Thread: Who do you "pray" to?

Originally Posted by majurey

I don't pray, ever. I'd rather use the time and effort to act on whatever is the issue. And this isn't because I'm agnostic either. I've always liked the old adage 'God helps those who help themselves'. I guess I just prefer to DO rather than pray.

Looking at the poll results, I'm impressed at how multi-faith some of you guys are!

Who says one excludes the other? Can't you multitask man?

Not a religious person, but have to admit that it always surprise me how high is usually the percentage of religious forum users in the USA, as is not that high in the Spanish forums I visit....just a thought.

Originally Posted by AussiePostie

Nothing really, but if I was to make a choice it would be Budha, I think Buhdism would be about one of the only religions whose followers don,t kill people in the name of it,s leader, come to think of it I don,t think they kill any thing do they. Maybe there are some Buhdists out there who could enlighten me on this?

I'm a Buddhist and I pray to a local deity called Jetukarmramatep. He is a god who is supposed to guard the gates of hell. He has the power to grant wishes and give good luck. But on the down side he can also give you bad luck if you p!ss him off.
The reason for this is that the Buddha taught that the way to nirvana was through the practice of Buddhism, meditation and studying the Darma (the rules of Buddhism) He also taught that wishing to any god wouldn't get you to nirvana, but couldn't hurt.
That is why I figure it is ok to indulge in the particularly Thai superstition of Jetukarmramatep.


This is a representation of him on a medelian simalar to one that I like to wear.

Originally Posted by AussiePostie

Nothing really, but if I was to make a choice it would be Budha, I think Buhdism would be about one of the only religions whose followers don,t kill people in the name of it,s leader, come to think of it I don,t think they kill any thing do they. Maybe there are some Buhdists out there who could enlighten me on this?

Other "non-killers" or pacifists would be the Brethren, Amish, Mennonites, Hutterites and Quakers. All Christian groups for the most part but not all Quakers believe Christ is our savior.

My wife and I are Brethren.

Tony

I've thanked a lot of people i nthis thread, because I've learned a good deal. I have already been out on the net a few times reading up on things I have no or very little exposure to. Thank you all.

Totally agree with ENUF2 on this.

Originally Posted by ENUF2

To God the Father in the name of His only begotten Son Jesus (Christ is His Title not His name). I came to this point when I was 31 after reading, studying, and generally just trying to make sense of things. There was a man by the name of Simon Greenleaf who through the use of forensic evidence stated that Jesus had to be exactly who he said he was not in spite of but because of the evidence. Professor Greenleaf (Harvard law school) is known as the father of modern forensic evidence.

There is another man named Anthony Flew who for 40 years wrote books on evolution and atheism who has now denied that faith and now believes in intelligent design. There are many scientists and scholars who are leaving the faith of evolution due to new evidences and studies but that's a subject for a lecture hall or church service. The truth is people believe or don't believe based on personal feelings instead of facts more times than not.

Originally Posted by Tony Miller

Other "non-killers" or pacifists would be the Brethren, Amish, Mennonites, Hutterites and Quakers.

Tony

You have to remember that just because a religion says you should not kill does not mean the followers do not kill. There are quite a few Buddhists who kill. Thai jails are full of them. There are also a huge gang of them here who like to pretend to be police and extort bribes from people.

Originally Posted by LX_Emergency

Who says one excludes the other? Can't you multitask man?

OK, you got me there!

I occasionally pray to the All Father, Odinn, and Freya as I farm and hunt.

As a Deist, one who believes God created the universe, but does not meddle in the lives of men, I send prayers of thanks. I do not believe in intercessory prayer, nor do I believe in the Christian triune God. I do believe in good and evil, but that we have free will to choose.