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I chose "have no influence on the chances of winning". Is the act of prayer itself going to affect the balls drawn is some quantum physics sort of way? Or is God himself going to hear your prayer and decide to divinely interviene and personally ensure that the numbers you played are magically drawn from the hopper??? If the later of the two is feasible, then one has to wonder what God does in the event that more than one person is praying for a win. Sure, a few people could split the jackpot, but I think it is safe to assume that hundreds, if not thousands of people are praying for a win simultaneously. So how does God pick who gets to win and who does not? Does he consider each persons denomination, how often they go to church, or how they will spend the winnings?
I can't imagine prayer having any effect in this scenario, especially since it seems as though countless prayers went unanswered in Fukushima, Joplin, and in NYC on September 11th, 2001. While I'm not anti God, It seems as though he might just sit back and let events unfold without any intervention in our world, regardless of ones faith or dedication to prayer...
Texas United States
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Quote: Originally posted by Thoth on Jun 3, 2011
I chose "have no influence on the chances of winning". Is the act of prayer itself going to affect the balls drawn is some quantum physics sort of way? Or is God himself going to hear your prayer and decide to divinely interviene and personally ensure that the numbers you played are magically drawn from the hopper??? If the later of the two is feasible, then one has to wonder what God does in the event that more than one person is praying for a win. Sure, a few people could split the jackpot, but I think it is safe to assume that hundreds, if not thousands of people are praying for a win simultaneously. So how does God pick who gets to win and who does not? Does he consider each persons denomination, how often they go to church, or how they will spend the winnings?
I can't imagine prayer having any effect in this scenario, especially since it seems as though countless prayers went unanswered in Fukushima, Joplin, and in NYC on September 11th, 2001. While I'm not anti God, It seems as though he might just sit back and let events unfold without any intervention in our world, regardless of ones faith or dedication to prayer...
Made me think of Bruce Almighty where he grants the prayers of everyone who wanted to win and they only ended up getting a few dollars and there were riots and whatnot.
I guess one could argue that some prayers of winning are chosen to be answered based on what someone might do with the winnings, like who they'd help and how many they'd help, or how it might affect that persons life. One may also argue that prayers are answered instead by Satan, using the money to test one's faith, much like how Job was.
As for him not answering other prayers that are seemingly more important than someone winning some money, there's always that phrase "the Lord works in mysterious ways". You never know why something that brings so much pain happens until the reason has shown itself, you just have to have faith in God's plan (some I know would say this).
I had chosen to discard my votes because there really isn't any way to know, especially since it appears that prayer has helped some and has appeared to not help others, there's contradicting evidence for the first and last option. The poll is too religion/opinion based and there is no real facts to the answers, it's pure opinion.
If one of the answers was 'prayer can help' then that's likely what I would have chosen, as yes, prayer can help, but it also may not always help.
Canada
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Quote: Originally posted by ttech10 on Jun 3, 2011
Made me think of Bruce Almighty where he grants the prayers of everyone who wanted to win and they only ended up getting a few dollars and there were riots and whatnot.
I guess one could argue that some prayers of winning are chosen to be answered based on what someone might do with the winnings, like who they'd help and how many they'd help, or how it might affect that persons life. One may also argue that prayers are answered instead by Satan, using the money to test one's faith, much like how Job was.
As for him not answering other prayers that are seemingly more important than someone winning some money, there's always that phrase "the Lord works in mysterious ways". You never know why something that brings so much pain happens until the reason has shown itself, you just have to have faith in God's plan (some I know would say this).
I had chosen to discard my votes because there really isn't any way to know, especially since it appears that prayer has helped some and has appeared to not help others, there's contradicting evidence for the first and last option. The poll is too religion/opinion based and there is no real facts to the answers, it's pure opinion.
