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One criticism of prayer is that if the petitioner is praying to a god which is omnipotent and all-knowing, it would be presumptuous for him or her to believe they understand the grand scheme of things sufficiently to pray for what is best. For example, Christopher Hitchens interprets Ambrose Pierce's definition of prayer by stating that "the man who prays is the one who thinks that god has arranged matters all wrong, but who also thinks that he can instruct god how to put them right."[25] Another criticism is that prayer may relieve a person of the need to take active measures to address issues around them. Daniel Dennett states: Surely it does the world no harm if those who can honestly do so pray for me! No, I'm not at all sure about that. For one thing, if they really wanted to do something useful, they could devote their prayer time and energy to some pressing project that they can do something about.[26] This potential drawback manifests in extreme forms in such cases as Christian Scientists who rely on prayers instead of seeking medical treatment for family members for easily curable conditions which later result in death.[27] Another challenge is that the intent for prayer may be inconsistent between petitioners: for example, one might be striving for an actual intervention while another might use prayer to feel better. In this light, Hitchens questions religious leaders who accept monies along with a prayer: "The leaders of the church know perfectly well that prayer is not intended to gratify the devout. So that, every time they accept a donation in return for some petition, they are accepting a gross negation of their faith: a faith that depends on the passive acceptance of the devout and not on their making demands for betterment."[25] |
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