"J. van Baardwijk" wrote:
>
> At 13:01 09-11-2002 -0600, Adam Lipscomb wrote:
>
> > > >Additionally, whenever I do see a poor person on the street, I have
> > > >made a point of saying a prayer for them, as the least thing that I
> > > >could do for them.
> > >
> > > And that is going to help them improve their situation -- how exactly?
> >
> >I'll address this question. To someone of faith, praying for another's
> >welfare *does* help.
>
> I am sure those of faith believe it will help, but does it *really* help
> that poor person?
>
> In other words: is there any scientific evidence that saying a prayer for a
> poor, homeless person will actually improve that person's situation? If so,
> I would love to see it. If not, well, then praying seems rather useless.
>
> Jeroen "The Pragmatist" van Baardwijk
Pragmatically, maybe prayer is a reinforcement of "Gee, I'd better get
that check off to charity X that would be better able to help that
person than I really can." In which case, it would be a little
indirect, but it would help that person, or someone in a very similar
situation.
Also, there is scientific evidence that prayer or medidation is good for
one's health, which leads in general to less of a drain on community
health resources and more of a contribution to the community (if you're
healthier, you can work more, earn more, give more to the community
either in terms of taxes, which you'll pay more of if you earn more
money, or charitable contributions, or time), so all other things being
equal, someone who prays is, at least indirectly, helping others in the
community.
Julia
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