Two Emails and the Nature of Belief in God

[oi_antz]

Thank you for the prayer oi antz. I think. I can't join you as it would be dis-ingenuous considering my lack of belief in God, so the invitation to do so has me a little confused.

I'm female, BTW. Not that it matters online, but still...

I'm very sorry if I have offended you by my assumption of gender, I really meant nothing by it. Just I couldn't see the sex icon on your profile. I have updated the prayer accordingly.

Anyhow, I hope you can at least read the prayer and accept that those are warm wishes for you, and I designed it especially for you, it isn't a chain letter. I don't believe it matters whether you believe God will hear it, it's totally up to Him whether He wants to, don't you think? I'm curious on that point, do you think I said something in that prayer that you would be worse for?

 

[Glass*Soul]

I'm very sorry if I have offended you by my assumption of gender, I really meant nothing by it. Just I couldn't see the sex icon on your profile. I have updated the prayer accordingly.

I wasn't offended at all. I hide my gender, my icon looks masculine and on the internet gender just doesn't matter. It's just that the wording of your prayer made it so obvious that you were thinking I was male that it would have felt like a sort of passive lie to have not said something at that point.

Anyhow, I hope you can at least read the prayer and accept that those are warm wishes for you, and I designed it especially for you, it isn't a chain letter. I don't believe it matters whether you believe God will hear it, it's totally up to Him whether He wants to, don't you think? I'm curious on that point, do you think I said something in that prayer that you would be worse for?

I should be less defensive. My first instinct was to see the prayer as perfectly benign and to be touched that you had crafted it on such a personal note. On occasion I have been prayed for out of exasperation, I think. The words, "I'll pray for you," can sometimes hold an unspoken, "...because my efforts to talk some sense into you have obviously failed." But then, in real life, you can hear that exasperated tone in someone's voice, so it is rather apparent. It isn't fair for me to have projected that onto your prayer. I'm disappointed in myself for doing so.

I am sorry oi antz. Thank you for the prayer. It is a thoughtful prayer and not in the least offensive and no wishes in it that I would be worse for.

 

[Glass*Soul]

May I add also, that early on in this topic, when I said that there is good and bad theology, even when one is looking at it from a non-theistic point of view, the content of your prayer is an example of what I meant by good theology.