Re: How do I respond to this...prayer is just a placebo?
Posted: Sat Dec 24, 2011 8:31 pm
An interesting distinction, Steve. Thank you.Steve you wrote:The atheist is saying that there is no god answering prayers, and that prayer is simply a delusion of the worshipper. I would acknowledge to my pagan friend that he might, in fact, be receiving answers to prayer from a Deity who causes the sun to rise and the rain to fall on those, even, who do not know him (Paul said as much to the pagans in Lystra—Acts 14:16-17). The point of difference would be in the deciding upon which God is behind those observations.
It reminds me of one of C.S. Lewis's children's novels from "The Chronicles of Narnia". One of the Calormenes was a worshipper of the false god Tash. But eventually the man ended up in Aslan's country. He was surprised to find himself in the presence of Aslan, telling Aslan that he had served Tash all his life. Aslan said to him, "You are here with me because I regarded all of your service to Tash as service to me." (This is merely from my memory of the book; it's only an approximation of what Lewis actually wrote).