A reader writes:
I'm sure Christopher Hitchens is generous enough to take your request for what it is: a good-hearted and loving act. Still, it's a bit like telling people to bring sugar to a diabetic. Hitch has made clear what he thinks of prayer, while acknowledging that praying for him might make the one who's praying feel better in some way. But it's still sort of an insult when encouraged in a public way. (Didn't you just last week criticize Tim Tebow for his public displays of prayer?)
It's an insult not only because of Hitch's clarity on the matter, but because it's among the most internally contradictory things a Christian can do. To believe in a god who would respond to prayer is absolutely not to believe in one who is all-knowing and all-powerful and all-loving, one who has a plan for us all. Do you really think that if enough people respond to your suggestion, god will intervene in some way that he hasn't yet? If so, what does it say about that god?
In a post not too long ago you mentioned a rabbi's thought that the purpose of prayer is to bring the supplicant closer to god, as opposed to expecting a specific result. It sounds great until you think about it: I pray because I believe in god, and in praying I confirm that I believe in god.
To begin with, I did not just say pray for him. I offered an atheist option: to keep him in your thoughts. I also did not ask people of faith to pray to cure him. Just to pray for him in this painful passage in his life. The reader continues:
I assume you're aware of the study of prayer that was done in a heart-surgery ICU a few years ago: Having solicited groups to pray for them, it divided patients into three groups: one received prayer while not knowing they were being prayed for; another received prayer while knowing it was happening; the third received no prayer. In terms of post-op recovery, there was no difference between the group not prayed for and the group prayed for anonymously. The group being prayed for and knowing it did worse.
As a physician who's seen his share of dying, and who's always acknowledged the role of belief in making the process easier for some, I'd never discourage it. And I've always found a way to gently hedge when asked by patients if I was a believer. When told god was guiding my care, I say I'll take help from wherever I can get it.
The Dish had a thread called "Should We Pray For Hitch?" that ran a year-and-a-half ago. Here's to many more installments in the years to come.
The Dish 