Glad you are enjoying it. Cover a lot of topics in here.

just signed up ... could spend all day here; feel as though I've jumped into a wonderful clear crisp lake of idea AND no foul language .. but for now I have to get some things done around here and look forward to returning ... very impressive site!

now you have to make a little joke. :)

I think it depends on what you believe. I believe God and prayer are very personal. Just like I cannot live someone's life for them or make profound changes in themselves for them, I do not believe I can pray for them. It is up to them to have their own conversation with God.

You're welcome. Time for thinking is good. It's of course a bigger subject than what either of us has written here. There is a lot more to it than just "controlling the masses". It involves first and foremost how you think about yourself, your relation to the world, and how you know what you know. I suggest you read a lot of Ayn Rand's non-fiction and Leonard Peikoff's Objectivism: The Philosophy of Ayn Rand.

Thank you for your time and thought to my question ! If I am not in a fight for my life I like to take a some time to think about your answer . Your points are well made.I understand that mystics were alway used to control the masses. I am 54 years old and I am looking for the words I need for the time I will need them. Thank you Mark

What does "life much bigger than me" mean? You are your life. Living a happy life is your purpose. Nothing is "bigger" for you. You can rationally appreciate sunsets and stars without becoming mystical. Your rational, conceptual mind is your means of living as a human being, the essential characteristic of what it means to be human, not an order from the supernatural.

A shy lost soul ripe for harvesting.

The question was posed as, is it ok to pray for someone else, not someone else praying for you. The answer is of course no. It is self-delusional and therefore destructive. That is true whether or not someone asks you to.

Morality is fundamentally about choices in your own life; it is not centered on relations to other people, which is secondary and a consequence. But in a social sense praying is irrelevant to the person being prayed for unless he is someone counting on you to be rational.

I am new to the gulch.I understand that one must believe in your self and trust your own mind,I do. I am having the hardest time with the God thing.Iam not praying for forgiveness or anything thing like that, I just think this life is so much bigger then me. Is it strange to to enjoy a sunrise or a star lit night and think its a gift.I think god wants me to use my mind to think, save my self,my family . If any of you have been down this road and worked it out I would really like to hear what you have to say. Thank you for your time

Maybe you are as handsome as John Galt!

They're welcome to waste their time if they want. It's like the Mormons getting their ancestors saved.

That's it! She must have seen my Who is John Galt bumper sticker.

Rich, I figured it out. Maybe this lady could sense the presence of a sinner (anyone who is a fan of Ayn Rand), and knew that she needed to pray for you. :)

If prayer worked we would have had an impeachment by now. Does that count? :) It has been said that "even atheists pray in a foxhole." but what do I know??? I'm just a joker...

You choose how you spend your own time so I guess if you felt it was that important and maybe you prayed to open someone's mind to the possibility of a supernatural power. I see nothing wrong with that at all, especially if you love and care deeply for that person.

That makes sense.

In the church I grew up in it would have been an effort to draw you in or convert you. Somewhere deep in their mind they know that praying for a drug addict is pointless but to covert someone, now that is an achievable goal.

Personally, I dislike having someone that I don't know grab my arm, shoulder, whatever. This includes being in any setting, not solely in a church. I consider it rude, and I'll ask politely the first time to remove their hand, the second time, not so nice.

Surprisingly no.

Were you wearing your kilt?

Huh? I think you should ask your priest/monk/rabbi about that.

You will probably never know why she decided, but for whatever her reasoning she felt you needed someone to pray for you.

I agree with KH. You went of your own free will into their domain, so you have to expect to be considered one of them. You could have told the lady no. Don't go and you don't have to deal with it.