> Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.
I find this bit in particular pretty humorous because it makes it sound like god's voicemail inbox is overflowing and he doesn't have time for your shit.
So in that respect, a Christian's relationship with God ought to me markedly different from how many other religions relate to the gods they worship.
This comment makes me think you've never had a toddler, much less a teen.
Tell that to Job. Whose "Father" tortured him to win a bet.
And yet that's not how the bible is taught at a vast majority of churches. "The bible is the word of God. Jesus changed his relationship with us, which is why his behavior is different between the old and new Testament. End of discussion."
I still recall the lecture I got when I once questioned whether Genesis was an allegory for the creation of the universe over billions of years. "No, it was 7 days, exactly as the bible says."
The evidence is plentiful too: look at how the individual churches have taken Pope Benedict's tolerance of previously taboo individuals (homosexuals, for example). Something else I get to hear about at holiday parties.
Christians "who suffer according to God's will should entrust themselves to their faithful creator while continuing to do good." (from 1 Peter 4)
"Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer." (from Romans 8)
"Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning the shame, and sat down at the right hand of God" (from Hebrews 12)
So Job, like Jesus himself, serves as an example of a faithful son who endured suffering and after a short while was restored.
I'd like to believe it's a generally accepted truth that if you have the knowledge that something really, really bad's happening (by way of Job praying, the topic of this entire thread), the power to do something about it, and have been doing things about it before, and yet refuse because of a wager, YTA.
In such a situation, whether it's God or the world doing the torture is kinda splitting hairs.
“My point, once again, is not that those ancient people told literal stories and we are now smart enough to take them symbolically, but that they told them symbolically and we are now dumb enough to take them literally.”[0]
[0] https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/816617-my-point-once-again-...
There can be moments of personal intentions (both during vigils and prayers) but most of the time people offer them for health and well being of others. We are not supposed to really care much about earthly possessions as our hearts should belong to God first and our neighbors second (Matthew 22:36-40).
Ideal marketing is both puffing your product and dissing the competition. The old testament is really full of the latter...the new testament has less.
> > Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.
So why pray at all?
so that you learn what you need, too.
and, ultimately, to say "thanks".
(same question asked differently: "why meditate?" "why mindfulness?")
Seems like a strong assertion to make based on a short comment by someone who based their statement on having read the gospels and a good chunk of the Old Testament.
And what’s with the mention of hate? I don’t see any in the comment. And sure, there’s plenty of it in the Old Testament but the New Testament doesn’t even want you to hate the Romans.
Was the Apostle Thomas not a believer? Did he preach hate?
The beam might be in your eye, tekknik.
What’s with the “marketing” thing? Can that be taken as hateful or not?
I was responding in my comment to a previous comment which was correctly describing various parts of the old testament in which their god assails all those other gods, says that you have to worship him first, talks about his wrath and jealousy and the risks if you don’t stick him first. Not to mention the dissing of other tribes, and witches, and other undesirables. All that stuff is a pretty clear marketing message.
There are of course other messages as well, but the original commenter, and my response, referred to the marketing sections.
As for being religious: is there a constraint on who is allowed to read the texts and or interpret them? Are adherents of only certain religions permitted to read them?