If one of the answers was 'prayer can help' then that's likely what I would have chosen, as yes, prayer can help, but it also may not always help.
ttech10, I carefully chose the wording of the poll questions. First off, I did not include "always helps" because we already know that is not true. The term "improve the chances" means sometimes the prays are answered. That is, if one of 1,000 times your prayers are answered then your overall chances have improved (assuming you are playing something tougher than a pick 3). That sounds like it would have been your choice had you interpreted the question differently.
The scene in Bruce Almighty about all the people winning the jackpot was funny. I worked at a lottery company when the movie came out and all my co-workers thought it was hilarious. Some wondered if it could really happen.
Lotteries can be compared to religions for various reasons. I made a number of other posts that compared lotteries to religions in another thread. Those posts were deleted. I guess they were not appropriate which is interesting given some of the libelous and racist posts that are not deleted.
The Hall Of The Mountain Kings Tennessee United States
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Quote: Originally posted by Mario38 on Jun 3, 2011
ttech10, I carefully chose the wording of the poll questions. First off, I did not include "always helps" because we already know that is not true. The term "improve the chances" means sometimes the prays are answered. That is, if one of 1,000 times your prayers are answered then your overall chances have improved (assuming you are playing something tougher than a pick 3). That sounds like it would have been your choice had you interpreted the question differently.
The scene in Bruce Almighty about all the people winning the jackpot was funny. I worked at a lottery company when the movie came out and all my co-workers thought it was hilarious. Some wondered if it could really happen.
Lotteries can be compared to religions for various reasons. I made a number of other posts that compared lotteries to religions in another thread. Those posts were deleted. I guess they were not appropriate which is interesting given some of the libelous and racist posts that are not deleted.
Libelous... in an anonymous forum...
You do have a sense of humor...
Seriously though little guy, don't try to explain your motives. This whole thread was phony-baloney rhetoric from the get-go and it's only purpose was to create controversy and strife because you thrive on it.
You were called out on your lottery pool scam and got busted, big whoop.
Texas United States
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Quote: Originally posted by Mario38 on Jun 3, 2011
ttech10, I carefully chose the wording of the poll questions. First off, I did not include "always helps" because we already know that is not true. The term "improve the chances" means sometimes the prays are answered. That is, if one of 1,000 times your prayers are answered then your overall chances have improved (assuming you are playing something tougher than a pick 3). That sounds like it would have been your choice had you interpreted the question differently.
The scene in Bruce Almighty about all the people winning the jackpot was funny. I worked at a lottery company when the movie came out and all my co-workers thought it was hilarious. Some wondered if it could really happen.
Lotteries can be compared to religions for various reasons. I made a number of other posts that compared lotteries to religions in another thread. Those posts were deleted. I guess they were not appropriate which is interesting given some of the libelous and racist posts that are not deleted.
Yea that's why I discarded my vote, because just personally I didn't like the wording. Nothing really wrong with your wording, it just didn't fit the wording of what I had in my head.
As for the massive amounts of people winning possibility, I think the closest thing that could happen is a lottery machine malfunctioning and giving out the same numbers with every QP bought, so if those numbers hit then that store would have tons of winners. I know the cashiers at the store near me scan over the tickets real quick before handing them over to make sure everything is good with them, so I think they'd end up realizing something is up with the machine.
I think the closest we'd ever get to having masses from around the nation win a lottery jackpot is if the numbers came from a fortune cookie or from a TV show/movie like the ones on LOST, like we've had before with non-jackpot wins. The numbers from LOST that recently hit 4-of-5 had just over 9,000 people playing them. The jackpot was $355 million that draw but if they did hit jackpot the payout would only have been around $20,000 a person (and much less if any of those ticket holders were in a group). I'm sure that would have been a huge letdown for people, thinking you've won millions but really only getting less than those who got third place with the prize modifier.
Canada
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A few years ago, they checked to see how many times popular numbers are played for the Canadian Lotto 649 game.
They checked numbers like
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6
5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30
and the Lost numbers.
The draw they checked had an extra large jackpot. It turned out each set of popular numbers were picked about 12,000 times across the country. Had the numbers been drawn, each jackpot winner would have received about $4,000 each.
