I have been praying about this, and really feel led to do it.

I have been criticized for sharing my faith in Jesus Christ on this website, I truly do respect others feelings because it certainly is their right to believe or not to believe, even God does not force one to believe in Him, it must be of one's own free will.

I feel deeply that there are some on here that would love to be prayed for, before surgery, during surgery and after surgery, so here's what I am willing to do, if I can be of some comfort to anyone, please email me at brotherron98@gmail.com

I assure you that I do have a personal and close relationship with the Lord, he does and always has answered my prayers, and I'm sure as long as I walk in his ways, he will continue to answer them, so please if I can help you in any way, email me.

Sincerely, The Preacher.

I am worndering if it really matters when this post/thread is placed in the subforums? I have set a bookmark for BariatricPal just for unread content across all the subforums, I then enter a post to read if something catches my eye, I don't read everything. I wonder how many others do the same?

I set it so that if I open a thread where I have already some of the posts that it goes to the first unread posts. The is my bookmark https://www.bariatricpal.com/discover/unread/

The only time I go to a particular subforum is when I go to the ESG forum to check for any brand new posts that I may have missed. I go there only because the ESG is my preferred procedure.

Sorry for the off topic post but just a different slant as to where this prayer thread should actually sit.

Edited August 28, 20187 yr by 2shea

48 minutes ago, Midwest Girl said:

Hi the preacher, please put me on your prayer list for my band to bypass revision on September 18. I’m embarrassed to say that I’m really scared. People ask me why I’m afraid if I believe God is with me and I can’t answer that. I know God loves me and has a plan for my life but does that mean nothing can go wrong? What am I missing?

You put your life in God's hands every time you get behind the wheel of a car, you're just used to that kid of faith; surgeries are rare and scary, it's natural to feel fear. The thought of going under and having something horrible happen and never know it is deeply unsettling to most people.

Nothing can prevent my appointed time. I don't know what or when. I just know that before a surgery, I lay it all out to God and go in as prepared as I can. Statistically you're still safer than driving a car on the highways!

Prayer is always welcome in any situation.

And the last 3 days of August there are many,many. I believe many surgeon's want to get them done so they can take Labor Day Weekend off.??May God watch over and keep them safe.?

19 hours ago, ellie123 said:

Praying onying for you @Christabell sovereign. He has not came me to give us the spirit of fear but of life and a sound mind!

Thank you. I see you're also a DFWer. I live in WI right now, but originally from McKinney. I'm coming down to have my surgery in Garland.

10 minutes ago, Christabelle said:

Thank you. I see you're also a DFWer. I live in WI right now, but originally from McKinney. I'm coming down to have my surgery in Garland.

Awesome! When do you arrive?

19 hours ago, Midwest Girl said:

Hi the preacher, please put me on your prayer list for my band to bypass revision on September 18. I’m embarrassed to say that I’m really scared. People ask me why I’m afraid if I believe God is with me and I can’t answer that. I know God loves me and has a plan for my life but does that mean nothing can go wrong? What am I missing?

I'm praying for you as well!

I'm praying for no complications and quick healing for you (and for everyone with upcoming surgery dates), but we have the assurance that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, who are called according to His purpose (Romans 8:28). We know regardless of the outcome, we can have peace knowing that everything is working together for His Glory.

2 hours ago, ellie123 said:

Awesome! When do you arrive?

September 2nd

Thank you to everyone who has prayed for me in this site. God answers prayer and you are doing the Lords work by praying for others and encouraging them.

GOD HAS CREATED A NEW DAY, SILVER AND GREEN AND GOLD*****LIVE THAT THE SUNSET WILL FIND US WORTHY HIS GIFT TO,HOLD!
Good Morning on this day HE has created.

On 8/23/2018 at 1:16 PM, apositivelife4me said:

What if I talked about my religious beliefs? I believe in witchcraft, the tarot and spiritualism and voodoo. What would be the reaction to me on here?

I haven't been on the boards in a few days, so I just saw this. I see no problem whatsoever if you made a post entitled with some indication of your beliefs. I'll be honest, I wouldn't click in it, and I wouldn't go in the thread and make comments regarding your beliefs. I believe in Jesus Christ, and maybe you don't. I will of course feel bad that you don't, but I'm sure you feel bad (perhaps angry) that I don't believe what you do. You may even feel that I am ignorant, a dreamer, idealist, a lemming, a cult member, or simply stupid - I'm okay with that, I really am. I know what (some) non-believers think of me, just as I know what (some) thin people think of me, so it's not something I haven't already heard.

