Comments on: Prayer Kills, But Church Saves?

By: Meredith

Meredith — Wed, 05 Apr 2006 19:05:17 +0000

I think God totally manipulated the test results so that they would come out His way. I don’t know why I didn’t think of that sooner. I have another theory though. About a year ago I met a man on the street who said he was sorry to inform me, especially since I looked like such a nice person, that Jesus hates me. I bet that’s why prayers don’t work on me. Maybe some of the people in the study had been cursed in a similar fashion.

By: ford4x4

ford4x4 — Wed, 05 Apr 2006 17:05:31 +0000

I’m an athiest. My wife is a gung-ho, born-again christian.
(She doesn’t know I’m an athiest)
We both work out. I’ll let you know how things are going in about
50 years.

By: Paul Brinkley

Paul Brinkley — Wed, 05 Apr 2006 16:50:04 +0000

I would expect Catholics to be amongst the most long-lived.

An average Catholic mass has you stand up, sit down, and kneel maybe 50 times in the space of an hour. Plus, you get a small serving of fiber and red wine. Very heart-smart.

By: ss

ss — Wed, 05 Apr 2006 00:23:17 +0000

If prayer actually had the effect of hastening the end of someone else’s life on earth, I’d say it’s powerful stuff indeed. If the study actually had any scientific validity, we could draw the conclusion that prayer works, but not in the manner we intend or expect–y’know, God works in mysterious ways, and maybe thinks Eternal Life with Him is preferable to painful recovery from heart surgery.

Though the validity of the study is zero, because 1) a God who can hear and grant prayers would know they were studying him and could manipulate their evidence anyway he chose, and 2) how were the scientists going to be sure that the families, friends and communities of the control group patients completely abstained from praying.

By: GN

GN — Tue, 04 Apr 2006 23:37:21 +0000

As George Carlin says; “I worship the Sun … IT keeps me warm, helps grow food and provides the same 50% chance of a prayer being answered.” or words to that effect.

“Sure, the social aspect is important, but I also think that church-goers, on average, are less likely to be heavy drinkers and smokers”

As I reach the end of mile number five on my daily walk, I think that I could go so much further if I quit smoking. Being married has not done a thing for that habit.

By: Justin Gardner

Justin Gardner — Tue, 04 Apr 2006 21:31:56 +0000

Heh…amen.

By: rob

rob — Tue, 04 Apr 2006 20:36:02 +0000

people who go to church live longer.

it just seems longer.

…insert rim shot here…