I'm Being Prayed For!

A pastor in Ohio has taken it upon himself to add me and a bunch of  "lost" godless heathens from Facebook to his prayer wall on his website. Why? Well, remember the rescue of the Chilean miners? My friend Mark made a poster and posted it on Facebook:



I commented on the picture and said I was going to share it with my friends, which I did on my HDC Facebook page. The pastor, Jeff Bobb, took it upon himself to have his congregation pray for us by name and asks that we be prayed for every day, to bring us before the throne.

I was added to the list the last week of October and I have to admit I've had my doubts lately about Christ. And I've had a terrible pain in my neck when I try to sleep. I think it's working! I think I'm cured of this horrible atheist affliction!

Oh wait, no. My doubts are about if there was an actual Jesus, and I think my pain when I sleep is due to my pillow. And I'm still a happy godless atheist, thank you very much.

So, once again prayer fails miserably. The pastor tried to engage Mark in a discussion, which Mark took him up on, but then never heard from Jeff Bobb again. So much for his earnest attempts to save us all.

One thing I have always wondered, do christians really get down on their knees and pray when they say they will? Or a better question is, what is the percent of people actually saying a prayer when they say they will. Because I'm sure even the best intentions don't always result in action.

Here are a couple of quotes from Jeff Bobb's letter to Mark:

"I do not write to argue with you or even "convert" you."

"The poster as you might expect hurt me but not for the reasons you might expect. It does hurt me because I know that the reasons for creating it lie in a mess that organized religion has done in the name of Christ. What is an unbeliever supposed to believe? THe church is filled with hypocrites that say one thing and do another."

"I simply write this first message to let you know that I and my entire church prayed for you yesterday by name, we also prayed for everyone of the people that commented on your poster by name and I have included all of your names (with last initial only) on our website so that those who share in our belief in prayer can lift you up in prayer as well.

We do sincerely want you to come to know the truth of God that is admittedly buried in a lot of styles of worship.

We will continue to pray for you and them and others indefinately no matter what your response is to this. As I said before, it will not be I that saves you but Christ Himself through the power of His Holy Spirit."

~

Here's another question. If I am a lost godless atheist, why would christ suddenly save me because this pastor and his church prayed for me a few times? Does Jesus put me on his list now and will reach down and touch my shriveled hardened soulless heart and then suddenly I'll start praising his name? How the hell does this pastor think it works?

Part of me thought to contact the pastor and tell him to take my name off the list. I decided it wasn't worth even bothering with. It means nothing and does nothing.

12 comments:

  1. Well, it's their time wasted, not yours. On the other hand, it's great that some believers notice you, this means your message is spreading. I wish I had that, instead of the troll I occasionally get. By the way, the poster was great and summed the whole thing up.

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  2. Shorter pastor: "I don't want to argue with or convert you, I just want to preach at you without having to respond to any replies you may have. Smooches!"

    It's a good question - how does he think this will work if presumably Jesus is God and knows about your unbelief already? Does the big J owe him one? He's probably going for brownie points with his parishioners, which makes sense because it helps boost his credibility with the people who are ultimately funding his job. I'm also inclined to think he's going for points with Jesus, and that goal ultimately doesn't really make any sense - is there a more heavenly heaven than heaven for pastors who arrange prayers for the lost? If there is, and the prayers are for whatever reason effective and he scores a conversion, does he get to go into an even better heaven than that? Maybe it's like getting the key to an executive washroom, a bigger cloud or more ornate wings or whatever?

    I trust you'll let us know if you suddenly feel filled with the holy spirit, Neece.

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  3. Fascinating. Particularly "...I and my entire church prayed for you yesterday by name, we also prayed for everyone of the people that commented on your poster by name and I have included all of your names (with last initial only) on our website so that those who share in our belief in prayer can lift you up in prayer as well." He puts a lot of emphasis on praying for someone by name -- does it still work if you use last initial only? I mean, nice of him to have some modicum of respect for privacy, but... do they think their God is omniscient, or not? Because if he is, couldn't you just pray for "that atheist who wrote those comments" and God would know exactly what you meant? Couldn't you just pray for "all those atheists out there" and God would already have the whole list made up?

    Good call on not asking to be removed from the list. Objecting to it would only legitimize it, make it look like you bought into the idea that it had some effect. If they want to waste their time praying instead of critically examining their religious beliefs and trying to present intelligent arguments that would convince you (love that first quote about not wanting to "convert you" by the way, yeah right) let them waste it. I saw some protesters outside a clinic with signs that said "Pray to End Abortion" and I was like, sure, do that -- don't write your congressman, don't write letters to the editor, just sit quietly alone in your house and talk to your invisible friend about it. Perfect!

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  4. Mark's poster is great.

    I've got the same problem with the name-and-initial thing that NFQ has. If "Nicky W." keeps their God clear on which Nicky is involved, does it know which "Nicky W." it is?

    By the way, here in Texas we have quite a few "Jeff Bobbs", in more ways than one.

    This makes me want to wear my button: "Thanks for deciding what's best for me!"

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  5. LOL, Diego! Well, my message isn't spreading, Mark's is with his awesome poster. He's the one that got the attention. :P

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  6. HA! Very perceptive, Barbara! I think you've got it right, you get better wings, a higher and bigger cloud, and the keys to the heavenly washroom. You must have had a Heavenly Vision of what it's like up there!

    Hey, wouldn't that be a good idea for Jesus to do? When we are about 8 or so, when we are old enough to make our own decisions, if he wanted us to worship him, he could take us each on a private tour of heaven and hell and let us decide from there. ... "and here you'll see the lakes of fire where there is burning and gnashing of teeth for people who are too stubborn to worship me as I see fit. And up here you'll see the basic heavenly cloud apartments for people who were good, but not that angelic, and here you'll see the special penthouse clouds for your classic do-gooders"...

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  7. I'm so glad you brought that up, NFQ! I meant to mention it in my post but it slipped my mind! What if there are other Neece C.'s out there that get saved instead of me!? Maybe the prayers aren't really working for me because he's not using my full given name! And should he use my maiden name or my married name? Does Jesus keep these kinds of records? I guess he does. What a file room that would be! Oh, I guess that's what he Akashic Records are. HAHAHAHAHA!

    Yes, exactly, to complain about being on the list would say that I felt it mattered in some way.

    And yes, I agree, let the True Believers go sit and talk to their invisible friend about what they don't like instead of trying to enact laws or protest. Well said!

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  8. Well, at least my name is slightly unusual, so hopefully the prayers meant for me are coming my way. HA! Then again, Neece isn't my birth name, so I don't know. I think that might cause problems in the file room. Does Jesus take account of nicknames?!

    Great button. I wonder how many people don't get it? Sigh!

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  9. Yes, pray. Because god's plans are so trivial, I'm sure he'll put them on hold to do your bidding. And they call Atheists arrogant...

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  10. Well said, FallenKnight! I couldn't have said it better myself. :)

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  11. If people believe that their god saved the Chilean miners, I wonder how they construe the deaths of all the miners trapped in that New Zealand mine???

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  12. Or the miners trapped in WV awhile ago? Or the Chinese miners? But wait, why did God trap them down there in the first place?! And we're only talking about miners! What about the children killed and abandoned in that Tsunami several years back? Or what about the innocent people killed in the Haitian earthquake? I could go on and on. I guess God does play dice. Oh, wait, he'd have to exist first. :P

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