The power of prayer: in action

Everyone has been altered from the way they were born otherwise everyone would remain tiny infants incapable of speech, writing, etc. People, events, the environment have been doing things to us all our lives.You can metaphorically say that the things your church approves of are from God, and the things they disapprove of are hooks the devil puts into people. But you have been altered by your excounters with religious persons and books. You were not born speaking Hebrew and reading the Bible, after all, someone persuaded you to accept these old belief systems. This is not science, not biology, not psychology but imaginative fantasy.The brain works quite nicely in this mode as human brains have operated with these sorts of beliefs for thousands of years. Many churches seem to consist of groups of people clinging to the comforting old magical thinking and believing that the world it describes exists. Magical thinking they approve of comes from their idea of the deity. Magical thinking they disapprove of comes from their idea of a devil or demons.But it's these slogans like "you have been altered...etc" that are not even examined for a moment. We are altered continuously, we change continuously. Just observe yourself rather than repeat the slogans your church pumps out. Albert Ellis does a good job of explaining cognitive psychology which is a very good introduction to how the brain construes experience and responses through beliefs and self talk.lfen

If God created us to be a certain way how then could we be otherwise?
How we are must be how God wants us to be.
What is this "you" that can be away from the goodness of God?
How can anything take this path away from the path that God wants?lfen

What appears obviously true is not thereby true particularly when we aren't talking about something we are immediately examining.You have become convinced of one of many explanations that humans have come up with in the course of the developement of culture. What is "obvious" to me is that these are explanatory myths useful in living together in groups and dealing with the anxieties of the ego.Culture is a very important aspect of human psychology but because our brains can use a variety of explanations and cultural practises it leads to differences of opinion and even cultural conflict.lfen

Phat,The impression I've gotten of you and your religious beliefs it seems to me they have a positive supporting role in your life and I've no problem with that.I have issues with fundamentalists of any religious persuasion who believe that what they believe is the only truth and that all others belief systems are from evil sources.I also have trouble with YEC creationists, particularly those who haven't even tried to understand science, who think they can just dismiss the huge number (millions?) of man hours that have gone into studying the universe and it's compostion and phenomena scientifically.Belief systems that help people live happily and compassionately with one another in this world are fine by me though I may disagree with certain policital issues that arise thereby such as wanting prayer in public schools.lfen

Can you reproduce that paper here? I'd have to read it before responding.lfen