I have a question: When you don't pray, and you see threads with something bad happening to the original poster and/or people he knows and the OP asks if people could pray for him, how do you respond? Thanks for answering!
I would say something along the lines of "best wishes to you and your family" or "i hope that XYZ is fixed soon!"
Quote:I have alot of non-believer send me positive vibes, good thoughts. A side note; I don't care for the term "non-believer" (speaking for myself that is) because the definition of a non believer is: "...a person who lacks belief or faith, as in God, a religion, an idea, or an undertaking. ..." and the listed synonyms for 'non-believer' is "...doubter, skeptic, questioner, cynic. ...", none of which applies to me. Some people tend to think if we aren't judeo-christian we must be non believers, when in fact I do have my own personal beliefs and religious views. It's hard to describe, but according to my beliefs, I don't think others who believe in God are wrong (which would be to NOT BELIEVE them), I think we actually could all be right in our own individual beliefs. Basically, I am a believer, just in different things, if that makes sense. I am Buddhist, so I am very much a believer... in Buddhism. Just don't worship the God that others do. Not that anyone asked me, ha ha, I just thought I would share that perspective. But to answer your question PK, I typically respond that I will be meditating for them (which for me, is putting my thoughts and positive energy out into the universe as opposed to asking God for anything) or I simply say I will be sending good thoughts their way, or that I am thinking of them. When it comes down to it, I think (hope) that people are comforted either way, whether we are praying or just sending out good energy. Both, I believe, are very powerful.
I think it's a question that shows a severe prejudice against people of beliefs other than one's own. It is a horrible thing to blame someone for someone else's misfortune simply because they don't have the same beliefs and habits you do. What a terrible cruel thing to say. I find the question incredibly offensive. When someone is ill or has trouble in their life, I say, 'I am so sorry to hear that, I hope it is over soon'. And I wish them the best. I do NOT pick on people who don't pray or wish a person well. That is their choice and not mine to judge; aside from that, criticizing them involves an assumption about WHY they are doing what they are doing, and no person is capable of mind reading. They may be too worried about problems of their own, or they may be confused about what they should say. They may be afraid to say the wrong thing. They may have had a conflict with the person in the past and think any kind words will be responded to in anger. Or MAYBE - just MAYBE - when they do wish a person well or pray for them, they don't like to make a public spectacle of themselves, and they would rather pray for someone privately. Maybe they don't want the person to feel obligated to them, or embarrassed. Maybe it is just their way to be quiet about such things. I know a number of people who would be MORTIFIED to say out loud, 'I'll pray for you'. To them, that is 'prideful' and very, very wrong - pridefulness is one of the worst sins - it is defying God's will. It really, really is wrong to judge people for their faith or their habits. That just isn't anyone's job. It isn't something God or Jesus or even our local minister or pastor or priest would encourage us to do. You never know WHY people do things. To assume you know is 'magical thinking' and it is a very, very dangerous and slippery slope to start on. A person is far, far more happy if they do NOT think they have the power to read minds and know a person's reasons for doing something. IF they try to pretend they know why, they are pretty much guaranteed to be wrong 100% of the time. When I have a worry or illness, I accept all good wishes, and every single kind of prayer, regardless of the religion or belief of the person, as well as every good wish and kind word, graciously. Any kind word is fine for me. I have friends of almost every religion in the world. I have atheist friends, agnostic friends, confused friends, non-Christian friends, Christian friends of every denomination. I love all of them equally, I appreciate all of their well wishes, and I believe that God loves all of them as well.
Quote:I am confused. Whose post are you referring to? I think PK is just asking what a courteous response would be if someone asks for prayers and you want to help but don't pray, based on her beliefs, or lack of.
Quote:I really think you are misinterpreting the intent of the OP. I see nothing rude about her question. What she is asking is how to support someone who has had misfortune in a manner other than prayer.
Quote:But you said "It's a horrible thing to blame someone for someone else's misfortune..." etc. I'm not sure where you are getting that. She didn't say she was blaming anyone. She's just not religious and isn't sure of the polite response when someone requests prayers. I think it's just an innocent etiquette question.
