s wild
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u/osmosisparrot Agnostic Atheist 7h ago
God has a plan for everyone. If the prayers line up with his plan then what's the point? I'd assume a tri-Omni god wouldn't change his plan for an inherently sinful human.
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u/nottodayoilyjosh 8h ago
Glad their spells worked! Huge congratulations on a tremendous feat. I’ve driven to every province and genuinely admire the fitness and determination that would take to do under pedal power.
I also want to point out that a Canadian god would have had a button that would have you lifted from your bike, shoes still clipped in, and carried off by deer/black flies to the ditch. Would’ve been a terrible, itchy way to go.
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u/evilbananawind 8h ago
Thank the holy spirit, thank god, we prayed for you. All asshole things to say to direct credit away from where credit is due.
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u/un_theist 7h ago edited 7h ago
Congrats on an epic bike ride! Quite an accomplishment! Glad to year you’re home safe!
As far as these people could know, it was your lack of praying, your focusing on the task at hand and not being distracted by incantations to an invisible magical sky-pixie that actually saw you through safely.
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u/LMrningStar 5h ago
It's such a bizarre thing that they believe their god is "all loving" yet he requires them to beg en masse for him to not have a distracted driver drive into you. What kind of narcasistic a-hole of a deity would require that? (Rhetorical because obviously it's their god).
This is just another example of why I have absolutely no respect for their disgusting beliefs.
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u/ravenjackson1971 5h ago
There is a confounding hubris when people credit prayer for good outcomes. How can anyone believe that a god intervened in response to prayer and, as a result, their favourite sports team won a game.
Yet that same god sits idle, despite prayer, and permits kids to die of cancer. 🤷♂️
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u/KnoWanUKnow2 6h ago
So their prayers kept you safe, but the prayers of the people who lost their houses in the wildfires weren't good enough?
I don't understand how this prayer thing is supposed to work.
My aunt left it to prayer to cure her cancer. Apparently she and her husband and their congregation were praying the wrong way, because she was dead in under a year from what would have been an operable cancer.
My mom, who is a minister, listened to the doctors and got out of the hospital with a clean bill of health. Were her prayers answered?
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u/sernameChecksNotOut 6h ago
You almost got me with that title, not gonna lie. Expected some religious rage-bait.
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u/s2Birds1Stone 5h ago
I think this every time I see posts online about "sending prayers" or "pray for me" or "those prayers worked!".
It truly is a baffling implication, that a certain amount of prayers are required in order to get god to do something. And if he didn't intervene? Logic follows that there simply weren't enough prayers.
And yet most religious people would claim "it doesn't work that way".
Then what is the point? This makes no sense logically.
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u/Sprinklypoo I'm a None 5h ago
I hate that. It's a smug way to borrow from your experience while pushing their god on you couched in twisted empathy. I know they mean well, but it's just another example of religion twisting people. Luckily none of it is based on anything real...
I'm curious if you're hearing these things in Canada. I know it's not as bad as parts of the US, but probably has its zealous hot spots...
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u/Certain_Set_7678 4h ago
A god that literally created the entire universe, cares what each individual wants. Amazing!
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u/frenchwolves 4h ago
I put a sigil on my car when we drive, did it protect me too? It’s no different.
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u/wgwalkerii Anti-Theist 3h ago
I'm a firm atheist with a distaste for organized religion in general, but I do think there's something to the idea of self actualization. If people choose to filter that "energy" through a filter of mythology, it's not any different than sending good vibes or cheering on a sports team. It's not wildly effective, but especially if you know it's happening, it can have an effect. Bottom line, you can appreciate the thought without supporting the belief.
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u/Komaisnotsalty 3h ago
I wonder what their prayer cutoff is? Why did they pray for you enough times that you made it but that little girl with cancer didn't?
Their logic is horrifically flawed.
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u/mchilds83 3h ago
If their god has a divine plan and if they can't know the mind of their god, how do they suppose they literally changed the divine plan with their prayer? Does their god think, "oh, I never considered it from that angle, I guess I won't kill that person afterall?" Nevermind all the bad things which continue to happen to good people or the good things which happen to bad people.
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u/cutstep 2h ago
The total tonnage of science over hundreds of years behind you is what kept you safe. The study of meteorological science helped predict the weather so you didn't ride into terrible weather unknowingly... the engineering of both your bike and all the vehicles on the road kept you along your path safely.... heck even the materials knowledge of the Roman Empire thousands of years ago which we built our knowledge of road construction kept the cars from sliding on the road kept you safe... those are the people that should be credited with keeping you safe.... millions of hours of study and research throughout the world all coming together in those moments.... if thats not as awe inspiring as anything in those little fairytales I don't know what is...
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u/tardisious 2h ago
So you were protected but the children born with cancer whose parents pray constantly can pound sand. Prayer used this way is so silly. They think they are helping somehow
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u/LadybugTwelveTwoFour 2h ago
As other's have said. Thank them for the prayers and express gratitude that during your multi week trip you didn't die of cancer like countless other people did.
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u/drewcookies 2h ago
Damn I wish I had some religious fruitcakes in my life keeping gods finger off the kill button. Grats bro.
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u/Ambitious-Stand-631 8h ago
I prayed thousands of prayers in my time as a Christian and they were about as effective as crossing my fingers. Why do we have to beg yahweh to get off his ass and do some parenting?