Please pray for this family....

Originally posted by galveston75
http://www.kptv.com/story/19838032/gresham-woman-missing-police-consider-it-suspicious

My son knows this family and is obviously upset and my daughter and her family lives within two miles of their apartment.
Thanks....

I am sorry to hear of her disappearance. I can only imagine what it would be like to have someone close to me disappear without any explanation. Hopefully, she will be found, and unharmed.

Originally posted by Suzianne
To crap all over someone else's honest appeal for a little human compassion is what's in poor taste. Very poor taste.

He's just drawing his attention to himself. He has "proof" that he can help Whitney Heichel?? Good grief. Please. Such poor taste, to exploit this tragedy to make claims about himself.

Originally posted by Dasa
Are persons in this forum so bent on finding fault where there is no fault........ that they will say just about anything regardless on how foolish they will become.

I don't know, why don't you tell us? You do it all the time.

Originally posted by galveston75
It would kill me if this happened to my children and even though I personally don't know this family, it's keeping me up at night with distress.

It would also kill me if this happened to my children. But this thread is not about me, nor is it about Whitney Heichel; it's about you, and the claims you seem to be making about the power of your prayer.

Originally posted by Suzianne
To crap all over someone else's honest appeal for a little human compassion is what's in poor taste. Very poor taste.

If it was an appeal for compassion why did it ask for people to pray?

Particularly given that the majority of people on this forum will either not believe in any
deity or will believe in a different one from the one galveston75 believes in.

If you want compassion then you should ask for that.

Prayer is not the same thing.

Originally posted by Suzianne
You're probably exactly spot on with this statement.

If I was God, I wouldn't listen to you either.

Which is a dangerous illusion because it might stop me from actually doing something that might help.

Right. Like that would actually happen. You can do nothing all you like. Blaming prayer for your inaction is pretty lame.

do you think god could be persuaded to alter a persons fate based on prayer?

Originally posted by FMF
He's just drawing his attention to himself. He has "proof" that he can help Whitney Heichel?? Good grief. Please. Such poor taste, to exploit this tragedy to make claims about himself.

As are you. I don't think your difference of opinion with him is nearly as important as the story and his appeal for a simple prayer. But you have to draw just as much attention to yourself in pointing out that he's drawing attention to himself.

Maybe next time you could just accede to his request, or not. Your jumping up and down pointing at him is in just as much poor taste, if not more. And he actually said no such thing. What he actually said is that he has proof that prayers do work. So what is SO 'exploiting' about that? I have proof prayers work, too. But you know, the issue here isn't you making a big deal about what he said. The issue is the story he presented. So who's being exploiting (as well as derailing)?

Originally posted by googlefudge
If it was an appeal for compassion why did it ask for people to pray?

Particularly given that the majority of people on this forum will either not believe in any
deity or will believe in a different one from the one galveston75 believes in.

If you want compassion then you should ask for that.

Prayer is not the same thing.

Prayer for someone else IS compassion.

Asking that people pray for someone else IS compassion.

What is NOT compassion is crapping all over his honest appeal, as I've already said.

If you don't want to participate, then don't. No one's making you participate.

Not everything has to be about you and your non-belief.

Originally posted by stellspalfie
do you think god could be persuaded to alter a persons fate based on prayer?

I do.

Originally posted by Suzianne
Your jumping up and down pointing at him is in just as much poor taste, if not more. And he actually said no such thing. What he actually said is that he has proof that prayers do work.

I'm not "jumping up and down", Suzianne. galveston75 claims that his prayers work. It is - in my book - poor taste for him to seize upon this tragedy to score some superstitious, self-aggrandizing religionist points.

Originally posted by FMF
Such poor taste, to exploit this tragedy [for galveston75] to make claims about himself.

Originally posted by Suzianne
As are you.

What claims am I making about my ability to help Whitney Heichel?

Originally posted by Suzianne
I do.

what makes god act upon one prayer and not another?

Originally posted by FMF
I'm not "jumping up and down", Suzianne. galveston75 claims that his prayers work. It is - in my book - poor taste for him to seize upon this tragedy to score some superstitious, self-aggrandizing religionist points.

your cynicism has no please here, you accused someone who was simply requesting a
prayer on behalf of another of self promoting. I am glad this came to light because it
thoroughly exposes the kind of distorted character you purport to be, your accusations
are vile.

Originally posted by Suzianne
As are you. I don't think your difference of opinion with him is nearly as important as the story and his appeal for a simple prayer. But you have to draw just as much attention to yourself in pointing out that he's drawing attention to himself.

Maybe next time you could just accede to his request, or not. Your jumping up and down pointing at him is i ...[text shortened]... . The issue is the story he presented. So who's being exploiting (as well as derailing)?

Fantastic.

You can present your proof that prayers work and win 1 million USD from JREF and a
Nobel prize and prove your gods existence...


Oh no wait, you can't do that can you.

Prayers work in the same way that magic spells work.

If I say "I want to find my keys abracadabra" and then find my keys it doesn't mean
that magic has taken place.

Nobody has EVER presented evidence that prayer works better than blind luck/placebo effect.

And collectively the medical studies on prayer for patients are statistically inconclusive,
what results they do get have actually shown that people who know they are being prayed for
actually tend to do worse than the control group.

What does help people is medicine, and people actually doing stuff.

This is why life expectancy has improved in recent times with the massive strides in scientific
medicine and didn't for the thousands of years before where people had no scientific medicine
and just prayed for people to get better.

If prayer worked, please explain why thousands of years of highly religious people praying for those
they loved not to die young they still did, and now that we have modern medicine so many people
are now saved.


Asking people to pray for something, particularly people who don't share your beliefs is being passive
aggressive.

If you do 'pray' just to go along your being hypocritical. If you point his out your being an evil mean
atheist who has no compassion. Pointing this out is not attention seeking.
This is a forum for debating issues just like this, this is what you should expect to happen.

If you want lots of people to just agree and say they'll pray for you (or whoever) then post this
on a Christian forum.

Here the subject will (and should be) debated.

Originally posted by FMF
It would also kill me if this happened to my children. But this thread is not about me, nor is it about Whitney Heichel; it's about you, and the claims you seem to be making about the power of your prayer.

I normally try to hold my tongue here with you but not under this situation. You are a complete fool if you seriously think this is about me. How stupid of a man are you? I never once said my prayers have any power or will bring her back you idiot. Get over yourself and if you don't care to add anything upbuilding to this thread get the heck out............
But then I really didn't expect anything less from you once I saw you stuck your head in here.