Some Christians use Rosary Beads to keep track of how many times they beg God to act in their favor. Is God influenced by how many times requests are made?
Tcg
Rosary Beads - Is God influenced by Repetition?
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Rosary Beads - Is God influenced by Repetition?
Post #1To be clear: Atheism is not a disbelief in gods or a denial of gods; it is a lack of belief in gods.
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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.
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Re: Rosary Beads - Is God influenced by Repetition?
Post #11Apparently, God is not happy with rote. Without rote, what do they have?
NASB 1995 Isaiah 29:13
Then the Lord said, “Because this people draw near with their words And honor Me with their lip service, But they remove their hearts far from Me, And their reverence for Me consists of tradition learned by rote,
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Re: Rosary Beads - Is God influenced by Repetition?
Post #12True. Words are only the outer formality. The spirit of prayer is in attention directed towards God.2ndpillar2 wrote: ↑Sat Dec 25, 2021 11:17 amApparently, God is not happy with rote. Without rote, what do they have?
NASB 1995 Isaiah 29:13
Then the Lord said, “Because this people draw near with their words And honor Me with their lip service, But they remove their hearts far from Me, And their reverence for Me consists of tradition learned by rote,
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Re: Rosary Beads - Is God influenced by Repetition?
Post #13Rituals are an important part of being human and can confer psychological benefits. From Psychology Today:
Gruman wrote:
Research shows that rituals can offer numerous psychological advantages such as helping us savor experiences, giving us a sense of control, and reducing anxiety.
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Re: Rosary Beads - Is God influenced by Repetition?
Post #14They can also be destructive as anyone with an obsessive compulsive disorder could attest. Either way, it doesn't take away from what I said about getting people to willingly participate in ridiculous rituals being a sign that you own them.historia wrote: ↑Sat Dec 25, 2021 2:36 pmRituals are an important part of being human and can confer psychological benefits. From Psychology Today:
Gruman wrote:
Research shows that rituals can offer numerous psychological advantages such as helping us savor experiences, giving us a sense of control, and reducing anxiety.
George Orwell:: “The further a society drifts from the truth, the more it will hate those who speak it.”
Voltaire: "Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities."
Gender ideology is anti-science, anti truth.
Voltaire: "Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities."
Gender ideology is anti-science, anti truth.
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Re: Rosary Beads - Is God influenced by Repetition?
Post #15Sure, almost anything that's good for you can be abused.brunumb wrote: ↑Sat Dec 25, 2021 4:36 pmThey can also be destructive as anyone with an obsessive compulsive disorder could attest.historia wrote: ↑Sat Dec 25, 2021 2:36 pm
Rituals are an important part of being human and can confer psychological benefits. From Psychology Today:
Gruman wrote:
Research shows that rituals can offer numerous psychological advantages such as helping us savor experiences, giving us a sense of control, and reducing anxiety.
Your unsupported opinion is duly noted.
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Re: Rosary Beads - Is God influenced by Repetition?
Post #16[Replying to Tcg in post #1]
Here's another recipe for the rosary prayers:
Tcg
Here's another recipe for the rosary prayers:
And again, it includes the phrase "obtain what they promise." Obviously, those practicing this ritual are expecting God to respond to their begging.How to Pray the Rosary
Pray for us, O holy Mother of God. That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.
O God, whose only-begotten Son, by His life, death, and resurrection, has purchased for us the rewards of eternal salvation; grant we beseech Thee, that meditating upon these mysteries of the most holy Rosary of the Blessed Virgin Mary, we may imitate what they contain and obtain what they promise. Through the same Christ our Lord. Amen.
https://stmarysofellis.org/prayers-devo ... the-rosary
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Re: Rosary Beads - Is God influenced by Repetition?
Post #17I think most atheists or doubters will have come to the conclusion that God cannot possibly want to have millions of people chanting rote recitations endlessly and we know that they understand that prayers don't get people anything, even if the Christian apologists tries to argue that they do. So I certainly do agree that prayer is for people. And always has been. It's a universal instinct and I think I know what it does, but I am interested to hear what the believer thinks it does for them.bjs1 wrote: ↑Fri Dec 24, 2021 11:52 amRosary Beads are a way to organize prayers. None of the prayers on the Rosary are about asking anything of God, much less the propagandist line they “beg God to act in the favor.” No part of the Rosary prayers are meant to influence God. The Rosary is for the benefit of people, not God.
Yes. That's correct. I don't need to re -do the argument about but whether prayers work (which isn't the same as saying that prayer worksJehovahsWitness wrote: ↑Fri Dec 24, 2021 2:22 pmWhen you say "certainly like to hear from Christians about what they think..." this doesn't look like a challenge to prove God exists or present verifiable evidence that prayers work, but rather an invitation for a Christian to share their personal thoughts regarding the reasons (purpose), motivation and perceive benefits of prayer in their lives.TRANSPONDER wrote: ↑Fri Dec 24, 2021 4:05 am
I'd certainly like to hear from Christians about what they think the purpose of, need for and benefit of performing, prayers.
