I noticed it lately (more than usually anyway). We (the general "we") all say we believe in (a) God. Everyone goes to church, everyone prays when something bad happens. When a child gets kidnapped, hundreds of people go to church and pray that everything turns out to be alright. When a catastrophe occurs, everyone prays for the victims.
But when someone actually says that he did something because God told him to, then EVERYONE rolls eyes and doesn't believe it.
Why is that? Belief only goes so far, I presume? We all seem to know it's useless, we all know that someone who thinks he heard the voice of God is crazy, but we all pray anyway, and hope for the better. But when someone actually says he got a reply, everyone thinks it's just his imagination.
This is... funny, to say the least.
Moreover, how do people think catastrophes like volcanoes and earth quakes correlate to God? I mean, if someone puts up the schedule of catastrophes, isn't it God himself? So why do I go to church to pray to the orchestrator of a tragic event? Is it like begging "Please don't do this again?"
Or do we think that God doesn't have anything to do with earthquakes and all the suffering? But what is praying good for then? Why would he do anything about the aftermath of an event that he didn't care for to begin with?
And when someone dies, and everyone says to the surviving member of the family stuff like "We pray for you", isn't that a little too late?
How many of you people really believe? Or are you aware of the fact that praying is first and foremost a method to reflect about your own problems by talking to yourself, and that on the other end nobody else listens but you? Do you really start praying when you hear that a child got kidnapped or that an earthquake destroyed an entire country. How do you think this helps the victims? Do you really expect the hand of God to come down and save them from further suffering?
I think you already know that I don't. So I'm wondering if you do, and why you do, and how far your faith really goes.
Cheers,
Jarod