Okay, I did a search for GOD and came up with 200 pages of 5492 threads. Perhaps what I am looking for was somewhere in there, but WOW! The closest I have come were these posts which clearly show than an abundance of people DO believe in God:
I am curious about the number of people who do NOT believe in a traditional Higher Power.
What brought me to this was a recent theological discussion with my Jewish girlfriend. We are basically on the same wavelength (so I suppose thats good for us), where she believes in the God who created everything but doesnt care about what happens in the world, only about the outcome, (sort of like a science experiment), and I believe only in the POSSIBILITY of such an entity but not in the context of any organized religion which I have come across thus far. (Satanism is the closest I have found to what I believe, though even that seems to not be all encompassing. I do not prescribe to any religion so please don't get hung up on a particular reference or lack of here and miss the point of my question.)
I DO BELIEVE RELIGION IS NECESSARY TO MAINTAIN CIVILIZED SOCIETIES!!! I just have no faith in the whole omnipotent, omniscient, loving God thing to whom we should devote our lives, depriving ourselves of certain experiences that seem to be the very nature of our existence, spending time on our knees seeking guidance from and worshiping. I AM NOT CRITICIZING ANYONE FOR PRACTICING RELIGION!!!
My question is this: do you all feel it is necessary for a care provider to believe in and/or have faith in God or does it matter if he/she believes there might not be a second chance in "Heaven" and have only one FINITE life to live so therefore it is mandatory to ensure everyone gets the best possible chance to be happy and make our marks (so to speak) the only time around?
I would hope that if someone is dying and wanted prayer and a person did not believe that they would try to find someone that does believe if time does allowed.
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I don't mean to sound disrespectful and I hope that this would never happen.... but I would also hope that if I am in bed and dying that people would also respect my non-belief and allow me to die without trying to force God on me that one last time.......
I think it's time we all just accepted the fact that we better kiss Hank's ass (from http://jhuger.com/kisshank.mv):
This morning there was a knock at my door. When I answered the door I found a well groomed, nicely dressed couple. The man spoke first:
John:
"Hi! I'm John, and this is Mary."
Mary:
Hi! We're here to invite you to come kiss Hank's ass with us."
Me:
"Pardon me?! What are you talking about? Who's Hank, and why would I want to kiss His ass?"
John:
"If you kiss Hank's ass, He'll give you a million dollars; and if you don't, He'll kick the shit out of you."
Me:
"What? Is this some sort of bizarre mob shake-down?"
John:
"Hank is a billionaire philanthropist. Hank built this town. Hank owns this town. He can do whatever He wants, and what He wants is to give you a million dollars, but He can't until you kiss His ass."
Me:
"That doesn't make any sense. Why..."
Mary:
"Who are you to question Hank's gift? Don't you want a million dollars? Isn't it worth a little kiss on the ass?"
Me:
"Well maybe, if it's legit, but..."
John:
"Then come kiss Hank's ass with us."
Me:
"Do you kiss Hank's ass often?"
Mary:
"Oh yes, all the time..."
Me:
"And has He given you a million dollars?"
John:
"Well no. You don't actually get the money until you leave town."
Me:
"So why don't you just leave town now?"
Mary:
"You can't leave until Hank tells you to, or you don't get the money, and He kicks the shit out of you."
Me:
"Do you know anyone who kissed Hank's ass, left town, and got the million dollars?"
John:
"My mother kissed Hank's ass for years. She left town last year, and I'm sure she got the money."
Me:
"Haven't you talked to her since then?"
John:
"Of course not, Hank doesn't allow it."
Me:
"So what makes you think He'll actually give you the money if you've never talked to anyone who got the money?"
Mary:
"Well, He gives you a little bit before you leave. Maybe you'll get a raise, maybe you'll win a small lotto, maybe you'll just find a twenty-dollar bill on the street."
Me:
"What's that got to do with Hank?"
John:
"Hank has certain 'connections.'"
Me:
"I'm sorry, but this sounds like some sort of bizarre con game."
