Go to The Reverend Kooka Speaks About Religious Bulls#!t
- Add a comment
- Go to DOES GOD GET CONVINCED TO CHANGE HIS PLANS DUE TO PRAYER?
back to god
Abraham's little thing with Sodom and Gomorrah and Moses saving the Israelites from god's wrath by persuasion
fly in the face on an omnipotent, omniscient human form the controls all.
but we do have an interesting being nonetheless.
we have folk tales that's what we have.
but -- who knows about Abraham? == maybe there was a human with whom he could converse.
at any rate, that old idea of god is quite different from what Christians have today.
ideas of god are just that -- ideas -- idols.
posted by
Xeno-x
on October 20, 2004 at 12:42 PM
| link to this | reply
spell -- try this
plain ceramic cup
water
dash of salt
can be more depending on area to be covered
must be a circle around that which you wish to protect
can be just yourself
or a table or area at which you work
or your car
or your house.
prepare the solution.
sprinkle the salted water around the area.
then incant
salt in water by casting thee
no spell or unknown purpose be
except in true accord with me.
repeat the incantation until you have completed the circle.
posted by
Xeno-x
on October 20, 2004 at 12:39 PM
| link to this | reply
I've given up praying for specifics, only enlightenment.
posted by
aardvark
on October 20, 2004 at 12:15 PM
| link to this | reply
Positive thought affirmations are just the "Every day in every way I am getting better and better" type things. But you could try a more material one. Think of something specific you want, something you don't expect to get just yet (possibly because you can't afford it at the moment). Don't choose something that realistically is highly unlikely, just something that is possible but not on the cards right now. Write it down on a few cards or sticky notes (something along the lines of "Soon I will have a new computer" or whatever it is you want" and put them in places you will see them regularly - on your shaving mirror, on the inside of the door you go out of on your way to work, on your computer monitor ... that sort of thing). Also, repeat the words to yourself whenever you have a spare moment. Also (and this is important) VISUALISE YOURSELF USING THE NEW ITEM. Actually imagine yourself working on the new computer, or driving the new car, or whatever it is you've chosen. How long it takes depends on how practical it is, but results can come in as little as a few minutes! You can also do it with people rather than objects - if you want to hear from someone you haven't had contact with in ages, change the object for the person and imagine yourself answering the phone or the door to them, or meeting them in the street, or just having a conversation with them. Those ones tend to happen quicker.
posted by
Witty_Woman
on October 20, 2004 at 9:45 AM
| link to this | reply
Well the verse wasn't the spell I don't think, she just used it to "cast a spell" in the story, but it didn't really explain what it meant and it was a LONG time ago, so it's hard for me to remember now. As Enid Blyton's stories contained a lot of goblins, elves, pixies and so on, I imagine one of them had given her the 'spell'. The verse may have been the spell, but I think there was an actual item involved as far as I recall.
posted by
Witty_Woman
on October 20, 2004 at 9:39 AM
| link to this | reply
witty
Never though of 'Star Light Star Bright ' as being a spell, but I can see how it could be. I might have to try that one just for the fun of it all.
I do agree with you though that the basic idea of witchcraft and such should only work for those who really believe. But it still might be interesting to give it a try. If you have any simple spells to suggest, I would love to hear them.
I am generally a very positive person so I am not sure how I would go about doing 'positive thought affirmations' if I am not already doing so. Would love to hear how you are suppose to go about such exercise and I will give it a try as well.
posted by
kooka_lives
on October 20, 2004 at 9:33 AM
| link to this | reply
If you want to try some actual witchcraft, there are plenty of simple spells on the net you could attempt, or I could suggest something. The only problem is that the chances of them working are greatly increased if you actually believe in them - a lot of these things are just tools to convince your subconscious mind. In my opinion, it's your own thought processes that create the results, not the paraphernalia used. That's why I am not a witch, I don't actually believe in witchcraft in the traditional sense. It might be more interesting for you to try some positive thought affirmations. Now these really DO work.
