47
votes
Accepted
What's up with churches and guitars in this joke from The Big Bang Theory?
Simply put:
Contemporary worship services stereotypically include both free-form prayers and music accompanied by guitars.
Traditional worship services stereotypically include the recitation of set ...
- 42.6k
31
votes
Accepted
Do Mormons secretly pray about you and then consider you included in their church?
If they were wearing name tags, they were probably official LDS missionaries. Even if not, Latter-day Saints are allowed to (and in fact, are encouraged to) proselytize informally and refer potential ...
- 980
19
votes
Accepted
What is the earliest known instance of a petition directed to Mary?
Sub Tuum Praesidium
The earliest known, extant petition prayer to Mary the Θεοτόκος (Theotokos), or Dei Genetrix (the Greek and Latin, respectively, for 'God-bearer' or 'Birthgiver-of-God') is found ...
- 8,390
15
votes
Accepted
What is the origin of the Christian tradition of praying before eating?
It appears to be a custom that predates establishment of the Christian religion, but you can find a scriptural example in 1 Corinthians 11:23-25(KJV)
That the Lord Jesus the same night in which he ...
- 6,756
15
votes
Accepted
Are there any biblical examples of Early Church disciples praying to deceased saints in order to request their intercessory prayer?
Is there any biblical evidence that [asking dead saints for intercession] was a common practice in the early church?
The New Testament contains neither any example of nor any reference to this ...
- 436
14
votes
Are there any biblical examples of Early Church disciples praying to deceased saints in order to request their intercessory prayer?
Are there any biblical examples of Christians in the Early Church communicating with dead saints in order to request their intercessory prayer?
The short answer seems to be no.
There are no clear ...
- 73.9k
12
votes
Are Catholics not supposed to pray the St. Michael Prayer?
The faithful may recite the Prayer to St. Michael the Archangel freely.
The prohibition from Pope Leo XIII is against the faithful’s use of the rite of exorcism—in other words, the pope is ...
- 13.2k
12
votes
Does God ever answer prayers from non-believers?
First, you can rest assured God answers the prayer of an unbeliever or non-Christian when they call upon the name of the Lord in faith. I'm assuming of course that the Holy Spirit has brought the ...
- 9,912
12
votes
Is praying futile given that God respects our Free Will and is omniscient?
There are lots of complexities around prayer, but this is not one of them.
It's true that many of the things involved in you getting bread to eat involve your own decisions, but many do not. For ...
- 32.3k
10
votes
Accepted
When the Pope says "We commend to the Lord the souls..." what does it mean exactly? It it a symbolic gesture, a prayer, something else?
Commend:
To entrust or commit to the care of someone else.
Thus: "We entrust and commit these souls unto the Lord's care / keeping / mercy."
Speaking as a non-Catholic, the Pope most ...
- 10.1k
10
votes
Why are transgender prayer requests "too far"?
Question
You cite 2 examples of prayers that (according to you) are based on the premise that we know better than God:
Because you're poor, you judged that God didn't give you enough money in your ...
- 24.5k
9
votes
What's up with churches and guitars in this joke from The Big Bang Theory?
Worship styles are highly contentious within many churches. Several years ago our music minister died and when we replaced him, his successor started singing more contemporary songs than hymns. ...
- 1,564
9
votes
Do Mormons secretly pray about you and then consider you included in their church?
The Latter Day Saints allows investigators and seekers of truth to take the sacrament and to join church activities and quorums, for nearly full transparency.
You only become a member if you get ...
9
votes
Why did Jesus ask for forgiveness?
In Luke 11:1 one of Jesus’ disciples said to Jesus, “Lord, teach us to pray”. The NIV Study Bible Notes give this explanation regarding Luke 11:1-4:
The Lord’s Model Prayer was given here in answer ...
- 33.1k
9
votes
Why does the Trinitarian Formula start with "In the NAME…" and not "In the NAMES…"?
Does it imply that there is but one name for all the Three Persons, and that Father, Son and Holy Spirit are not individual names?
Sort of; it's not that the individual persons don't have names, but ...
- 10.1k
8
votes
What is the origin of the Christian tradition of praying before eating?
There are numerous biblical examples of this that serve as a basis for the practice.
At the feeding of the 5000:
Matthew 14:19 (ESV)
Then he ordered the crowds to sit down on the grass, and ...
- 42.6k
8
votes
Accepted
What is the Biblical support for praying for the dead?
Catholics and Orthodox do not subscribe to the doctrine of Sola Scriptura, which is the doctrine that says that the only source of authoritative teaching is Sacred Scripture. Instead, we rely on ...
- 2,795
8
votes
Do Muslims pray like Christians should?
Nehemiah's posture is only one of many recorded in the Bible.
Among the others:
Moses bowed low in reverence, and so did many others, but he also prayed with arms outstretched. (Exodus 9:27)
Abraham ...
- 32.3k
7
votes
Why do Catholics ask for things from an omniscient and omnibenevolent God?
One nice thing about the Catholic Church is that, because they have 2000 years of history to draw from, they have written a great deal about most every question of faith and have codified it as well. ...
- 6,407
7
votes
Are LDS required to take their hats off when they pray?
Just to be sure, I have checked with every resource I am aware of, and there have been no formal declarations even associating the removal of a hat with prayer in LDS doctrine or theology.
From my ...
- 958
7
votes
Accepted
Has the Catholic Church ever attempted a local substitute for the word Amen?
The short answer is Yes.
Some French speaking communities often employ the Ainsi soit-il ending at the end of some of their prayers. Although the use of Amen is by far the norm, many people who ...
- 73.9k
7
votes
Do Mormons secretly pray about you and then consider you included in their church?
From experience as one who has both been one of those two men on the street, and am currently serving as a Ward Clerk, and whose responsibility it is to keep the records of my local congregation (...
- 248
7
votes
Why are transgender prayer requests "too far"?
First, from a quote in your comment
"Tell me that it is rational to talk to the Force of Being as though
this were your closest confidant"
No, wrong. God is not a 'force'. Yes, Jesus ...
- 6,764
6
votes
Is it permissible for a Catholic to pray the Salat?
It is forbidden for Catholics to engage in communicatio in sacris—joining non-Catholics in their false worship or prayer, e.g., worshiping Islam's false god Allah, who is not the Holy Trinity:
1917 ...
- 41k
6
votes
Accepted
What is the significance of a church being "consecrated"?
Consecration establishes a valid place of Catholic divine worship as confirmed by the local ordinary (Bishop)
Can. 1214 By the term church is understood a sacred building
designated for divine ...
- 6,756
6
votes
Do Mormons secretly pray about you and then consider you included in their church?
Your friend may be confusing a "secret" prayer of acceptance (whatever that may be) with the Mormon practice of what had been their secret "baptism for the dead".
This practice came under scrutiny ...
- 14.4k
6
votes
Accepted
What is the biblical basis for praying to Jesus, as opposed to praying to God in the name of Jesus?
An Example from the first Christian Martyr
Most certainly the earliest Christians prayed to Jesus, as He Himself taught us to do (He explicitly "[does not mean He will] ask the Father for you,&...
- 8,390
6
votes
How to pray for a corrupt government involved in drug trafficking?
The Bible tells Christians to pray for those in positions of authority. Such authorities include government officials (international, national, and local) and pastors, church elders, school boards, ...
- 33.1k
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