To respond to Emily Shipp’s article, entitled “Though healthy, prayer won’t solve problems,” I must first convey the shudder that passed through me when I realized that the two cited sources for her opinions about prayer were her own atheist convictions and Justin Bieber.
While there are many contributing factors to Bieber’s “wildly popular world tour,” I sincerely doubt that one of them is his potential as religious authority. Also, while I respect the atheist position, I feel obligated to note that I wouldn’t go to Keynesian works to understand Austrian economics, or democratic societies to understand monarchy. The notion that Ms. Shipp could declare “the whole idea of prayer” as “absurd” rings rather absurd in itself. The “egocentric” miracle-begging image of prayer put forth in yesterday’s article demonstrates a gross misunderstanding of a near-universal tenant of faith. Prayer is not about personal gain. In even its simplest form, it is an evaluation of the state of your soul and a recommitment to improving it for the glory of God and the benefit of others. In addition, far from “an insult to science”, prayer helped establish the foundation of scientific thought. Early scientists, both Christian and Muslim, held that this universe was the product of a rational mind, and hence, should behave according to rational laws. Whether Justin Bieber’s philanthropic streak is sincere or not, there are billions of Christians, Muslims, Hindus, Jews, Bahá’ís and followers of other faiths engaged in prayer worldwide as a way to focus our hearts and minds toward improving the lives of those around us. I challenge any “other forms of meditation” to show the same influence and impact.
