The title of this blog post pretty much says it all. But who is to say an act that is selfish is bad? The reason people pray is because it makes them feel better. A person that is worried about something can often diffuse that worry if they feel as if they can do something about it. The brain of a believer believes that by engaging in the activity of praying has an impact. Oftentimes the brain is fooled into believing things are real when they are not—even atheists have this problem from time to time (but in smaller ways).
The reality is that prayer is popular because it makes the person praying feel better. We have the false-belief that if something feels good it must be both true and healthy (thanks to our primitive brain). The problem with prayer is that it accomplishes nothing, while at the same time making the worrier feel as if something has been done (thus diffusing any motivation to act). This is believe is why I believe nations that are heavily religious and pray a lot accomplish the least (they have no motivation to solve problems because they falsely believe that prayer has done something, which demotivates them).
One of the biggest problems I see with praying is that it perpetuates a delusional worldview. The majority of the world has a heavily distorted worldview, and this is why the world has so many problems. Many people are unable to see the source of our insanity (all the wars, violence, political conflict, economic problems, etc.)—it falls back to distorted thinking—much of which comes from religion. Prayer is literally imaginary. A person that is truly rational can distinguish the difference between reality and imaginary thinking...sadly there is a blurring of the lines for the majority.
The reality is that prayer is popular because it makes the person praying feel better. We have the false-belief that if something feels good it must be both true and healthy (thanks to our primitive brain). The problem with prayer is that it accomplishes nothing, while at the same time making the worrier feel as if something has been done (thus diffusing any motivation to act). This is believe is why I believe nations that are heavily religious and pray a lot accomplish the least (they have no motivation to solve problems because they falsely believe that prayer has done something, which demotivates them).
One of the biggest problems I see with praying is that it perpetuates a delusional worldview. The majority of the world has a heavily distorted worldview, and this is why the world has so many problems. Many people are unable to see the source of our insanity (all the wars, violence, political conflict, economic problems, etc.)—it falls back to distorted thinking—much of which comes from religion. Prayer is literally imaginary. A person that is truly rational can distinguish the difference between reality and imaginary thinking...sadly there is a blurring of the lines for the majority.
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