Some theists always pray and believe it works. The argument of petitionary prayer tries to prove the point that it is pointless to pray, because it will not influence God’s decision anyway. Personally, I think the argument of petitionary prayer appears more convincing to me, so this paper would mainly about some responses to the objections to petitionary prayer arguments. Specifically, one is the parody and one is the institutional challenge. First, I would present the exact argument as demonstrated in Howard-Snyder’s paper(Howard-Snyder, Daniel; Howard-Snyder, Frances 2010) , which is as follows:
1. Either doing something is the best God can do or it is not.
2. If it is the best God can do, then your asking won’t make any difference to whether he does it.
3. If it is not the best God can do, then your asking won’t make any difference to whether he does it.
4. So, your asking won’t make any difference to whether God does it.
This argument needs some assumptions to be built. First, we need to assume that God must do the best he can. Second, we need to assume that petition to God makes no difference to what he does. Another crucial assumption(CA) Howar-Snyder mentioned is that “God’s bringing about a state of affairs in response to a petition cannot be better than the
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The institution of petitionary prayer is some rules set by God that he will sometimes bring about something if and only if we ask.(Howard-Snyder, Daniel; Howard-Snyder, Frances 2010) The institution of petitionary prayer is valuable because (1)it is better for people to be responsible for their own welfare and others welfare than not, and (2)it promotes the relation between God and human.(Kenneth Boyce 2016). One objection mentioned in Howard-Snyder’s paper is the foreseeability objection, which I will not extend in this paper today. What I would suggest is another response to this
In chapter nine, C.S. Lewis expands on the notion of God’s desire for perfection. He states that some people believe that God expects nothing short of perfection from his children and, therefore, finds us hopeless. However, draws attention to the fact that this is not the truth. He explains that God’s desire for excellence is not meant to scare us, but rather act as a comforting message. God will love and work with us until we have achieved perfection. Lewis then goes on and recounts a time in his childhood when he suffered from toothaches. He expressed that in spite of the knowledge that his mother would provide him with pain killers, he would not ask her for her help until he was in excruciating pain, because his mother would inevitably take him to the dentist the next morning. “I could not get what I wanted from her unless I got something more, which I did not want” (Lewis 201). In the same way that his mother did not leave well enough alone, God does not either. God grants us a full treatment when we come to him with our problems. Lewis’ quote reminded me of the apostles. In
Therefore, either petitionary prayer is pointless since it asks for what God is going to carry out anyway, or it is pointless because it asks for God to carry out something he would never do.
A. We both enjoy helping others answer questions they may have about Jesus or salvation.
much. Many may question God and say he makes mistakes. People must believe that God does
P4: If God is perfectly good and omnipotent, he will use his unlimited power to do and create only good.
Maybe you think like that. If you do, I want to show you that such a prayer is not the self-centered act it might appear, but a supremely spiritual one and exactly the k...
Joseph, Celucien. “The Rhetoric of Prayer: Dutty Boukman, the Discourse of “Freedom from Below,” and the Politics of God”(2011). Journal of Race, Ethnicity, and Religion. Vol.2 Issue 9 June 2011.
a. People in accidents, people with cancer, people having surgery and women having babies are saved
but may not all be answered in the way we would like, praying can be
In the Milk Jug video the author claims that prayer has no power, as prayers that do get answered are just coincidence. However, there are some major flaws with his claims like using science to explain why prayer has no power when God is beyond science to begin with Also, a lot of the author’s examples included prayers that were selfish, sinful, and even prayers with no faith nor belief in their prayers, God will only answer the humble and will only answer prayers that will bring His children closer to Him. Lastly, God does everything His way and not anyone else’s.
Personally, I think this argument against petitionary prayer appears more convincing to me, so this paper would mainly about some responses to the objections to the petitionary prayer arguments. Specifically, the objection I am focusing on is called the institutional challenge.
give us an insight into the opinion or feelings of God so it is not as
First, an effectual prayer must be prayed in faith. “But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord.”(James 1: 6-7) Jesus said, “Whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them.” (Mark 11: 24)
When you deal with God, it is always preferable to ask him more questions. When you need spiritual guidance from the Holy Spirit, more is better than less. If you must be a fool, it is nice to be a fool for the sake of God. When we ask Him more questions, this is a sign that we depend on Him for everything. The Lord would not disappoint us when we ask Him more questions. He will always give us the correct guidance. Our God is a good God and He wants to prosper us in every way
People all over the world have different religions that believe in there is an almighty being. This means that they believe and worship the almighty being. However, there are people who have questioned whether such a being exists. The question has raised several arguments from different philosophers. Each of them came up with their different views about the controversy surrounding the question. God’s ‘existence’ is one of the widely discussed topics over the years. The question came to place due to some occurrences in society. Similarly, different scientific innovations have contributed to the continued debate on the question. God is believed to be ‘all-powerful’ because there is nothing that he cannot do. This means that he is able to perform anything that is beyond human capability. Such beliefs have raised several questions because they are not in line with science or logic in different ways. God’s existence contradicts with humanity, logic, and science.