Thank you Jehovah for answered prayers (page 10)

JH

I think my prayers will be answered at Armageddon

I have held off posting to this topic ever since I spotted its course of progression. Do I think this was prayer was answered by God? I think the strongest likelihood is that it was not. Can I prove it wasn't? No.

I see many posts from people who consider themselves scientifically minded. Consider this from another perspective: Annie prayed for something specific, the specific something she prayed for came to pass. Does that mean that her prayer was answered? Yes. Whether by chance, or by God, or by confluence of the eternal Consciousness working it out, or due to the inherent goodness in the majority of people, or by some enterprising thief getting a flat tire on his way to the store where her purse was waiting for his nimble-fingered attentions, her purse was NOT stolen.

Does the fact that there are many possible (and even more likely) explanations remove the fact the prayer was answered? No.

Why does it matter so much to everyone which cause she credits for the answer? She was obviously delighted and relieved. She was gushing with delight and relief. Does no one care that when she thought to share her delight she chose to share it here, with us? I teared up when I first read her post. I thought it was endearing. Not because I believed it, but because she believed it, and chose to share it here.

Then some recommended sharing it with the congregation, instead. Is that really what you want her to do? She may just have taken your horrible advice. Did you really want to turn her away from this place and back to that cesspool of rotted thoughts? I hope not.

I swear, sometimes I just cannot understand some of the responses to current or clinging JWs on this forum. So what if we are angry, hurt, confused, bitter. None of us know Annie, and since she's a female (presumably) she has no authority in the organization and isn't responsible for our pain, so why would we take out our frustrations on her? It makes no sense to me.

This place is open to ALL people who do not violate the posting guidelines. How could anyone DARE encourage someone to leave who has not violated posting guidelines? If I had been encouraged to leave when I first came here, I would still be a Jehovah's Witness. Would that have pleased the ones who turned Annie away at the door? I just don't get it. No need to explain, though. I just hope this will motivate some thought.

Respectfully,
AuldSoul

funkyderek

LittleToe:

Have we become flag-burning fanatics, wherein we have to jump on anything that smacks of something we dislike? If so, what separates us from Middle-Eastern American-hating peasants?

Better personal hygiene?

I have similar issues with book-burning, even when the books contain nothing but nonsense; although I understand as a symbolic act it can be very cathartic. Recycling the Watchtower probably doesn't have the same emotional resonance.

I don't think any comments on this thread have been of that nature, though.

Had Annie thanked invisible elves for protecting her wallet, she would undoubtedly have been openly and unashamedly ridiculed. Had she claimed there was a protective forcefield around her wallet, she would have faced a similar reaction. What she actually claimed was that the omnipotent creator of the entire universe read her thoughts and altered reality, including the behaviour of other people just so she could get her money back, and holds to this view of what happened even though the results are indistinguishable from good luck and most people quite rightly feel that such a deity's time could be better used. It may be a common conceit but it's no less ridiculous for being so.

Perhaps the fact that I feel an urge to point such things out represents a flaw in my personality, but I think people can benefit by being more skeptical and understanding the nature of reality rather than immediately looking for a supernatural and highly implausible explanation for mundane events.

Crumpet

Perhaps some of us expressed ourselves unsympathetically. But I am appalled both at her and my past self who credited God with answering a prayer for something so pathetic and never thinking about how many others were praying for really serious matters - life and death matters and not being answered at all.

Maybe it has to be put strongly sometimes in order to get the point home. As a JW I would never have thought about it - I was unable to. Now I am angry when someone hasnt given any thought to it - in naivete? innocence? brainwashed dubdom? but I can concede perhaps I could be a little more diplomatic.

LittleToe

Derek:

Perhaps the fact that I feel an urge to point such things out represents a flaw in my personality, but I think people can benefit by being more skeptical and understanding the nature of reality rather than immediately looking for a supernatural and highly implausible explanation for mundane events.

If I might be so bold as to suggest, lets look at the ethics of this one for a moment.

What changes your behaviour to the situation when faced with such a comment from your boss or from an anonymous online poster?

aquagirl

Annie,Im so glad that you got yer purse and all back.Ive had similar things happen to me,but Joey Ramone is looking out for me..He helped me find a ring that i was sure was lost last winter.It was in between the couch cushions.Also he made sure I wasnt home when my house burned down a few years ago...Jehovah or Joey Ramone,its all good.....Im happy for ya....

Crumpet

What changes your behaviour to the situation when faced with such a comment from your boss or from an anonymous online poster?

Whilst we wait for Derek's response can i say mine wouldnt change one iota. I'm not going to lie to protect my bosses feelings or cushion him from reality anymore than I would Annie's.

AuldSoul

funkyderek: It may be a common conceit but it's no less ridiculous for being so.

If even 25% of the world believed in the protective nature of invisible elves persons who believe thusly should be accorded respect for their belief. But that is not the case with this poster. Her belief is not a fringe belief. It is not a silly notion, by virtue of the very commonality you admit. It is much less ridiculous simply by reason of the fact that it is a common perception.

Your perception is actually held by less than 25% of the world, not that 25% is a standard that must be met in order to accord respect. Since your perception is held by a much smaller number of people in the world than is the perception held by her, should we ridicule your perception or treat it with respect?

Your often stated assessment of the "right to ridicule" is flawed in that it does not allow for the capacity of humans to change their minds and ignores the conditions under which that is most likely to occur.

Respectfully,
AuldSoul

LittleToe

So when your boss comes in the door looking flushed and says "Thank God everyone's safe, I heard there was a bomb alert!", you'll interrupt and state something akin to your being perfectly safe, protected by invisible pink unicorns??

Crumpet

So when your boss comes in the door looking flushed and says "Thank God everyone's safe, I heard there was a bomb alert!", you'll interrupt and state something akin to your being perfectly safe, protected by invisible pink unicorns??

The day that my boss looks happy to see me there will be dancing in the street!

Thank you Jehovah for answered prayers

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