United States
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Quote: Originally posted by Thoth on Jun 3, 2011
I chose "have no influence on the chances of winning". Is the act of prayer itself going to affect the balls drawn is some quantum physics sort of way? Or is God himself going to hear your prayer and decide to divinely interviene and personally ensure that the numbers you played are magically drawn from the hopper??? If the later of the two is feasible, then one has to wonder what God does in the event that more than one person is praying for a win. Sure, a few people could split the jackpot, but I think it is safe to assume that hundreds, if not thousands of people are praying for a win simultaneously. So how does God pick who gets to win and who does not? Does he consider each persons denomination, how often they go to church, or how they will spend the winnings?
I can't imagine prayer having any effect in this scenario, especially since it seems as though countless prayers went unanswered in Fukushima, Joplin, and in NYC on September 11th, 2001. While I'm not anti God, It seems as though he might just sit back and let events unfold without any intervention in our world, regardless of ones faith or dedication to prayer...
All I can write to add to this post is the following...
United States
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Quote: Originally posted by Tenaj on Jun 3, 2011
Joker17, the answer to questions of truth, God, and religion and what you are explaining to us goes beyond knowledge. It goes far past what we as humans can understand. I've read all of that stuff and watched the videos and I came away with the thought that I am so glad that I am rooted in grounded in what I know and believe and know the answer. You see, real truth is hidden from the mind, science, knowlege as we know it and intelligence. It's in the realm of the spirit. The answer is spirtual and you have to walk in that realm to even get a drop in the ocean of it.
You are trying to understand something that the mind can not. Our mind is not spiritual and is limited and plays tricks on us. Our mind is very, very powerful and can go in either direction of what we know as good or bad. We can be like Mother Theresa or Hitler. That's where all the ugliest comes from in the world and all the goodness that you see. But sometimes the ugliest can prevent us from seeing the goodness. There is a lot of goodness in this world too.
In fact, it's the goodness that keep us afloat. Like take prayer for instance. Some people say it doesn't do any good but there are spiritual laws concerning prayer. Our thoughts and words can be like bullets and bombs going off. They (our thoughts and words) bring forth spirits that makes things happen. Words are very, very powerful. They create. When you pray you send out the good spirits. It's a spiritual law.
As long as you try to understand through your mind and reason, you will not get it. It's because of what we are made of. Flesh. Our mind and thoughts are enslaved to our bodies. Without the spirit leading, it controls the way we think, and who we are as human beings.
That is why it is so hard to forgive and love people who have mistreated or hurt us, because our flesh does this thing that brings forth stuff like pain, anger, contempt, revenge, etc. etc. It's our spirits dude. It's the spirits of people. We wrestle with spirits, not things and not people.
As far as God. God is our spirit touching a higher power that we can not do alone in our limited mind and flesh. Have you ever had to go take a break or several deep breaths to keep from going off on somebody? You controlled your mind and not let the flesh control the outcome. That was reaching for a higher power that came outside of us. Spirit.
There are spiritual laws like there are natural laws. But we don't learn that in school because it will fall under religion. Like, say something mean and nasty to a co-worker and that nasty spirit will hover over both of you and bring forth all kind of nasty other spirits with it. Have you ever asked someone a question and they came back with a really smart answer that made you want to beat them down? That's spirit. It can go either way.
So, I just want to let you know that it is all spiritual dude. God is spirit. Give spiritual laws a try. You are in the wrong realm trying to figure it out through your mind and intelligence. Try walking in the realm of spirituality and continue to be that wonderful gifted person you are.
Thanx for the kind words.
Like i've said many times before. I'm spiritual to an extent, I just don't subscribe to organized religion. I'd be a total fool to think there isn't more to this life.I only say this because of my consciousness. The part where I sense all the things every other living thing senses on this planet, but with much more awareness and intensity. That's what makes us so different from all other creatures. Humans have the biggest brain in the animal kingdom. So maybe the bigger the brain, the smarter the subject. Look at all the Alien pictures, they have huge heads.