I realize that it is impossible to "coexist" as some may believe, because there are polar opposites in religions, and while some seek to convert the other, others choose to punish the other. Nevertheless, it should be a mutual respect thing. Although I do not share your beliefs, I respect that you believe what you believe. I'll say this though, if you ever honestly curious about it, I would be more than happy to chat about it offline.

On 8/25/2018 at 7:56 PM, sideeye said:

I'm glad (seriously!) you're all finding a supportive community here through a shared spiritual belief, but surely you understand that the phrase above is exactly the sort of prim brimstone-flinging that makes us atheists find proselytizing ... Tiresome. And somewhat hard to align with the idea that kicked off this thread, which is that you're the ones being persecuted.

Team Atheism will take care of our own hereafters, thanks. No need to write weirdly gleeful religious fan fiction about some sort of supernatural comeuppance, and we will courteously resist doing the empirical science-based version right back at you. Respectful observance of boundaries, etc. Right?

I am a Christian and at the same time I understand your frustration. Let's be honest here, you attract bees with honey, not vinegar. If I walked up to you and asked you if you believed in God, and you told me no, if my next response was to tell you that you were going to hell, then that would not be tactful and I don't think that is the way to evangelize. I can also understand that the scripture we believe in may sound weird as you put it, just as if I started explaining how computer networks work to the lay person (Lots of terms are very strange and there is literally something called "promiscuous mode" that means something completely different than anyone might think).

The logic that I don't understand, is why non-believers would come into this thread? I could understand it if said person were genuinely interested, but it seems as if you already have your mind up. Everyone here is not a captive audience, this is not required for you to get the surgery, your drivers license, or your social security card. If you are uninterested in the topic, then you skip it and go on to the next one. If you created a thread saying "Atheists, come in here" or something of that nature, I wouldn't bother going in the thread out of respect to you/your fellow atheists.

I'll admit, I don't understand much about the atheist belief system other than it means one does not believe in God. I have atheist family members and I asked them what they thought happened when one died, and she told me that dead is dead, so you live your life to it's fullest when you're alive. But she also follows buddhist principles. She does say "Think good thoughts for me" when she is about to (or is currently) dealing with something stressful. Personally, it seems like a 1:1 for "Please pray for me" and maybe that is the PC atheist verbiage. My point is, if there is something, some set of beliefs, some common thoughts (Even if it is the "I can't stand those evangelicals") then I would go as far as to recommend creating your own post. I'll give you my word, I won't go in it and bother you.

I will not apologize for my beliefs, but I do apologize if other Christians tried to "shame" you into believing in Jesus, they should know that even if said atheist utters a prayer out loud (To stop getting harassed), it doesn't mean anything because only God knows what's in one's heart.

You probably won't believe me, but one of my best friends is an atheist, so yes, it's very easy for atheists and Christians to get along, my buddy and I just don't talk about beliefs and instead talk about other stuff. We've been friends for 16 years...

8 hours ago, CyclicalLoser said:

The logic that I don't understand, is why non-believers would come into this thread? I could understand it if said person were genuinely interested, but it seems as if you already have your mind up.

Praying isn't a thing I do, so I was sort of interested in following the dynamic - my mind is definitely made up as to its usefulness to me personally, but it's still intriguing to see how it works for others. I didn't pipe up until things took a hard turn from positivity into dark mutterings about how atheists would find out "too late". Overall I don't find it beneficial to let stuff like that slide - group dynamics mean that if a bunch of like-minded people get together, the echo chamber of them hearing their own views mirrored back to them can reinforce their beliefs. When that's about sending people good thoughts during their surgery, cool. But when you hear one person start to introduce rhetoric that denigrates another group... Well, it's worth stepping in and reminding the in-group that we can still hear you, and that it's a crappy thing to say. Don't want that sort of thing to build momentum.

8 hours ago, CyclicalLoser said:

I'll admit, I don't understand much about the atheist belief system other than it means one does not believe in God. I have atheist family members and I asked them what they thought happened when one died, and she told me that dead is dead, so you live your life to it's fullest when you're alive.

