Sorry to abandon the site — I’ve been beset by the worst influenza strain I’ve seen since the winter of ’83. Doing better now though. I’ve tried to make it up to you by including a poll in the right sidebar.
And then this week, my mailbox coughed up a bookmark.
Dear Neighbour
This year, the members of St Luke’s Anglican Church in Maylands are praying for the welfare of our neighbourhood. This week, we have chosen the people in your street.
Please contact us with any special needs you may have.
The St Luke’s Community
Dammit, people! Cut it out! My life has sucked since you started praying for me! Don’t you know that prayer can actually increase post-operative complications? Are you trying to give me secondary pneumonia?
It’s very sweet that you’re offering to help with my ‘special needs’ (ahem), but I’m already using the Magical Wishing Ferret plus the Secret, so really I’m doing fine. Also a very kind GP is taking care of me, and I have evidence that she actually exists, kthxbai.
30 September 2007 at 9:39 am
Hey Daniel,
Sorry to hear that you’ve been sick! Get better soon!
>>< <
Dear Stupid heads at St Luke’s Anglican Church,
you are stupid heads.
regards,
Daniel
>>< <
*Cough*
Well, actually, it would be a compliment if it wasn’t so offensive. A group of people who think they are helping by praying for you, do so. But when they are praying for a neighbourhood one street at a time I get the feeling of a sense of obligation on their part. Hmm seems cultish, or is that just religious? But there would surely be at least one member of their church which genuinely believes that they are doing good through praying and so… yeah.
One bad apple spoils the bunch… sure. But what about one good apple in a bunch of bad ones? Well, that one gets chucked out with the rest of them.
30 September 2007 at 11:11 am
Sorry to hear you’ve been ill – flu is such a horrible virus, so debilitating 🙁
Drink lots of water and get plenty of vitamin C down you! (That should ward off prayer)
30 September 2007 at 1:19 pm
Oh dear! I hope you make a speedy recovery. Linguistics lectures just won’t be the same if you’re too sick to talk.
I think you’re being a bit harsh on the St. Luke-ians. They’re only trying to help! They may be a bit misguided, but they’re well-intentioned, no doubt.
Unless they’ve read that study, and they really are trying to give you post-operative complications…
30 September 2007 at 2:09 pm
Like I say, it is sort of nice of them to offer to help in non-prayer ways. I bet if I showed up with the bookmark and asked for some kind of help, they’d try.
But it is silly to pray for people street by street in hope that something good will happen to them, and I think I can smell a marketing job, although that could be the old Mormon background talking.
I am, however, thankful to all of you for all your good wishes. Much better than prayers.
30 September 2007 at 2:27 pm
Ah, yes, don’t know why I didn’t think of that. They’re recruiting! Makes sense.
If something good happens and you attribute it to their prayers then you might join them.
If there is one thing I despise, it is church politics
30 September 2007 at 3:05 pm
The advertising/recruiting aspect did occur to me, but I didn’t think of it as “well, I got better, maybe I’ll go check out that religion thing after all”. I pictured it more as reaching out to people lacking in social support who need people to care about them and a place to fit in. Which I think could in fact help some people with their “special needs”, even if intercessory prayer didn’t.
But even if they are just recruiting, they’re doing it to save your soul!
Oh, felicity, about your comment “Hmm seems cultish, or is that just religious?”. I wonder, is there really much of a difference other than membership numbers?
30 September 2007 at 8:55 pm
Stephanie – isn’t that just preying on the vulnerable? 😉
Daniel – this might make you feel better:
http://blogs.guardian.co.uk/science/2007/09/creationism_in_the_classroom.html?
1 October 2007 at 2:58 am
I’d say that the difference between a religion and a cult is that in a cult they tell you if you leave that you are:
1) Going to hell!
2) No longer under their protection and will be attacked by evil things and evil people!
3)Exluded.
I know what some people will say to that, well religions do that! But, I’ve had experience with both and a really BIG important difference between them is that a lot of cults are exclusive, the people are rarely allowed to mix with people outside the cult unless recruiting but even than they usually recruit from with in close friends and family. Hell, they don’t let them talk to family members who don’t join!!
Haha, ‘Preying on the vulnerable’ that made me laugh.. hehe. nice play on words there.
1 October 2007 at 9:03 am
Hang on there Daniel,
How can you say that prayer has no power and at the same time say that it has power, even if that power is negative.
Can’t have it both ways.
1 October 2007 at 1:30 pm
Check the irony meter — you probably guessed I was kidding. But I do like the idea of saying to a believer, “You know, at least one study showed significant harm through prayer.” No, I don’t think there’s really any harm in prayer. That would be just as miraculous as if it worked.
I’m going to address the cult question in the next post.