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]
Believe me there are always jokes after a death, but usually not too horrible and not personal about the deceased, just jokes about dealing with it or it was your fault.
I have no feelings about being prayed over when I'm dead, because dead people do not feel. The nurses should do whatever makes them feel personally comfortable with the situation at hand. I think saying a little prayer is certainley a very nice gesture. If it makes them feel better, then go for it. If making some kind of weird joke to relieve the tension works, what does a dead body care.
The Goodness of Life
Beautiful pictures & music - no ads Absolutely free for your enjoyment
That is a total load of crap! The Constitution speaks to freedom OF religion, not freedom FROM it.
but freedom of religion includes NOT having to participate in religious observances if you so choose.....so freedom 'of' equates, for some, to freedom 'from'.
I'm a fence-sitter between deist and agnostic, but I wouldn't be offended by the prayer, especially since I'd be dead. but while I'm alive, I don't like being forced to observe religious customs. For instance, my school's pinning ceremony is in a church, with a lengthy prayer, and I have a problem with it. however, i'll simply choose not to participate in the prayers. some more extremist friends of mine would boycott the ceremony, but I'd rather just get it over with and move on with my life.
I sometimes tell people I'm somewhere between a Taoist and a deist, which if funny, at least to me, if you say it out loud. Truthfully, though, I can get pretty Christian when things are bad, or in danger of getting bad. Which worries me, because it's kind of like asking God for bad luck, so that I'll pray more. Of course, if it's bad enough, maybe I pray so much that God changes my fate just to shut me up awhile.
I suspect it's a mistake to try to understand God in human terms, but what other terms do we have? I hope my remarks on this and similar threads reflect that I try very hard to be tolerant--even forgiving, if necessary--of others beliefs, and always to respect good intentions. And that, ultimately, is what I believe God feels about these things, even though it isn't quite consistent with what I was taught growing up.
I had a problem similar to your pinning problem in high school, when the football team all knelt to say the Lord's Prayer before games. I was more agnostic then, but I saw no harm in saying the Lord's Prayer, per se. The problem was, I saw no particular benefit in it, either, but I would have felt very uncomfortable abstaining. So, to my thinking, the coach, an Agent of the State, was very wrong in putting me in the position of having to choose between saying a prayer I didn't believe or looking like some kind of outsider/Commie/atheist.
On the other hand, these days a number of my nursing school classmates pray together before each exam, and I gladly participate. We are a.) not agents of the state and b.) adults. As an adult, I'm not intimidated to abstain from activities I object to--it just happens that I don't object to praying. I don't begin to have all the answers, but for me, prayer does mean something, now, even if I'm not entirely sure what.
In my work, I take people out for discharge several times a day, and I always wish them good luck and a safe trip home. I would feel a little hypocritical saying "God bless you," or something like that, since I don't exactly know how to say what I believe, but it would bother me if I did invoke God to someone who was offended or hurt by it, so that's all the more reason to keep it secular. At the same time, if someone asks me to pray for them, it would seem unkind to stumble over my own misfivings in meeting their needs. And there are times, to, when I feel moved to pray privately for someone who hasn't asked for it, so I do. I think it's entirely possible that those are times when God is asking me to pray for them.
The trouble with agnosticism is that you're damned if you do and damned if you don't--or maybe not.
I sometimes tell people I'm somewhere between a Taoist and a deist, which if funny, at least to me, if you say it out loud. Truthfully, though, I can get pretty Christian when things are bad, or in danger of getting bad. Which worries me, because it's kind of like asking God for bad luck, so that I'll pray more. Of course, if it's bad enough, maybe I pray so much that God changes my fate just to shut me up awhile.
I suspect it's a mistake to try to understand God in human terms, but what other terms do we have? I hope my remarks on this and similar threads reflect that I try very hard to be tolerant--even forgiving, if necessary--of others beliefs, and always to respect good intentions. And that, ultimately, is what I believe God feels about these things, even though it isn't quite consistent with what I was taught growing up.
I had a problem similar to your pinning problem in high school, when the football team all knelt to say the Lord's Prayer before games. I was more agnostic then, but I saw no harm in saying the Lord's Prayer, per se. The problem was, I saw no particular benefit in it, either, but I would have felt very uncomfortable abstaining. So, to my thinking, the coach, an Agent of the State, was very wrong in putting me in the position of having to choose between saying a prayer I didn't believe or looking like some kind of outsider/Commie/atheist.
