So, Aretha Franklin was facing some serious surgery. Some people held a prayer vigil. The surgery went well. The vigil people believe it's because of their prayers.

Sure, because it couldn't be that the medical team was competent. No no, it had to be that God was begged into doing his magic.

Stuff like this makes my brain hurt.

Then wouldn't it also have been entirely dependent upon the skill God gave the surgical team, and the training they were "blessed" enough to receive in their education?

I'm with you Mutt, the illogic of this hurts my brain, and I'm sure it also makes puppies cry.

I mean, if He's that involved and all...

She probably had her stomach stapled.

Why else the secrecy about her mysterious ailment.

Chloe Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> She probably had her stomach stapled.
>
> Why else the secrecy about her mysterious
> ailment.


I was thinking the same thing.

rolled up in a "Pink Cadillac" stopped for minute to "Think" and then went in to the hospital room to get himself a little "R-E-S-P-E-C-T" Whatever the reason, I hope she's doing better.

The power of prayer is real! The only week I forgot to pray that the OSU Buckeyes would win is the week they lost to WI. See? That is proof that prayer works. It's so obvious.

She probably would have been ok even if no one prayed for her. But, you never know. It doesn't hurt to pray. If I were going have surgery I want my friends to pray.

I had surgery five years ago and the surgeon wanted to pray before going into the operating room. Before that he did the same procedure on my SIL and prayed etc. I was out of the hospital in a week but my SIL was hospitalized for six months and nearly died. Same dr. same prayer.

My SIL also had a priesthood blessing which I refused.

...yet people's unrighteousness or pact with the devil get the blame when things go wrong. Man, I'd like to be god, he gets it easy: all the accolades and zero responsibility.

I sometimes hang out on a sports board that has quite a few mormons. Some player was hurt and they started a prayer thread. I ignored it. So a week later, he was showing some improvement and they started a new thread saying this was a testament to the power of prayer. This is a SPORTS board, and religion is prohibited because these same dolts get their panties in a wad when someone disses their religion. So since the threads were alllowed to remain, I just couldn't help myself and posted as innocently as I could, Wow, where would we be without the miracle of modern medicine. I'm so happy to hear that he is recovering, and I hope he can return to football in the future.

I used the word miracle on purpose, thinking they could interpret it to mean the medicine was given to us by their god.

Oh my. Did I get bashed! I don't think I've even been thru a firestorm like that. Fine upstanding Christians. Uh huh. At least that finally got the thread deleted.

I can't imagine the hate I'd have gotten had I posted what I was really thinking.

Ah, the old post hoc ergo propter hoc fallacy, huh?

When 2 things happen close in time, one must have caused the other.

I get my daughter to pull my finger. I fart. She thinks pulling my finger caused me to fart, and keeps pulling it.

When you're two, farts are funny.

She's two. I'm in my 40's. We get along great, but I'm afraid she's going to outgrow me before long. : )

T-Bone

Over on another BB I frequent, a guy put out an urgent prayer request for his wife. There were scores of heartfelt responses. Unfortunately, she died after holding on for about a week.

While the expressions of support, sympathy and concern probably made the guy feel better and less helpless, the prayers evidently didn't move God. That's what sucks about the whole idea that we can somehow beg God to step in and change things. For every time it seems to work, there are more times it doesn't. Then people have to convince themselves that the unhappy consequence is somehow what God wanted and therefore it was for the best. It's just "shit happens" with a pretty bow on it.

Both sides pray and get a burning in their bosom that God is on their side.

Hello? It's like setting poor old God up to fail half the time. See he doesn't have it so easy.

Nobody gets it, I did not pray and OSU lost. This is PROOF that prayer works. Right? Right? My TBM wife says I'm wrong. NOOOOOOOO!

Well Mutt, stop using your brain, then. It seems to be hurting you.



For my part, thank God for the Church that made Aretha!:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N6N7EYgfvo8

Of course, there's always a corollary:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P1KZKZs-2YM

(More magical feeling than it is magical thinking.)