posted by
Witty_Woman
on October 20, 2004 at 9:23 AM
| link to this | reply
Well, it was actually a very familiar children's verse, which appeared in an Enid Blyton book. The little girl in the story used it to "cast a spell", which she threw out of her bedroom window. I had no idea what a spell was, so I found something that I thought looked like one, which was a tiny black strand of something I found in the soil in a plant pot on my windowsill! (I was very young). The verse was "Star light, star bright, first star I see tonight, I wish I may, I wish I might, have the wish I wish tonight" - I'm not sure of the exact words, but that's roughly the gist of it. I then wished for a dog. Of course, the dog had already been ordered by my father and was on its way from the kennel at the time, but I didn't know that and was totally convinced my "spell" had worked!
posted by
Witty_Woman
on October 20, 2004 at 9:20 AM
| link to this | reply
witty
So what was the spell and how do you do it?
Might be fun to give it a try.
I could write a whole post on my attempt at witchcraft.
Might upset a Christian or two, but it would still be an interesting experiment.
posted by
kooka_lives
on October 20, 2004 at 9:07 AM
| link to this | reply
neamer
That is such a load of BS. You are just running around trying to defend your belief without even coming close to showing why I was wrong.
Come on and give me a real, logical reason as to why you would expect God to grant you what you wanted in your prayer. If a family member is dying and it is God's will if they live or die, then God has already decided what is best. Praying should not change God's mind unless God's plan is not solid and can be altered at any time.
Just saying you are asking for God's guidance then make it pointless to ask for anything specific. A general prayer should be 'God, I have faith you will do what you will do and that I can not make you do anything for myself. So just do what you do and help me to understand why you do what you do.'
By your own logic here, it is pointless for you and anyone else to pray for me, because you should instead ask God to help you understand why I am how I am since somehow it is God's fault that I think the way I do.
posted by
kooka_lives
on October 20, 2004 at 8:27 AM
| link to this | reply
jamryn
Me being the way I am is part of God's plan.
It is just wrong of you to pray for God to change his great plan.
If he goes and turns me in to a believer, then he will have to find a believer and allow them to be free of his control and be able to enjoy life.
I would never wish for a believer to have to enjoy life the way I enjoy life, because enjoying life is evil to them.
I will bare my evil ways of enjoying life so that another will not have to.
posted by
kooka_lives
on October 20, 2004 at 8:21 AM
| link to this | reply
Rev. Kooka
I'' pray for you - maybe God will change His mind about you too.
posted by
jamryn
on October 20, 2004 at 8:00 AM
| link to this | reply
God changing His mind?
You be the judge.
What about Sodom and Gomorrah? What about Abraham's plea not once but six times for God to change his mind. ( Genesis 18: 23-33)
Or - Does God care? Genesis 9: 16 What he does say is " I NOW GIVE YOU EVERYTHING" ( Genesis 9:3)
The difference comes when - after everything going our way - we're hit with a crisis and think that we are trapped that our own dis-obedience sets up the brick walls.
posted by
jamryn
on October 20, 2004 at 7:57 AM
| link to this | reply
your notions regarding prayer are misguided to say the least.
Prayer is a way of acknowleding God's presence in our lives. when we look at how Jesus prayed; "Father, thy will be done". We see that we are looking to accept God's wisdom and His plan for us and others. We are free(and actually encouraged) to express our desires in the context of His will and we ask for the wisdom, strength and courage to accept and understand His will.
posted by
neamer
on October 20, 2004 at 7:51 AM
| link to this | reply
Interesting theory. I think maybe the first seeds of my non-belief were sown due to prayer. I remember when I was very small asking my mother how God could hear all the prayers and not really being happy with the answer, which was along the lines of "he hears everything". I wanted a dog and prayed for one, but I never got one. However, when I tried a "spell" I found in a kids' novel, it worked. The dog arrived the next day. Ah, the power of witchcraft!!!
posted by
Witty_Woman
on October 20, 2004 at 7:36 AM
| link to this | reply