I wonder if any particular God or gods are more effective when
involved in intercessory prayer than others. Since it seems possible to
pray retroactively, might it be be a good idea to include gods that people
used to worship, though almost nobody believes in any more, such as Greek,
Norse gods etc.?
Has anyone tested an obvious control test of praying to 'the
invisible purple unicorn' or similar known-to-be imaginary being ?
Presumably it would be necessary to compare this against prayer to a
living person (not a god).
What format did the prayer take ? Shouldn't a group have short non-
prayers be said for them (e.g. reading from the back of a packet of
cornflakes). I like the line - "There was no sham intervention.".
To be honest if I thought I was in a hospital where people were
praying for me, I'd want to get out of there pretty quickly too, so I'm
not suprised at the outcome !
(I have had a look at the other papers published in that issue of BMJ
and have taken the requisite dose of salt).
Jo
Competing interest : member of the National Secular Society, UK
Rapid Response:
which gods ?
I wonder if any particular God or gods are more effective when
involved in intercessory prayer than others. Since it seems possible to
pray retroactively, might it be be a good idea to include gods that people
used to worship, though almost nobody believes in any more, such as Greek,
Norse gods etc.?
Has anyone tested an obvious control test of praying to 'the
invisible purple unicorn' or similar known-to-be imaginary being ?
Presumably it would be necessary to compare this against prayer to a
living person (not a god).
What format did the prayer take ? Shouldn't a group have short non-
prayers be said for them (e.g. reading from the back of a packet of
cornflakes). I like the line - "There was no sham intervention.".
To be honest if I thought I was in a hospital where people were
praying for me, I'd want to get out of there pretty quickly too, so I'm
not suprised at the outcome !
(I have had a look at the other papers published in that issue of BMJ
and have taken the requisite dose of salt).
Jo
Competing interest : member of the National Secular Society, UK
Competing interests: No competing interests