Different in degree or kind; language (Introduction)

by Balance_Maintained , U.S.A., Saturday, December 27, 2014, 07:58 (3620 days ago) @ David Turell

dhw: The same applies if we pray for others (I deliberately chose the example of a sick child and not one of self-aggrandisement). God's will, or chance? Either way, your response suggests that apart from pleasing God by telling him how wonderful he is, prayer as a means of communicating with God is a futile activity.
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> A number of years ago I brought to this forum a number of double-blind prayer studies which seemed to show that group prayer did positively affect medical outcomes for the sick. Then came several studies which pointed out weaknesses in the first studies. The whole effort ended up in the 'suggestive' category where I think it still sits.-
When you were a kid, and you asked your parent for something, did you get what you wanted ever time you asked? Of those times you didn't, was every one of them a case of your parent not wanting to give what you asked for, or were there generally reasons beyond your understanding (at the time)? Some prayers get answered, the way we want, some don't. Most often, for me at least, they have been answered in far better ways than I could have ever imagined.-As has become fairly typical, at the end of the day you have resorted to the old trope of "what about the children?" to try and disprove god, as if it would be some kind of merciful kindness to prolong someones life if that life would have been filled with pain, misery, and suffering for both them and those they loved, or as if whats in store here and now is so much better than what is in store later. -Now, please don't get me wrong. I love life, and I love my family, and I certainly would not want to see any harm befall any of them. Yet, that is part of what faith is about. If you Follow the historical facts, follow the fulfilled prophecies (promises), and see that everything else that he has said has come true, you trust that the other things he said will also come true.

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What is the purpose of living? How about, 'to reduce needless suffering. It seems to me to be a worthy purpose.