John:
"But it's a million dollars, can you really take the chance? And remember, if you don't kiss Hank's ass He'll kick the shit out of you."
Me:
"Maybe if I could see Hank, talk to Him, get the details straight from Him..."
Mary:
"No one sees Hank, no one talks to Hank."
Me:
"Then how do you kiss His ass?"
John:
"Sometimes we just blow Him a kiss, and think of His ass. Other times we kiss Karl's ass, and he passes it on."
Me:
"Who's Karl?"
Mary:
"A friend of ours. He's the one who taught us all about kissing Hank's ass. All we had to do was take him out to dinner a few times."
Me:
"And you just took his word for it when he said there was a Hank, that Hank wanted you to kiss His ass, and that Hank would reward you?"
John:
"Oh no! Karl has a letter he got from Hank years ago explaining the whole thing. Here's a copy; see for yourself."
From the desk of Karl
1. Kiss Hank's ass and He'll give you a million dollars when you leave town.
2. Use alcohol in moderation.
3. Kick the shit out of people who aren't like you.
4. Eat right.
5. Hank dictated this list Himself.
6. The moon is made of green cheese.
7. Everything Hank says is right.
8. Wash your hands after going to the bathroom.
9. Don't use alcohol.
10. Eat your wieners on buns, no condiments.
11. Kiss Hank's ass or He'll kick the shit out of you.
Me:
"This appears to be written on Karl's letterhead."
Mary:
"Hank didn't have any paper."
Me:
"I have a hunch that if we checked we'd find this is Karl's handwriting."
John:
"Of course, Hank dictated it."
Me:
"I thought you said no one gets to see Hank?"
Mary:
"Not now, but years ago He would talk to some people."
Me:
"I thought you said He was a philanthropist. What sort of philanthropist kicks the shit out of people just because they're different?"
Mary:
"It's what Hank wants, and Hank's always right."
Me:
"How do you figure that?"
Mary:
"Item 7 says 'Everything Hank says is right.' That's good enough for me!"
Me:
"Maybe your friend Karl just made the whole thing up."
John:
"No way! Item 5 says 'Hank dictated this list himself.' Besides, item 2 says 'Use alcohol in moderation,' Item 4 says 'Eat right,' and item 8 says 'Wash your hands after going to the bathroom.' Everyone knows those things are right, so the rest must be true, too."
Me:
"But 9 says 'Don't use alcohol.' which doesn't quite go with item 2, and 6 says 'The moon is made of green cheese,' which is just plain wrong."
John:
"There's no contradiction between 9 and 2, 9 just clarifies 2. As far as 6 goes, you've never been to the moon, so you can't say for sure."
Me:
"Scientists have pretty firmly established that the moon is made of rock..."
Mary:
"But they don't know if the rock came from the Earth, or from out of space, so it could just as easily be green cheese."
Me:
"I'm not really an expert, but I think the theory that the Moon was somehow 'captured' by the Earth has been discounted*. Besides, not knowing where the rock came from doesn't make it cheese."
John:
"Ha! You just admitted that scientists make mistakes, but we know Hank is always right!"
Me:
"We do?"
Mary:
"Of course we do, Item 7 says so."
Me:
"You're saying Hank's always right because the list says so, the list is right because Hank dictated it, and we know that Hank dictated it because the list says so. That's circular logic, no different than saying 'Hank's right because He says He's right.'"
John:
"Now you're getting it! It's so rewarding to see someone come around to Hank's way of thinking."
Me:
"But...oh, never mind. What's the deal with wieners?"
Mary:
She blushes.
John:
"Wieners, in buns, no condiments. It's Hank's way. Anything else is wrong."
Me:
"What if I don't have a bun?"
John:
"No bun, no wiener. A wiener without a bun is wrong."
Me:
"No relish? No Mustard?"
Mary:
She looks positively stricken.
John:
He's shouting. "There's no need for such language! Condiments of any kind are wrong!"