On the other hand, these days a number of my nursing school classmates pray together before each exam, and I gladly participate. We are a.) not agents of the state and b.) adults. As an adult, I'm not intimidated to abstain from activities I object to--it just happens that I don't object to praying. I don't begin to have all the answers, but for me, prayer does mean something, now, even if I'm not entirely sure what.
In my work, I take people out for discharge several times a day, and I always wish them good luck and a safe trip home. I would feel a little hypocritical saying "God bless you," or something like that, since I don't exactly know how to say what I believe, but it would bother me if I did invoke God to someone who was offended or hurt by it, so that's all the more reason to keep it secular. At the same time, if someone asks me to pray for them, it would seem unkind to stumble over my own misfivings in meeting their needs. And there are times, to, when I feel moved to pray privately for someone who hasn't asked for it, so I do. I think it's entirely possible that those are times when God is asking me to pray for them.
The trouble with agnosticism is that you're damned if you do and damned if you don't--or maybe not.
I thought about this, and came to this understanding: She has very strong engrained beliefs, and I (or no one else) is going to change her. In a wacky way, she was showing her faith and trust in me i.e. I am not a bad person even though I am going to hell. She trusts me not to "eat her dogs." And my agnositic viewpoint was actually causing her much pain. She wants nothing more than the entire family to join her in heaven.
There are millions of people on this earth, hence millions of viewpoints on the after life. In order for one to have peace on this earth, one has to accept others beliefs. It is counter productive to do otherwise.
So, my point is this: Even though many out there might think I am going to hell. I do not have any ill feeling about this. I know who I am (most of the time, it gets a bit fuzzy after several shots of Wild Turkey). I strive for personal harmony, and this can only occur if I do not attempt to change others.
I think you both make very eloquent statements and both seem very caring and considerate. You are absolutely entitled to your beliefs as you are so equally willing to allow others to have their own beliefs. I feel this is really how we should all be. I do need to admit that as a youth and even a young man I was very abusive of God and doubtful of faith. I was atheist and even on occassion invited God to strike me down to prove me wrong. As mentioned events in my life have brought me understanding anew. For an example see post number 12 in this thread ( https://allnurses.com/forums/showthread.php?t=54252&page=2&pp=10 )
I guess the point I am trying to make is life and death are uncertain things. I was a sinner and I was young, now I am older and have mended my ways and have a wife and two beautiful daughters and have seen the things that make me believe that I will retain consciousness after I shuffle frre the mortal coil, and I aslo beleive I will be reborn in time and reunited with those that mean a great deal to me all over again. These are my beliefs and I am happy and confident in them as I know and understand you are with your beliefs.
oh BTW I am drinking after a 4 day run of 12 hour shifts charging in CCU so I am starting to get not only long winded but a little mushy
Specializes in MICU, SICU, Neuro ICU, Trauma ICU,.
No. I wouldnt be offended in the least. Im claim no organized religeon, but I believe that prayer is ones way of coping with life. If it makes you feel better to pray over me then go right ahead. Im dead, I dont care.
no. i wouldnt be offended in the least. im claim no organized religeon, but i believe that prayer is ones way of coping with life. if it makes you feel better to pray over me then go right ahead. im dead, i dont care.
jim morrison said "petition the lord with prayer? petition the lord with prayer? you can not petiton the lord with prayer!"
rememeber i already admitted i have been drinking. i love the doors, i miss jim eventho i never actually knew him, but i have in my time gained a faith that i am comfortable with. i have quit praying for those who die in my care or while i am in charge.
interesting side note the facility i work in is a catholic not for profit organization and our mission statement is.
through our exceptional healthcare services we reveal the healing presence of god.
I pray for my patients on a daily basis. Mostly I pray that I am a compassionate nurse to them, give them what they need for care, use wisdom in our healthcare decisions (nurses and docs). I also pray over them silently when/while they are passing and will pray with them anytime a patient asks it of me. As a nurse, we take care of the "whole" pt, part of which is spirituality. I will support them in their style of prayer/worship as it is part of their "whole" person. If their spirituality is different than mine, so be it. I support them at that time. Not me. But I still pray silently on my own.
I too find myself praying for docotrs quite often, and procedures and myself to be the best I can be and provide care and comfort for those in my care.
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!
If Im dead, why would I care
dead or dying just remember to leave my golf clubs alnoe though
CCU NRS
1,245 Posts
Believe me there are always jokes after a death, but usually not too horrible and not personal about the deceased, just jokes about dealing with it or it was your fault.
Did anyone else notice the ads we were getting.