Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!swrinde!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!wuarchive!uunet!seismo!dimacs.rutgers.edu!aramis.rutgers.edu!athos.rutgers.edu!christian From: romain@salt.pyramid.com (Romain Kang) Newsgroups: soc.religion.christian Subject: Re: st. jude Message-ID: Date: 23 May 91 00:51:12 GMT Sender: hedrick@athos.rutgers.edu Lines: 35 Approved: christian@aramis.rutgers.edu In mclane@oxy.edu writes: | I have never heard anything so directly against the Christian faith!! | Why would anyone need to believe that Christ died for us... According | to this the power to answer prayer is whoever prays, as opposed to the | power being God's alone. I see several questions raised here. (I should add that I approach them from a Protestant perspective. As I understand it, the novena is actually a prayer to St. Jude to intercede with God on the requestor's behalf, just an American overseas might ask the consulate for assistance in dealing with the local government. As such, Roman Catholics might see a different set of issues.) First, does God show his love to everyone, even those without faith? It seems clear to me that the answer is yes. Consider the lilies of the field as an extreme example. Second, does prayer in the absence of faith truly constitute prayer? This is a tough question, and I don't have the time to consider it fully. However, you can picture of humans as being vessels of faith that are often empty because of our imperfections, but this should not be an insurmountable problem for God. Even though Christians sometimes (often?!) lack faith, I see this as an impediment to humans when we pray, but not to God. Finally, does God work according to some formula? The Christian Scientists seem to believe that there is an orderly correlation between their actions and God's responses. (I haven't looked closely at CS, so I can't properly comment on their beliefs or methods.) However, I'm wary of rule-based approaches to understanding God. Rather, I would rely on the integrity of God's fundamental covenants, but at the same time, consider them a framework for boundless creative potential. Peace, Romain