Tag: religion

imo “you’re in my thoughts” isn’t equivalent to “you’re in my prayers”. The former is demonstrating that even if they aren’t or can’t do something, they care enough to sympathize and think about you. The latter is that as well as an actual attempt to fix things. Both are nice, but different meanings. A better equivalent would be “sending positive vibes your way” and its variants, (I know some atheists would hate that as well but the whole point is you can’t do anything else so you use magic)

manyblinkinglights:

the-real-seebs:

I am not entirely sure that the distinction is really there, because I don’t think most people who pray are particularly expecting an obvious change in the world to result.

Wait, they’re not?

I totally thought that those who pray do in actual fact expect their prayers to be eventually rerouted to the recipient in some beneficial form. Like……….

I dunno, you just made it sound that “most people who pray” don’t…believe…in the power of prayer….??????

Could you explain what you meant by what you said a little more clearly? Because it sort of sounds like you’re saying “most people who pray” are NOT praying religiously (with actual expectation of result, due to their belief in the boots-on-the-ground motive power of their religion) but just sort of performing some kind of meditative, entirely-expected-to-remain-local thought-exercise.

Unless prayers are intended for the recipient’s eternal soul (that the recipient might stay strong and appropriately defended where it really counts in the face of adversity)?????? Like, THAT I could understand, that would be something you could pray about and believe in the ultimate utility of without expecting a change in the material world to result.

I’M SORRY I’M JUST DEEPLY CONFUSED AND ACTUALLY SORT OF UPSET for some reason, since I thought I understood something about religion (that people who pray do so in the spirit of lending a shoulder to a stuck cart, really truly honestly believing that their little bit of channeled strength is helping) and this post sort of knocked a load-bearing strut right out from under me.

Like, I’m aware that everybody’s specific beliefs are gonna be intensely personal, but what’s getting me is your “most.” How can most people who pray be doing so hopelessly, helplessly??? not believing in the power of it??? wh???

this probably doesnt count because i was a child at the time but when i was young and still christian i WOULD pray expecting results.

i remember praying for more time on my homework because i hadn’t finished it and when my teacher didn’t collect it the next day i went ‘it must be because i prayed!’

again i was a child at this time but i was brought up to believe that praying would have a result. 

Fill this in with stuff about you

jumpingjacktrash:

rainbowpui:

jumpingjacktrash:

othercat2:

jumpingjacktrash:

Age: 41
Where I’m from: northfield, minnesota — little hippie college town an hour south of minneapolis
Where I would like to live: i love it here, but i wouldn’t mind a cabin on lake superior as a writing retreat…
Favorite food: whatever recipe i have most recently mastered
Religion: quaker (yes that’s a type of christian, no it’s not amish)
Sexual orientation: like 95% gay but there is something about crazy smart science ladies that gives me confuseboners
Single/taken: seebs 5ever <3<br /> Eye color: penicillin mold
Favorite movie: don’t ask me to pick just one, but i watch all the avengers-verse movies at least 3 times
Favorite TV show: smart crime shows — sherlock, bones, numb3rs, etc
Favorite band/singer: half electronica (daft punk, skrillex, deadmau5), half classic blues (robert johnson, bessie smith, blind lemon jefferson)
Random fact about me: in high school i was a nerd AND a jock and somehow no one seemed to have a problem with it
Favorite day of the year: 4th of july — i’m not super patriotic, i just love picnics and explosions
Favorite color: sage green
Pets: three cats — fluffy butt, bitty butt, and bowling ball butt (aka hermes, misty, and molly) — and a crayfish named crabdad, and a pleco named hoover, and an ever-changing number of guppies, all of which are named Driver 8.
What I’m listening to right now: deadmau5, ‘october’
What’s my ringtone: one of the defaults, i think it’s called ‘detective movie’ or sth, it’s just an orchestra stab kinda thing, that’s boring, but my alarm is ‘mr hurricane’ by beast which results in me shaking my fat ass around the bedroom in my boxers nearly every morning

True story! I had a friend who kept confusing “Quaker” with “Shaker.” She would not believe me when I told her that Quakers were still around. Mostly because I was pagan. This is one of the contributing factors for why I am not friends with her anymore. (Because she never believed a word I said about anything.  SIGH.)

heh, a lot of people hear ‘quaker’ and think of various anachronistic sects. nah, quakers are the anti-war, anti-poverty, pro-equality ones, not the buggy-and-bonnet ones. 😀

i remember learning about the Quakers in school and thinking that they were like the cutest thing ever. The way i was taught is that they were basically supper kind and gentle and wanted everyone to be happy. it was like the hugs and puppies religion. 

Also weren’t they originally know as like the society of friends????

adorable.

we are a bunch of soppy granola hippies and we are cute as fuck. 😀

‘society of friends’ is the official name; ‘quaker’ is kind of a nickname. i think it comes from how meetings are mostly silent, anyone can speak if they feel moved to but mostly it’s just meditation, but when folks feel like they have a talking coming on they get kinda exited and jittery while they’re processing it? i’m mainly just guessing because i’m too lazy to switch windows and google it rn. ;>_>

anyway, i was raised presbyterian, went through an agnosticism-and-comparative-religions stage (which i heartily recommend to everyone before settling on a spiritual path), encountered a number of quakers (including seebs) who are just really awesome, thoughtful, hopeful, caring people, and sorta went, “i am not that kind of person, but i want to be. hey God, can you maybe help me out with that?” and that is the path i’m on now.

the way much teacher explained it is that the Quakers got so into their prayers that they would like shiver a little? which i don’t know if that’s accurate but it is a really cute mental picture

the way i see religion is that i try to keep an open mind. Having parents who tried to shove it on me and told me that “the gays are wrong because jesus” kind of turned me off of Christianity, even though i know not everyone is like that. Im old enough to realize most people just practice the religion that they do because they happened to be born into it, and the chances of any one region that i chose being “right” and the others “wrong” is pretty unlikely 😡

but i think as long as what you believe encourages you to be a kinder, more generous, loving person or other positive lessons than it doesn’t really matter if its “right” or not in the end.

oops i started talking about religious views on the internet fingers crossed everything stays quiet.