The relatively useless theory of answered prayer.
I'm often amused at humans who claim to know the doings of God. They claim that situations are the result of the answer to prayer as if they had some spectator seat to behold the divine in action. The problem is that any claim of God doing anything is merely a theory... and not a very useful theory at that.
Theories are stories or descriptions of unobservable happenings that help us to understand the observable. The problem with religious, divine, or parapsychic explanations is that they are completely irreproducible, unverifiable, and therefore they are of little use except as a lullaby or poem to make the listener feel better.
At AA meetings, I am told that God has helped certain members stay sober. That is their theory. I do not believe it. I listen at AA meetings with an important filter. I distinguish (1) narrative description and observation from (2) the theoretical explanations purporting to explain the observations.
I understand that people have prayed and have received serenity afterwards. I understand that people have prayed and enjoyed happy accidents afterwards. The problem with the Western monotheistic mind is that it searches for happy accidents only. Unhappy accidents are absolutely ignored.
What about the people that have prayed for peace and ended up blowing their brains out? What about the bad things that happen to good people? What about all the people that come to AA but don't get sober?
I am not qualified to explain the molecular mechanisms of my own soul. I can only guess at the workings of my own mind. What arrogance to assume an understanding of the reasoning and motivation of Deity.
Stick with your story. Do not pretend to understand why.
Oh, and by the way...
I have no problem with lullabies and poems that make the listener feel better.
Theories are stories or descriptions of unobservable happenings that help us to understand the observable. The problem with religious, divine, or parapsychic explanations is that they are completely irreproducible, unverifiable, and therefore they are of little use except as a lullaby or poem to make the listener feel better.
At AA meetings, I am told that God has helped certain members stay sober. That is their theory. I do not believe it. I listen at AA meetings with an important filter. I distinguish (1) narrative description and observation from (2) the theoretical explanations purporting to explain the observations.
I understand that people have prayed and have received serenity afterwards. I understand that people have prayed and enjoyed happy accidents afterwards. The problem with the Western monotheistic mind is that it searches for happy accidents only. Unhappy accidents are absolutely ignored.
What about the people that have prayed for peace and ended up blowing their brains out? What about the bad things that happen to good people? What about all the people that come to AA but don't get sober?
I am not qualified to explain the molecular mechanisms of my own soul. I can only guess at the workings of my own mind. What arrogance to assume an understanding of the reasoning and motivation of Deity.
Stick with your story. Do not pretend to understand why.
Oh, and by the way...
I have no problem with lullabies and poems that make the listener feel better.
posted by Troy Spears at 1:28 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home