FOX News: Father Morris lauds power of prayer, then says it's unhealthy to have an imaginary friend.

[backscatter712]

OK, the folks in A&A talked me into sharing this...

http://richarddawkins.net/videos/566707-father-morris-it-s-not-healthy-to-have-an-imaginary-friend

[gkegley]

1. is God the same as an imaginary friend?

I don't think so. I think He's real. Richard Dawkins obviously wouldn't.

[backscatter712]

2. The folks at richarddawkins.net saw some irony that went over the head of Father Morris... n/t

[FLyellowdog]

5. Why do you think he's real?

Just asking.

[cleanhippie]

12. Until you prove that your god is real, he is.

Welcome to DU, Enjoy your stay.

[yellowcanine]

3. I fail to see how having an imaginary friend is unhealthy. Many kids do at one point or another,

with no apparent detriment. I am not sure that most priests are qualified to talk about what is unhealthy and what is not. I would rather hear it from a board certified psychiatrist or clinical psychologist or at least a licensed social worker.

Some friends of ours had a kid who had an imaginary pony. It drove them crazy for a while, particularly when he "forgot" the imaginary pony at a highway rest stop and they had to go back for it. But he seems to be a normally functioning adult with kids of his own and a successful teaching career and no apparent hangups about ponies. So where is the harm?

[backscatter712]

6. Not disagreeing with you there...

But still, you've got to appreciate the irony of a priest first telling you to talk to the imaginary magic man in the sky, then saying it's unhealthy to talk to imaginary friends...

Personally, I think that there's no harm in little children having imaginary friends. But eventually, as we grow older, we learn to distinguish between fantasy and reality.

At least some of us do...

[yellowcanine]

8. No more ironic than the church telling us that a priest can absolve you of your sins.

This being the same church which recently equated pedophilia by priests with women serving as priests. Now that is some rich irony.

[Journeyman]

4. It's true - I've heard from many politicians who worship an imaginary Ronald Reagan . . .

and their efforts to follow their fevered delusions of what this imaginary "savior" accomplished and/or would now desire have been the root cause of more misery than I can recount on an internet board. . .

[dynasaw]

7. So Let's See. . .

since God is a "him" does that make him my imaginary BOYfriend??? :evilgrin:

[dimbear]

9. The moral is simple. God isn't a friend. n/t

[DeSwiss]

10. K&R

This is the same genius who said he'd have to consult with the Pope because he couldn't answer the question: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TgfyVZEHcLQ">"How Did Adam & Eve's Kids Have Kids?"

- You'd think these people didn't own a bible......

[backscatter712]

11. Funny things learned by an atheist who does own a bible...

Cain did indeed have a wife. She's not named in the bible, and the bible doesn't say where she came from, which is very interesting, since until Cain's wife appeared out of nowhere, Adam, Eve and Cain were apparently the only human beings alive on Earth after Cain killed Abel.

Of course, the Cain and Abel story also has Cain bitching to God about how he'd get killed by everyone else, so God put the Mark of Cain on him and promised that anyone who killed Cain would get sevenfold vengeance. But the Bible doesn't say who everyone else was - more than just Adam and Eve?

[DeSwiss]

13. Yep....

...I'd noticed that little storyline anomaly.

[laconicsax]

14. God addressed that very issue on His blog two years ago:

http://stuffgodhates.com/2008/12/ask-god-november/

QUESTION #5:

Jurobei: What are your views on incest? I mean, since there weren’t two original families, somebody had to screw their sister at SOME point. I tried looking to the Bible, but they didn’t have any passages like ‘And Cain screwethed his younger sister of unknown name, and they begat Joseph, and it was good, and everyone dug it.’ Or, did Adam have a secret mistress who the Bible does not talk about? This has been on my mind for quite some time now.

ALMIGHTY GOD: Yes, of course. Everyone screwed their sister at first and knocked her up dozens of times and everyone dug it. You have to start somewhere. Later on, when there were a couple thousand humans I made it clear this was no longer ok. This explains why you humans are all such retards. You’re all inbred. Feel better now?