Me:
"So a big pile of sauerkraut with some wieners chopped up in it would be out of the question?"
Mary:
Sticks her fingers in her ears."I am not listening to this. La la la, la la, la la la."
John:
"That's disgusting. Only some sort of evil deviant would eat that..."
Me:
"It's good! I eat it all the time."
Mary:
She faints.
John:
He catches Mary. "Well, if I'd known you were one of those I wouldn't have wasted my time. When Hank kicks the shit out of you I'll be there, counting my money and laughing. I'll kiss Hank's ass for you, you bunless cut-wienered kraut-eater."
With this, John dragged Mary to their waiting car, and sped off.
Yay Psychomachia!!!! I absolutely love that! I have sent it out as an email before. Problem is, I don't think the people to whom it applies take it the same way we do, so it tends to go over their heads. Not being mean, I just think you have to have that skepticism inside to fully comprehend the logic in that ...essay? People with their faith intact just do not see it the same way, which I think is unfortunate. I am glad someone finally said it, because I was getting fully sick of seeing all the preachy, judgemental, Bible crap on this thread.
Yay Psychomachia!!!! I absolutely love that! I have sent it out as an email before. Problem is, I don't think the people to whom it applies take it the same way we do, so it tends to go over their heads. Not being mean, I just think you have to have that skepticism inside to fully comprehend the logic in that ...essay? People with their faith intact just do not see it the same way, which I think is unfortunate. I am glad someone finally said it, because I was getting fully sick of seeing all the preachy, judgemental, Bible crap on this thread.
Calling people's opinions Bible "crap" is judgemental, no?
Just thinking if i said "non-Christian crap" (which i wouldn't, that's disrespectful) that wouldn't blow over too well.
I dont think it matters what we believe in but that we respect what our clients, patients believe in. I am constantly amazed at the number of patients who come to the or where I work and when I ask them if they have seen their priest or minister ect or would like to see them for a blessing they are so thankful for the service. We have ministers of all faiths on call and they come to the or and speak to the patients and give them a blessing. The comfort it brings is visable and the patients relax. By the way I myself and an athiest.
I would hope that if someone is dying and wanted prayer and a person did not believe that they would try to find someone that does believe if time does allowed.
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I don't mean to sound disrespectful and I hope that this would never happen.... but I would also hope that if I am in bed and dying that people would also respect my non-belief and allow me to die without trying to force God on me that one last time.......
Of course, I would respect your wishes if you did not want to hear about God. But that would not stop me for praying for you in my heart.
Ok first of all I will apologize for people taking my comment as an insult. I was fed up with the scripture, preaching tones, and witnessing being posted. People were saying that you had to believe in God to be a good nurse, and I snapped. I wrote it and posted it without reading it twice to my regret. But more than one person said that believing in God was the only way to be a good person. This is basically calling all non believers miserable people who are going to hell. Well I don't believe in your hell so that doesn't apply to me. Fact is I was calling all those sentiments crap, not the Bible. I try not to be as insensitive to others beliefs as they usually are to anything non-christian. Pagans etc have their beliefs called crap constantly and have to put up with people telling them that if they don't accept the lord Jesus Christ as their savior they are doomed to fire and brimstone forever. Well I guess that all of God's first people, the Jews are going to hell then also because they do not believe in Jesus as the Christ messiah. He was just another prophet who said he talked to God for them.
Anyway, as to the person who said they would pray in their hearts for the person who didn't want prayed for...well I wouldn't want that either. Just because you aren't doing it out loud does not mean it is not disrespectful of our disbelief to pray for us to YOUR higher power.
Shiva_Las_Vegas
93 Posts
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Originally posted by shunda
I would hope that if someone is dying and wanted prayer and a person did not believe that they would try to find someone that does believe if time does allowed.
_______________________
I don't mean to sound disrespectful and I hope that this would never happen.... but I would also hope that if I am in bed and dying that people would also respect my non-belief and allow me to die without trying to force God on me that one last time.......