Phil On ... praying to a God you don't believe in.

I don’t think anyone watching the awful scenes during the Finland vs Denmark group stage game in the Euros could have failed to have been moved and distressed as Eriksson collapsed. What was interesting was how the commentators and players immediately talked about praying for the best outcome. A natural response for Christians and followers of other faiths of course. But we live in a world where so many people reject God. Indeed, a significant minority claim to be atheists – it has been estimated that 4% of Americans, 8% of Brits and 15% of French people are atheists.
An article in the Guardian found out that 25% of people who claim to have no interest in religion actually pray in times of difficulty and stress. Another post on the web-site ‘Psychology Today’ claim 6% of atheists pray every day and 11% as regularly as weekly. Seriously, what is going on there? If you truly believe there is no God, why bother praying to something that doesn’t exist?! To me it seems an appalling, embarrassing act of hypocrisy that totally lacks logic. It’s like a Port Vale supporter seeing their team play badly and sliding down League Two towards non-league obscurity suddenly deciding to support Stoke City! Some try to explain this seemingly illogical act by saying an atheist prayer is really an overflowing of emotions; that there doesn’t have to be a recipient of the prayer (i.e. God).
Agnostics who pray are barely worthy of more respect. The definition of Agnostic is someone who does not believe the existence of God can be proven. As such, they aren’t conclusively saying there isn’t a God. But it always strikes me as a lazy and convenient get-out. In other words, they can’t really be bothered to find out from the scriptures and rituals of religions how as humans we might connect spiritually to God as a means of arriving at proof.
Since we are all made in God’s image, it shouldn’t be surprising that there is some sort of resonance with God even in the most ungodly human being. 31% of atheists experience “some kind of spiritual peace” at times in their life. So why shouldn’t that peace be associated with God? The need we all feel to acknowledge our helplessness and reach out for help is exactly what God wants us to do. It has been stated that “self-sufficiency is an illusion created by pride and temporary success”. The website radical.net challenges us on self-sufficiency by pointing out, for example, that we are reliant on (i) air that we didn’t create to breath and (ii) the ability of our body to automatically heal cuts. So much for self-sufficiency!  The fact is every single person in this world is vulnerable to the effects of sin and, if you don’t believe in God, you have nothing but your own abilities to get through – which is a scary thought. Recognizing this and trusting in God to help you through the bumps on your journey in this life is a source of immense comfort. Spending time with God in prayer helps us face up to our own sinfulness, reminds us of our responsibility to help others around us and enables us to be thankful for all we have been given (rather than moaning about what we want but haven’t got!).
Here’s a few more facts on atheists: 40% of atheists have a degree or high qualification – far higher than the average. Also, atheists tend to be very well-informed on religions in the world. Whilst qualifications and a resultant well-paid job can instil feelings of arrogance and self-sufficiency, it also potentially means they are more likely to read up on subjects -   maybe atheists are simply on a journey of understanding like Christians but are taking a different, more circuitous, route? Finally, it is interesting to note that atheism is more prevalent in younger people. Cynics might say that atheists start to hedge their bets as their inevitable death gets closer. But I’d prefer to think that many atheists eventually reach the conclusion that there is a God worth connecting with.