Don't Forward That Email
Awright, I'll admit it. It's a peeve of mine.
I often get the same junky emails from friends that you probably do. Virus alerts, funny stories, scary stories, facts about this or that politician, whatever. Being a Christian who is active in his spiritual community, I also get many prayer requests, anecdotes and studies.
95% crapola.
I'm going to make a few statements which may tick you off. If you're a Christian brother or sister, it may tick you off bad! Still, give me a chance to explain.
I promise that:
There are no hypodermic needles tainted with AIDS in McDonald's ball pits
(there, that wasn't so bad, was it?)
George W Bush Jr doesn't have the lowest IQ of any modern day president
That shark isn't really attacking that helicopter flying low over the water
There isn't a conspiracy with Dr Pepper regarding the Pledge of Allegiance
Bill Gates isn't going to pay you squat to send emails. (and no one else will, either)
Still with me? There's more, and it gets worse
The is not, and will never be, a GOOD study showing prayer helps people heal.
(ouch!)
That kid who wrote that thing about Heaven then died isn't actually a good story, he's a plagurist!
No one discovered a "lost day" that coincides with a story of the Bible
Many of those cool things you hear about Psalm 118 and the center of the Bible are not true.
Christians were NOT miraculously spared from a Tsunami
(well, not necessarily...but it is likely fiction)
The list goes on and on. Check out Snopes for more (and check it often, when YOU receive an email with a story, promise, fact, or study)
I would urge all people to hesitate before forwarding any emails, unless they are jokes. (I'm always up for a good joke!). Most of the "information" you have been sent (even by well-meaning Christian friends!) is actually "misinformation" and only serves to make us look bad.
And, how can I say there is not, and will never be, a GOOD study showing prayer helps people heal? Lemme amend that. Anonymous intercessional prayer will never be shown IN A STUDY to help people heal. Not that it doesn't help, but (read this carefully, and a few times over) GOD WILL NOT ALLOW PROOF OF HIS EXISTENCE TO BE REVEALED.
God was revealed through His Word, and is revealed through our lives, but PROOF would undermine the very foundation He has created for acknowledging His love and sacrifice through FAITH. The lack of proof here is not a statement on a failure of prayer, rather it is part of God's design.
Skeptics will say, of course, that this argument serves no purpose other than to justify the lack of proof. Were I a skeptic, I'd say the same thing. I rest comfortably knowing that this argument of mine is consistent with the Christian worldview and theology.
One last warning, and this time on Snopes. DON'T ASSUME THAT THIER SUMMARY RATING IS ACCURATE! I have seen them rate something as "false" and yet when you read the description, it seems more true than false. They pick on certain facts in interesting ways to the extent I believe they have an anti-Christian bias (though they may do this with other stories, as well, I don't know). Still, regardless of the rating they give a story, their research is of the highest quality.
God loves you. That I promise, too.
I often get the same junky emails from friends that you probably do. Virus alerts, funny stories, scary stories, facts about this or that politician, whatever. Being a Christian who is active in his spiritual community, I also get many prayer requests, anecdotes and studies.
95% crapola.
I'm going to make a few statements which may tick you off. If you're a Christian brother or sister, it may tick you off bad! Still, give me a chance to explain.
I promise that:
There are no hypodermic needles tainted with AIDS in McDonald's ball pits
(there, that wasn't so bad, was it?)
George W Bush Jr doesn't have the lowest IQ of any modern day president
That shark isn't really attacking that helicopter flying low over the water
There isn't a conspiracy with Dr Pepper regarding the Pledge of Allegiance
Bill Gates isn't going to pay you squat to send emails. (and no one else will, either)
Still with me? There's more, and it gets worse
The is not, and will never be, a GOOD study showing prayer helps people heal.
(ouch!)
That kid who wrote that thing about Heaven then died isn't actually a good story, he's a plagurist!
No one discovered a "lost day" that coincides with a story of the Bible
Many of those cool things you hear about Psalm 118 and the center of the Bible are not true.
Christians were NOT miraculously spared from a Tsunami
(well, not necessarily...but it is likely fiction)
The list goes on and on. Check out Snopes for more (and check it often, when YOU receive an email with a story, promise, fact, or study)
I would urge all people to hesitate before forwarding any emails, unless they are jokes. (I'm always up for a good joke!). Most of the "information" you have been sent (even by well-meaning Christian friends!) is actually "misinformation" and only serves to make us look bad.
And, how can I say there is not, and will never be, a GOOD study showing prayer helps people heal? Lemme amend that. Anonymous intercessional prayer will never be shown IN A STUDY to help people heal. Not that it doesn't help, but (read this carefully, and a few times over) GOD WILL NOT ALLOW PROOF OF HIS EXISTENCE TO BE REVEALED.
God was revealed through His Word, and is revealed through our lives, but PROOF would undermine the very foundation He has created for acknowledging His love and sacrifice through FAITH. The lack of proof here is not a statement on a failure of prayer, rather it is part of God's design.
Skeptics will say, of course, that this argument serves no purpose other than to justify the lack of proof. Were I a skeptic, I'd say the same thing. I rest comfortably knowing that this argument of mine is consistent with the Christian worldview and theology.
One last warning, and this time on Snopes. DON'T ASSUME THAT THIER SUMMARY RATING IS ACCURATE! I have seen them rate something as "false" and yet when you read the description, it seems more true than false. They pick on certain facts in interesting ways to the extent I believe they have an anti-Christian bias (though they may do this with other stories, as well, I don't know). Still, regardless of the rating they give a story, their research is of the highest quality.
God loves you. That I promise, too.
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