I am curious to know if you would be offended, if at church on Sunday your Pastor got up and said a prayer for Church Mice?
I mean he prayed that the mice be strengthened and given the ability to carry out their mousey duties and to eventually render the Church unusable, so that the Parisheners would finally have to pony up the dough to pay for a new Church.
ok I am kidding here is the original post but hey if you are just now reading this thread there have been many twists and turns and I no longer say a prayer over the deceased and yes largely due to many of the points made in this thread. Also NO i would not be offended if anyone of any belief Satanist, TO Catholic said prayers or whipered chants or whatever in my ear that said it was and is an interesting thread but please read about 5-10 of the current posts prior to posting
Now The
ORIGNAL POST
I am curious to know if you would be offended, after death if someone were to say a prayer over you.
I would really like to hear from as many Agnostic or Atheist as possible.
I recently began saying a prayer over anyone that dies in my presence. Many times I do not know if the person had a religious preference or not. I am curious to know if people would be offended if they knew someone was going to pray over them when they die.
here is the prayer
Dear Lord not our will but yours. Into thine hands we commend the spirit of this peaceful child of God. Prepare a place for him/her Now in Your Heavenly Kingdom![/Quote]
I am curious to know if you would be offended, after death if someone were to say a prayer over you.
I would really like to hear from as many Agnostic or Atheist as possible.
I recently began saying a prayer over anyone that dies in my presence. Many times I do not know if the person had a religious preference or not. I am curious to know if people would be offended if they knew someone was going to pray over them when they die.
here is the prayer
Dear Lord not our will but yours. Into thine hands we commend the spirit of this peaceful child of God. Prepare a place for him/her Now in Your Heavenly Kingdom!
No reason to withhold prayer if prayed-for is atheist. Prayer is the recourse of the source, not the recipient. It is your belief that a merciful God will receive the deceased. Therefore, you are acting on your beliefs. Pray for ALL atheists - can't hurt!
Laws based on Biblican preachings? Bah Hum Bug! Animals know that a "union" is between opposite sexes, Nature has laws...oh that is right- Science proves a "Higher Power" created all of these...Interesting to see that Christianity is the oldest religion and also acknowledges God as the Creator.....Just my two cents worth
I have to disagree. For one thing there are cases of animals practicing homosexual behaviors, for another....Christianity is FAR from the oldest religion! There are NUMEROUS religions that predate Christianity by hundreds of years, Paganism,Egyptian religions, Zoroastrianism, and Judaism just to name several. Polytheistic religions have been around far longer than Christianity, but Christians choose to ignore them because to believe so would contradict the bible. As for science proving a higher power, how does it do that? I tend to think that it does the opposite. The age of the earth and fossil records of man contradict the bible's timeline, the bible states that the animals were created as they are now, and there is fossil evidence to the contrary proving an evolution. Just a few examples. Everyone is entitled to their opinions, but don't bah humbug someone based on yours.
I would not be offended by someone praying for me, I would like them to pray for me, hopefully while I live not just after I have passed. I often pray on my way to work, asking that I will be able to be in tune with the patients I care for, that I will be able to meet their needs and that I will be able to show them the love they need to heal not just care for their physical needs.
I would not pray out loud in front of my patients or their families because they may not believe the same way I do. If I were asked I would participate and show respect for the religious practices of my patients, I am not Catholic but helped a family facing the imminent death of their infant daughter to have her baptized.
When my son died the one thing that made a terrible, horrible thing just a tiny bit easier was seeing the officer that was there to take photos crying with us. So I would be honored if someone felt my life was important enough for them to pray over me.
Laws based on Biblican preachings? Bah Hum Bug! Animals know that a "union" is between opposite sexes, Nature has laws...oh that is right- Science proves a "Higher Power" created all of these...Interesting to see that Christianity is the oldest religion and also acknowledges God as the Creator.....Just my two cents worth
Actually, Christianity is one of the newer religions. I believe Hinduism has been around much, much longer, not to mention Judiasm (remember...Jesus was a Jew..there was no "Christianity" before him).
As for the prayer..please, say a silent prayer for my dead body if it brings you comfort. I am a believer in the power of prayer, no matter what religion is doing the praying.
Prayer, meditation...whatever brings you inner peace.
Freedom of expression must include the opportunty to share ones faith as that is a critical tenet for some religions.
Separation between church and state never applies in health care as we do have a responsibility to support a patient's spiritual needs as well as phycial, emotional and educaitonal needs. Our best way to meet the spiritual needs is to work with the patient's beliefs and if invited share our ideas.
Have you seene the studies that show the patient outcomes improved even when they did not know someone was praying for them? Why would we not be allowed to pray?
Tolerance is being respectful of others expression, NOT controlling them by demanding silence because I choose to be offended. I can accept anyone who is praying for me, because by definition prayer is a good will gesture.
Mars
Tolerance is also being respectful of people who don't believe as you do, and not sharing your faith with them if they make it clear they don't want to hear it.
