Power (?) of Prayer
By Ken ~
On Jun 13, 2011 a woman that I deeply adore was struck down by one of the cruelest afflictions ever.
My Mom, 68 years old, suffered a massive stroke on the left side of her brain. This caused her to lose her speech, some memory, and the use of the right side of her body. I was called by my dad about an hour after the incident which occurred around 8:00 am. I found out later in the week that he had called several people from the "church" before he called his own son. This was the start of many slaps in the face throughout the week.
My parents are what I term "uber-Christian" while I, obviously, am not. I do not agree with the faith they raised me in and am now an atheist. My Mom has always been a good woman and tolerated me as a child and many deeds done by my dad that a lesser woman would have walked away.
While my mom is still alive she will probably never recover 100%. She will be lucky to walk, talk, or even sit up on her own. In my eyes, this is her "reward" for being a good Christian woman.
My dad has paraded church people in and out of the hospital room to pray for her. I have seen very "godly" people who firmly believe that whatever they ask in Jesus name it will be answered. Well, my mom is still lying on her back unable to speak or even move.
I am not trying to blame god or even express hatred. Hard to do that when you don't believe in it. I just think it is a slap in the face to be kicked out of my Mom's room so some bible toting idiot can come in and utter words that have no effect on her whatsoever. It's a slap in the face when I am told I need to be quiet so as not to over stimulate her but church people are allowed to come in three at a time and sing songs glorifying the very god that allowed this to happen to her. It is a slap in the face that this man does not allow her children to visit with her for more than five minutes but allows the church people to stay in there for 20-30 minutes.
Yes, part of me is very upset at him for allowing the church people even though I understand this is his way of coping.
My point is this, I have witnessed very "powerful godly" people in the past week say their prayers to a god that does not exist. I have seen the failure, again, of a faith that does not reward it's followers for anything. This incident, and others, are not my main reason for leaving the Christian faith years ago but they are damn sure affirming it.
My Mom, 68 years old, suffered a massive stroke on the left side of her brain. This caused her to lose her speech, some memory, and the use of the right side of her body. I was called by my dad about an hour after the incident which occurred around 8:00 am. I found out later in the week that he had called several people from the "church" before he called his own son. This was the start of many slaps in the face throughout the week.
My parents are what I term "uber-Christian" while I, obviously, am not. I do not agree with the faith they raised me in and am now an atheist. My Mom has always been a good woman and tolerated me as a child and many deeds done by my dad that a lesser woman would have walked away.
While my mom is still alive she will probably never recover 100%. She will be lucky to walk, talk, or even sit up on her own. In my eyes, this is her "reward" for being a good Christian woman.
My dad has paraded church people in and out of the hospital room to pray for her. I have seen very "godly" people who firmly believe that whatever they ask in Jesus name it will be answered. Well, my mom is still lying on her back unable to speak or even move.
I am not trying to blame god or even express hatred. Hard to do that when you don't believe in it. I just think it is a slap in the face to be kicked out of my Mom's room so some bible toting idiot can come in and utter words that have no effect on her whatsoever. It's a slap in the face when I am told I need to be quiet so as not to over stimulate her but church people are allowed to come in three at a time and sing songs glorifying the very god that allowed this to happen to her. It is a slap in the face that this man does not allow her children to visit with her for more than five minutes but allows the church people to stay in there for 20-30 minutes.
Yes, part of me is very upset at him for allowing the church people even though I understand this is his way of coping.
My point is this, I have witnessed very "powerful godly" people in the past week say their prayers to a god that does not exist. I have seen the failure, again, of a faith that does not reward it's followers for anything. This incident, and others, are not my main reason for leaving the Christian faith years ago but they are damn sure affirming it.