Yeah, that's pretty much it. Most religions organize around a robust set of fixed beliefs, while atheists kind of gravitate to a single agreed principle that there's no intelligent organizer of the universe but don't organize outside of that. And I think you're right that "please pray for me" and "think good thoughts" are pretty much the same sentiment - in fact, I believe most of us are generally feeling extremely similar emotions all the time, just attributing them to different sources. If something wonderful happens, a religious person might say "it's a miracle" or "I'm blessed', while I would probably be marveling at my luck that I just happened to be around in this particular place at this time to witness this thing. The religious person thinks it's intelligent and deliberate, and I think it's extremely good luck in the midst of organic entropy. Same sensation of joy and wonder, though.

As for the afterlife, that one's harder. I mean, life is wonderful, and I don't want to treat it like a test run. I'm pretty thrilled the assembly of atoms that makes me up came together at this point in time, and I want to appreciate that luck and grab onto it. When I die, I'm good with those atoms breaking apart again and becoming components in the next turn of the universe. I think atheism gets a rough ride; because a lot of people's first exposure to atheism is a family member snapping and going full militant atheist on the "family religion", it's easy to tar it as a void or a rejection, but there's really a ton of wonder and beauty in it. Just not attached to a supernatural intelligence.

Religious people and atheists can be friends, absolutely. My family is aunt-in-the-nunnery-Catholic, and I get along with them fine. It took a while, but they now understand that no, I CAN'T attend Christmas Mass just because "it's a family event", and I only wrapped their Christmas gifts in Winter Solstice wrapping paper for a few years in a row. As long as I don't mock their beliefs or tell them they're imagining things, and as long as they don't inform me that it's their sorrowful duty to tell me I'm going to hell, we're good. It's pretty simple, just be kind to each other. No "truth" you feel compelled to speak in support of your religion (or nonreligion!) is worth it if it's essentially telling someone else they're wrong and doomed.

9 minutes ago, sideeye said:

Overall I don't find it beneficial to let stuff like that slide - group dynamics mean that if a bunch of like-minded people get together, the echo chamber of them hearing their own views mirrored back to them can reinforce their beliefs.

...

No "truth" you feel compelled to speak in support of your religion (or nonreligion!) is worth it if it's essentially telling someone else they're wrong and doomed.

That's what I don't get. You seem to think that we don't all hold that particular belief as it is...that the "echo chamber" you mention is somehow convincing more people of what is a pretty basic tenet of all Abrahamic religions. I think it's counterproductive to put it in the terms in which it was originally introduced in this thread, but do you think that you're actually changing minds? Or, even more absurd, preventing minds from being changed? Because that's the only rationale I can see from not "letting stuff like that slide."

I like Penn Jillette's take on proselytism the best...that proselytism, however fire and brimstone it may be, comes from a place of love and wanting the best for someone, however much you may think the thought process behind that love is faulty:

I didn't join the thread to change minds - I'm certainly not trying to convert anyone to atheism, or to shake their faith in a higher being, or to prevent others from changing their mind (I assume you mean being convinced by Christian proselytizing). And I'm not trying to change your belief; I'm fully aware that very religious people believe that if you don't adopt their religion, then: brimstone. But there's a difference between believing something and broadcasting it, and that's where I stepped in. I'm not trying to change any minds, but I AM going to remind people that what they're saying is A) not the way everyone thinks, despite this small group being in accord, and B ) is unfriendly to people outside your group. It's about the broadcast, not the belief.

I'm with Penn when he views proselytizing as being motivated by caring, in its purest form. But once someone tells you that your words are both unhelpful and unwelcome, then that really should be that, and pursuit beyond that point is no longer motivated by caring, it's motivated by a willingness to ignore someone else's stated wish to cut it out. And that works both ways.

Despite the "Prayers" label on the thread, this is not church, and it is still a public message board. While I would not walk into your church and start picking apart Abrahamic principles, if I was sitting in a coffee shop and heard your Bible group at the next table talking about how atheists will be proven wrong on Judgement Day, then yeah, I probably would chip in. It's a slippery slope between saying things in private settings and feeling able to say them in the public sphere, and without pushback, in-groups may think their rhetoric is more acceptable to the general public than it actually is. This is literally what's happening on social media networks right now, and on certain cable news channels - people become unmoored from what society is actually willing to tolerate out in the open.