I am a Christian, and though I do not believe in forcing religion on anyone, I believe Spiritual care is as important as physical and emotional care. For example I cared for a comatose patient in Critical Care once. His prognosis was grim. In talking to his wife about death she expressed she could cope with his death but longed for an opportunity to share some things with him first. I offered to pray with her and she agreed. Shortly after the prayer her husband woke up comepletely lucid. She talked to him for 3 hours. He lapsed back into a coma and died later that night. I considered this a part of providing holistic care.
No. I would not be affended, but please pray while I'm still alive to receive the benefits. I'm a Christian and know that God hears the sincere prayer.However, the Bible states that after death one faces God in judgement. Mankind from Adam to the last born has been, is and will be divided into one of two catagories: those who believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of the living God, that his mother was a virgin, that He died for the unbelief of every human being, and that he rose from the dead and is returning to this earth to reign as King of kings and Lord of lords. After death--the judgement! No prayer then can make any difference!!!
No. I would not be affended, but please pray while I'm still alive to receive the benefits. I'm a Christian and know that God hears the sincere prayer.However, the Bible states that after death one faces God in judgement. Mankind from Adam to the last born has been, is and will be divided into one of two catagories: those who believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of the living God, that his mother was a virgin, that He died for the unbelief of every human being, and that he rose from the dead and is returning to this earth to reign as King of kings and Lord of lords. After death--the judgement! No prayer then can make any difference!!!
Well, there are those who wouldn't agree with you on all those points, but those of us who pray can keep each other in prayer.
Merricat, The Jewish tradition involves no embalming. Aslo all lines like IV;s catheters, etc. that were in teh body at death are to remain in the body. QUOTE]
That's interesting--I did not know that the lines remained in at burial.
I used to work with a Jewish anesthesiologist who got addicted to narcotics. He got found out, went to rehab, came back to work and 2 weeks later was found dead at home with an IV in his arm. No one knows if it was suicide or overdose, but we all asssumed overdose.
Kinda sad in some ways that he had to be buried with the object that led to his death. Course, I guess no one saw it or was aware that it was there, unless his wife chose to tell them.
I would not mind if anyone said any kind of prayer over me. I am Catholic and I also practice Tibetan Buddhism. Whenever I see an accident or a dead body--even a dead cat, dog, raccoon, or insect--anwhere, I out of habit make the Sign of the Cross and I also say O MA NI PE ME HUNG. In front of a family, I would do both, but SILENTLY and unobtrusively.
I remember taking care of an elderly Frenchwoman whose death was inevitable. She slept most of the time, due to pain medication. One time she woke up and seemed cognizant of what was around her, and I asked her--partially in pantomime and the rest in English and a bit of French- if she wanted me to say the Rosary with her. I went to Catholic high school, so, although I didn't remember much conversational French, I did remember how to say the Rosary, as we'd memorized all the Catholic prayers in French class and said the Rosary every day.
She wanted to, and I called her son and he rushed the rosary over. He was deeply touched that I thought of it. She and I said the Rosary and then my shift was over. When I came back the following week, she had died. Her son and daughter in law wrote and told me that that was the nicest thing that anyone could have done for her, and that they would not have thought of it themselves.
Now, here's another take on the original question. Do any of you automatically baptize a stillborn baby or a baby who dies in NICU or ER? Or do you ask the family if they want that done, and have the Chaplain or their own priest summoned? Just curious. I have done C-sections in OR for fetal demise, and we automatically baptized the babies. Without exception, the parents thanked us for doing so--because they were so distraught that the thought would not have occured to them to ASK that it be done. However, that was many years ago, and I don't know if I'd proceed the same way today. I think I'd ALWAYS approach the family and ASK if they wanted it done--and who they wanted to do it.
If you are treating a Unitarian, by all means convene a discussion group at the *patient's* request!
:chuckle So true! And I can laugh at that and say that because I AM a Unitarian.
I would not be offended by anyone saying a prayer for me because I understand that it is an expression of your spiritual beliefs and represents your best wishes for me. However, there are many people who would find that presumptuous. Therefore, I would recommend that limit your outward expressions to those whom you are CERTAIN share your belief set and would welcome this.
Here's a test I always suggest to people...imagine the situation differently...think of a person of an entirely different set of religious beliefs than your own (Buddhist?, Hindu?, Muslim?, Pagan? I list these because they are out of the mainstream in the US) and imagine them performing a sacred ritual or uttering their sacred phrases on your behalf without your consent. Are you okay with that? For many people, the answer is NO, and that's your sign.
Seriously, I read a book at an early age (Beau Geste) in which one of the characters is given a Viking funeral...and I was fascinated. If it were legal or possible, I'd just have someone load me in a rowboat wearing whatever it was I was wearing when I died, put a pile of my favorite books in with me, slosh the gasoline on and set me alight and shove me out to the middle of some lake. :)
This is EXACTLY what my 15 y.o. daughter said she wants! But she wants the viking ship, not a rowboat! :chuckle
maurlusch
3 Posts
No reason to withhold prayer if prayed-for is atheist. Prayer is the recourse of the source, not the recipient. It is your belief that a merciful God will receive the deceased. Therefore, you are acting on your beliefs. Pray for ALL atheists - can't hurt!