PrintSmith wrote: You forget jmc, I'm one of the ones who thinks the power of prayer can work miracles. Given the reality that the natural disaster is of such a nature that mankind has no hope of solving it, the only thing that we can do is pray that Nature's God will solve it. It might not help in the final analysis, but it surely can't hurt.
That's were we disagree. I think it distracts from real solutions when we waste time and energy on superstitions . It is a phony political cheap trick, that is the reality if you choose to live a "public service" life. If we could solve our problems by praising the idols, why do we need any politicians or political structure at all?
I don't think you encourage a cancer patient to seek out a voodoo doctor , well you might.
To answer the OP's question , he is not dumb but a manipulative bastard, he is not small govt. He is Bush 2 You conservatives deserve him.
There are extremes to this. When my son had a very, very serious brain tumor he did feel better using both and some new age type of things as well. But if I had sat back and just prayed and did not search for the specialized doctor he needed he most certainly could have died. There is no evidence, in my view, that prayer does not work. My worry is when you put everything into just that.
