Do you believe in God/guardian angels/something?

[DerDrache]

I've been doing some thinking lately about the possibility of...some type of force that has been protecting me. I've done a lot of stupid things while drunk, and I definitely wasn't in control. It seems like too much a coincidence to think I've gotten through several of these stupid decisions unscathed without some help.

I mean, is it God? Coincidence? God seems like the height of irrationality to me, but lately I just don't see any other way. Like, is the world just chaos and what happens happens, or do you think amidst the chaos there's some type of...spiritual thing going on?

[Zay]

ROFL

[Rust]

For every one of these scenarios you can mention, there are countless other scenarios where people have suffered great injury. Should we conclude the opposite: that there exists a harmful angel which deliberately puts those people in harm's way?

Anecdotal evidence, even our own, is completely suspect. You shouldn't rely on it to begin with. Given that all legitimate scientific research on the subject has shown that prayer doesn't work - which one would assume would be (and it is often claim by believers to be), a vehicle by which to communicate with guardian angels or that "spiritual thing", I think it's safe to say that it was merely coincidence.

[debaser1]

I beleive in some higher being, whether it's within ourselves, all around us, or in the sky. If there is a God, I seriously doubt he's helping your drunk ass stay out of trouble. And well, if he is, I'd say this world is coming to an end pretty damn soon.

I do know what you're talking about though, I get the same thing. I have this second sense/voice in my head that tells me what to do when I'm fucked up to stay out of trouble. That voice is always right too. It's not a guardian angel or anything it's just you being reasonable.

[This message has been edited by debaser1 (edited 11-23-2006).]

[vehicular mansLAUGHTER]

quote:Originally posted by Rust:

For every one of these scenarios you can mention, there are countless other scenarios where people have suffered great injury. Should we conclude the opposite: that there exists a harmful angel which deliberately puts those people in harm's way?

Anecdotal evidence, even our own, is completely suspect. You shouldn't rely on it to begin with. Given that all legitimate scientific research on the subject has shown that prayer doesn't work - which one would assume would be (and it is often claim by believers to be), a vehicle by which to communicate with guardian angels or that "spiritual thing", I think it's safe to say that it was merely coincidence.

how is it that you manage to put all of my thoughts that i have trouble explaining perfectly into writing?

[Rust]

I'm your guardian angel. I know all of your thoughts!

---

One more thing, DerDrache: it seems you're pretty much alluding to having driven while drunk in the past, without getting into trouble or into an accident. If that is the case, then I'd question whether these "angels" (or the "spiritual force") are actually good in the first place - if they even exist of course. One would hope that they would be protecting innocent people who are not drinking and driving and not assholes who recklessly do so. Or, at the very least, if they are protecting you, that they have the common courtesy of teaching you a lesson by having you crash into a big fucking tree and breaking few dozen bones of yours.

[Seriously]

quote:Originally posted by Rust:

Anecdotal evidence, even our own, is completely suspect. You shouldn't rely on it to begin with.

I agree.

quote: Given that all legitimate scientific research on the subject has shown that prayer doesn't work

I don't think all of it says so.

http://www.ncbi.nlm. nih.gov/en trez/query .fcgi?cmd= Retrieve&d b=pubmed&d opt=Abstra ct&list_uids=3393937



http://www.ncbi.nlm. nih.gov/en trez/query .fcgi?cmd= Retrieve&d b=pubmed&d opt=Abstra ct&list_uids=11751349





[This message has been edited by Seriously (edited 11-23-2006).]

[Rust]

Maybe saying "none" was a mistake on my part. However, you have to keep in mind that:

1. There is a huge difference between an observational study, such as the ones you cite, and an experimental study. In observational studies, what can be said is, at best, that in those particular cases, a slight statistical difference was noted. That's it.

2. There have been other studies, following similar guidelines, and which have been much more extensive (for longer periods of time and with more patients examined) which have showed no statistically significant benefit.

-- http://tinyurl.com/y4n3x9

If prayer worked, we would expect all studies to show significance.