We are the only creatures that are aware of our eventual mortality. So because of this, as a survival adaption, the brain has been on overtime since the beginning to find patterns and order from chaos.
Anyways, didn't mean to digress.
It's not that I "hate" any religion, even though I strongly disagree with most of their Ideologies, but If only the multitudes would only concern themselves with the beautiful attributes you so eloquently mentioned, the world would be a nicer place. I have no quams with any religion, I just hate the pointing of fingers. If i don't conform, then I'm going to some unimangined hell and fire. They can't all be right, so I discounted them all and became a "SPIRITUAL" person. I don't have to meet strict stipulations that have nothing to do with my life resolve. Meaningless rituals in garbs, and ceremonies, unrealistic prayers and so on.
I have no middleman. If i feel the need to communicate with something I know is out there but can't see, I'll speak to the Universal Intelligence. The Aliens have always talked about this. They calim that religious wars are our downfall. But they do also claim that there is a Universal Intelligence that is strongly intertwined in us, around us, and pretty much within the very fabric of the seemingly empty Univers,e and within inanimate and animate objects, just like i was writing about earlier in this thread concerning Quantum Physics.
Beleive me Tenaj, I know what it feels to be in tune with the Universe. And you are there too because you are a kindred spirit. You just happen to call it another name, that's all.
May the Universal Intelligence touch your spirit Tenaj......
PA United States
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Quote: Originally posted by rdgrnr on Jun 3, 2011
Libelous... in an anonymous forum...
You do have a sense of humor...
Seriously though little guy, don't try to explain your motives. This whole thread was phony-baloney rhetoric from the get-go and it's only purpose was to create controversy and strife because you thrive on it.
You were called out on your lottery pool scam and got busted, big whoop.
Now you're mad at the world and want to get even.
And you can't even do that right.
Why would someone keep starting new threads on this subject when the other ones were deleted....good point rdgrnr.....I rest my case....
Canada
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Quote: Originally posted by Dee88 on Jun 3, 2011
Why would someone keep starting new threads on this subject when the other ones were deleted....good point rdgrnr.....I rest my case....
Maybe because there is some interest with over 3,000 views. Even those that complained about the thread and voted 1 star keep checking and posting in the thread on a regular basis. Go figure.
The Hall Of The Mountain Kings Tennessee United States
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Quote: Originally posted by Mario38 on Jun 4, 2011
Maybe because there is some interest with over 3,000 views. Even those that complained about the thread and voted 1 star keep checking and posting in the thread on a regular basis. Go figure.
At least 2,000 of the views are mine.
You're so fascinating I check every 5 seconds or so.
light on my feet United States
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Quote: Originally posted by dr65 on Jun 3, 2011
lmao! munchkins and jock straps...lolol! Oh thanks a lot now, my whole day is ruined by that image.
WHO is suggesting Todd close this thread down??
You have got to be kidding me, right? Close it down and take my joy away??
I have never seen such a hot topic....it always revolves around religion. What is so bad about talking
religion and lottery?
Some want it banned..they don't want to see it, read it, be subjected to it. Good golly, get a grip.
I personally don't pray for money. A lot do. Some are answered, some aren't. Maybe it's just not their
time for an answer in the financial freedom department...maybe they couldn't handle it, maybe they'd be
worse off than they are now...WHO knows why everyone doesn't get what they pray for...all I know is this:
Try praying, if it does not work..it does not mean God is not there...it just means that He decided you didn't
need whatever you were praying for at that time..or in the case of deaths...it means that He needed
your loved one more than you did. Believe it not, that doesn't make Him bad...that makes Him great.
"WHO is suggesting Todd close this thread down??
You have got to be kidding me, right? Close it down and take my joy away??
I have never seen such a hot topic....it always revolves around religion. What is so bad about talking
religion and lottery?