Have I correctly understood what you would {quote} "like to hear" ? If yes, I will certainly be happy to share my own thoughts.

No. This is about just what it is that Believers - not just Christians - think the act of praying (especially repeated prayer) does for them. And on an individual basis. Bot the religious powerbase - affirmation of communal prayer. But about what the individual gets out of it. I have my own ideas, but I'd like to hear what the victim...sorry, maybe I should say Beneficiary...gets out of it.
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Re: Rosary Beads - Is God influenced by Repetition?
Post #18Thank you, I wanted to confirm as I have been told faith based personal experience is useless and has no place in this subforum. Just for the record, I make no claims here....TRANSPONDER wrote: ↑Sun Dec 26, 2021 4:51 am
Yes. That's correct.... This is about just what it is that Believers - not just Christians - think the act of praying (especially repeated prayer) does for them. And on an individual basis.
NOTE All posts I write represent my personal faith based beliefs as one of Jehovah's Witnesses
That said, I would say, praying is a way I express my faith in the God I believe in; It makes me feel closer to him. I do not use beads nor repeat written or memorized words by rote when I pray.
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Last edited by JehovahsWitness on Sun Dec 26, 2021 1:42 pm, edited 3 times in total.
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http://debatingchristianity.com/forum/v ... 81#p826681
"For if we live, we live to Jehovah, and if we die, we die to Jehovah. So both if we live and if we die, we belong to Jehovah" - Romans 14:8
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Re: Rosary Beads - Is God influenced by Repetition?
Post #19Your praying makes you feel "closed to" God?JehovahsWitness wrote: ↑Sun Dec 26, 2021 5:13 am
Thank you, I wanted to confirm as I have been told faith based personal experience is useless and has no place in this subforum. I would say, praying is a way I express my faith in the God I believe in; It makes me feel closed to him.
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Re: Rosary Beads - Is God influenced by Repetition?
Post #20No surprise there. Once brainwashed into Godfaith regular top -ups are necessary to keep people brainwashed. Obliging them to do this communally or making it part of the social fabric is fine, but it's the individual thing that interests me. It's like a drug. It isn't enough to know that it's there on the shelf or in the bedside drawer. You need to uncork and have another swig or tip one out and light up. We know why those impart a Feelgood. But what is the FeelGod feelgood? Sure the believer thinks that God is suffusing their mind like the Best Ever, but I am curious as to what is releasing the Dopamine, like your partner climbing onto your lap for a smooch. Is that what it is? Religious softcore porn?TRANSPONDER wrote: ↑Sun Dec 26, 2021 4:51 amI think most atheists or doubters will have come to the conclusion that God cannot possibly want to have millions of people chanting rote recitations endlessly and we know that they understand that prayers don't get people anything, even if the Christian apologists tries to argue that they do. So I certainly do agree that prayer is for people. And always has been. It's a universal instinct and I think I know what it does, but I am interested to hear what the believer thinks it does for them.bjs1 wrote: ↑Fri Dec 24, 2021 11:52 amRosary Beads are a way to organize prayers. None of the prayers on the Rosary are about asking anything of God, much less the propagandist line they “beg God to act in the favor.” No part of the Rosary prayers are meant to influence God. The Rosary is for the benefit of people, not God.
Yes. That's correct. I don't need to re -do the argument about but whether prayers work (which isn't the same as saying that prayer worksJehovahsWitness wrote: ↑Fri Dec 24, 2021 2:22 pmWhen you say "certainly like to hear from Christians about what they think..." this doesn't look like a challenge to prove God exists or present verifiable evidence that prayers work, but rather an invitation for a Christian to share their personal thoughts regarding the reasons (purpose), motivation and perceive benefits of prayer in their lives.TRANSPONDER wrote: ↑Fri Dec 24, 2021 4:05 am
I'd certainly like to hear from Christians about what they think the purpose of, need for and benefit of performing, prayers.
Have I correctly understood what you would {quote} "like to hear" ? If yes, I will certainly be happy to share my own thoughts.Prayers don't work in the sense they don't perform as God guarantees 'Whatever you ask for in Faith God will do'. That is known from research, a little thought and mainly because Christians have to excuse the fact that they don't work. We can put aside 'answered prayer' claims as 'miracles' used as evidence for Biblegod. The claims of revived corpses, the cancer remission flam and delusionary picking out of coincidences as evidence of God working in my life; fortune - telling con - artists have been exploiting that self delusion for a long time.
No. This is about just what it is that Believers - not just Christians - think the act of praying (especially repeated prayer) does for them. And on an individual basis. Bot the religious powerbase - affirmation of communal prayer. But about what the individual gets out of it. I have my own ideas, but I'd like to hear what the victim...sorry, maybe I should say Beneficiary...gets out of it.