"Don't Pray for Me." - What are atheists afraid of? (2024)

I remember an interview with the late Christopher Hitchens, in which his illness had already advanced a lot. He was vehement that he did not like the idea of religious people praying for him.

(EDIT: Correction - Apparently I must have been thinking of someone else and in my mind conflated that person with Hitchens. See post below.)

My question is: Why? If you don't believe in God, what does it matter that a person prays for you? It can't affect you. At most it may give peace of mind to the person doing the act. It may be a marker of good will, an indication that theists and atheists can support one another rather than tear each other apart.

Dimmesdale wrote: ↑Mon May 20, 2024 9:19 pmI remember an interview with the late Christopher Hitchens, in which his illness had already advanced a lot. He was vehement that he did not like the idea of religious people praying for him.

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My question is: Why? If you don't believe in God, what does it matter that a person prays for you? It can't affect you. At most it may give peace of mind to the person doing the act. It may be a marker of good will, an indication that theists and atheists can support one another rather than tear each other apart.

It may be beside the point, but you got your facts off 180° in your example of Hitchens.

He and Hitchens had actually debated religion publicly before Hitchens fell ill and have become good friends. ''I won't say he doesn't pray for me, because I think he probably does; but he doesn't discuss it with me.'' Hitchens's attitude to people praying for him could be described as a mixture of polite gratitude for their consideration and a determined refusal to let it sway his opinions.

https://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/bo ... 1d6gf.html

But despite your specific example being false, let's assume there are people who don't want to be prayed for. Like Hitchens I would appreciate the consideration, but other than that, it would have no effect on me... other than I might be pleased if your prayer made you happy.

The only "don't pray for me" I understand probably comes from not appreciating it when it is condescendingly offered outloud.

Like it says in Matthew 6, "Let your prayers be silent, to God, not public, seeking reward." (DPV)

Diogenes wrote: ↑Mon May 20, 2024 10:38 pm

Dimmesdale wrote: ↑Mon May 20, 2024 9:19 pmI remember an interview with the late Christopher Hitchens, in which his illness had already advanced a lot. He was vehement that he did not like the idea of religious people praying for him.

My question is: Why? If you don't believe in God, what does it matter that a person prays for you? It can't affect you. At most it may give peace of mind to the person doing the act. It may be a marker of good will, an indication that theists and atheists can support one another rather than tear each other apart.

It may be beside the point, but you got your facts off 180° in your example of Hitchens.

He and Hitchens had actually debated religion publicly before Hitchens fell ill and have become good friends. ''I won't say he doesn't pray for me, because I think he probably does; but he doesn't discuss it with me.'' Hitchens's attitude to people praying for him could be described as a mixture of polite gratitude for their consideration and a determined refusal to let it sway his opinions.

https://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/bo ... 1d6gf.html

But despite your specific example being false, let's assume there are people who don't want to be prayed for. Like Hitchens I would appreciate the consideration, but other than that, it would have no effect on me... other than I might be pleased if your prayer made you happy.

The only "don't pray for me" I understand probably comes from not appreciating it when it is condescendingly offered outloud.

Like it says in Matthew 6, "Let your prayers be silent, to God, not public, seeking reward." (DPV)

Oh. That comes as a bit of a shock to me. I would have to dredge my memory, then, I must have conflated him with someone else.

Thank you for the correction. I will edit the initial post.

Dimmesdale wrote: ↑Mon May 20, 2024 9:19 pmIf you don't believe in God, what does it matter that a person prays for you? It can't affect you.

It most certainly can and not in a good way:

Prayers don't help heart surgery patients; Some fare worse when prayed for

"Not only that, but patients who knew that others were praying for them fared worse than those who did not receive such spiritual support, or who did but were not aware of it."

https://phys.org/news/2006-04-prayers-d ... ients.html

A bit of research is in order before one makes a false claim such as, "It can't effect you." in an attempt to bash atheists. I'm not even sure why bashing atheists is such a common practice of theists. You'd think they'd be secure in their beliefs and not need such behavior used to assuage their doubt. Very odd.

Tcg

To be clear: Atheism is not a disbelief in gods or a denial of gods; it is a lack of belief in gods.

- American Atheists

Not believing isn't the same as believing not.

- wiploc

I must assume that knowing is better than not knowing, venturing than not venturing; and that magic and illusion, however rich, however alluring, ultimately weaken the human spirit.

- Irvin D. Yalom

Tcg wrote: ↑Thu May 23, 2024 11:13 am

Dimmesdale wrote: ↑Mon May 20, 2024 9:19 pmIf you don't believe in God, what does it matter that a person prays for you? It can't affect you.

It most certainly can and not in a good way:

Prayers don't help heart surgery patients; Some fare worse when prayed for

"Not only that, but patients who knew that others were praying for them fared worse than those who did not receive such spiritual support, or who did but were not aware of it."

https://phys.org/news/2006-04-prayers-d ... ients.html

A bit of research is in order before one makes a false claim such as, "It can't effect you." in an attempt to bash atheists. I'm not even sure why bashing atheists is such a common practice of theists. You'd think they'd be secure in their beliefs and not need such behavior used to assuage their doubt. Very odd.

Tcg

Well, I'm not saying "it can't effect you." But assuming the atheist does not believe in any supernatural effect that prayer has, why should he be anxious about it?

From a naturalistic perspective, I'd say prayer can effect one negatively just the same way as heavy metal music, or perhaps high speed traffic, can.