Some want it banned..they don't want to see it, read it, be subjected to it. Good golly, get a grip".
nice. you just highlighted why i do what i do in here with the likes of truecritic, joker et al.
the only reason those guys disrespectfully throw their hat in the ring at all, is to try and squash something that sears their conscience.
DD sprays the board with "god-aimed" stuff, but because they know it's out in left field, they never get on him for talking about "god".
that's how you know over time when people are agenda driven, and not etchics driven
"they" only come after the ones that they don't like, while claiming "altruistic reasoning"
they can't stand it, so it's an agenda of silencing something they don't like (and because i am privy to their dreams), i won't sit there and watch it happen, and i will do everything i can within the rules to ensure their failure
i actually got to thinking about this very same subject matter, that this self appointed band of indians keeps attempting to shut down threads.
in all my years of being at LP, and all the "wrestling matches" i have had to unfortunately be a part of, not one time have i ever cried foul, and sought to get a thread shut down just because i didn't like the subject matter, or because of the wave of people that were coming after me and the weight i needed to carry in order to take them all on by myself.
not once
if that fact doesn't reveal their motives once and for all, nothing will
trust me, there are plenty of "discussions" going in LP that i don't like, and i ALWAYS have more than .02 in the bag to offer, but i stay away out of respect for what others think / feel
i like todd, and i highly respect him, but based on my strong beliefs, there is alot of LP goings on in here that i don't agree with, but you don't see me going around in every nook and cranny looking to shut people down just because i don't agree with them.
and most people know, i have plenty of enough resolve in the tank if i had self control issues.
still, after all these years, after all the pretenders that thought they could.....
light on my feet United States
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Quote: Originally posted by Thoth on Jun 3, 2011
I chose "have no influence on the chances of winning". Is the act of prayer itself going to affect the balls drawn is some quantum physics sort of way? Or is God himself going to hear your prayer and decide to divinely interviene and personally ensure that the numbers you played are magically drawn from the hopper??? If the later of the two is feasible, then one has to wonder what God does in the event that more than one person is praying for a win. Sure, a few people could split the jackpot, but I think it is safe to assume that hundreds, if not thousands of people are praying for a win simultaneously. So how does God pick who gets to win and who does not? Does he consider each persons denomination, how often they go to church, or how they will spend the winnings?
I can't imagine prayer having any effect in this scenario, especially since it seems as though countless prayers went unanswered in Fukushima, Joplin, and in NYC on September 11th, 2001. While I'm not anti God, It seems as though he might just sit back and let events unfold without any intervention in our world, regardless of ones faith or dedication to prayer...
i know the answers to all those questions, and i will address them tomorrow when i can give it the effort that it deserves.....
rather than just the flippant......."because God wills it so"
God does will it so (at times), when He chooses to not intervene, but i will go into the "why" of that tomorrow
United States
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Quote: Originally posted by Mario38 on Jun 3, 2011
ttech10, I carefully chose the wording of the poll questions. First off, I did not include "always helps" because we already know that is not true. The term "improve the chances" means sometimes the prays are answered. That is, if one of 1,000 times your prayers are answered then your overall chances have improved (assuming you are playing something tougher than a pick 3). That sounds like it would have been your choice had you interpreted the question differently.
The scene in Bruce Almighty about all the people winning the jackpot was funny. I worked at a lottery company when the movie came out and all my co-workers thought it was hilarious. Some wondered if it could really happen.
Lotteries can be compared to religions for various reasons. I made a number of other posts that compared lotteries to religions in another thread. Those posts were deleted. I guess they were not appropriate which is interesting given some of the libelous and racist posts that are not deleted.
"Lotteries can be compared to religions for various reasons. I made a number of other posts that compared lotteries to religions in another thread. Those posts were deleted. I guess they were not appropriate which is interesting given some of the libelous and racist posts that are not deleted."
Whether they were appropriate or not, they were probably bad for business. I had a "very" appropriate post deleted right out from under me while I was composing a Reply to it, well after the 20 minute editing window had expired. Go figure.