The Prime Minister's Prayers

"You pray for me, I'll think for you," I believe is attributed to Richard Dawkins. If it wasn't him, that's okay, the sentiment is there and is no doubt something he would say anyway.

Fancy that, more than one reference book...

It's clear Scott Morrison likes to touch people, and as inadvertently dodgy as that sounds, let me try to explain why it actually is dodgy.

The 2016 Australian Census revealed that around 52% of Australians identify as being religious. Not being religious (the other 48%) doesn't equate to being anti-religious, so let me state that as an acknowledgement from the get go. But when people on the street are asked about religion, it's usually described as a personal thing, a private matter. Of the 52% who say they are religious, there is going to be a large part of that group who don't attend church and for whom private prayer or calling for divine assistance when confronted by trauma or a tricky situation is in fact their last resort. Indeed, from the old sitcom 'Ellen' there was the dentist scene, 

Dentist - Hmmm. Do you floss? 
Ellen - Oh, religiously. You know, on Easter and Christmas. Yom Kippur, Rosh--

A lot of us say we're religious, but this isn't the same as practicing the religion.

Early Simpsons understood how it was!

I've forgotten the other group, the 'hedging your bets' group who say they don't know what they thing, but there has to be something out there.

Does there?

Anyway, I'm digressing like I knew I would, because after all, I'm an atheist and there's nobody more sure of themselves than an atheist...am I right???

Of course I am, I'm an atheist.

Back to the issue at hand. 

(Oh, what a segue)

Scott Morrison seems have been placing his hands on people, people usually in a time of desperation, be it floods, fires, some other natural disaster, and taking that opportunity to lay down some prayers on that person, rather than simply offering his hand as a form of compassion and empathy. For me there is just simply so much to unpack in all this that it does my head in a bit.

For starters, stop touching people! 

We have literally been going through a very public conversation about consent, sexual assault and men not behaving appropriately. Part of this issue revolves around NOT touching people. Offering your hand is fine, don't force it on people. 

I said DON'T FORCE IT ON PEOPLE!

A hug? That seems more like something you'd offer a friend or family member, or maybe that guy in the mall with the 'Free Hugs' sign. Either way, a hug is a more affectionate action.

Look, I don't want to get caught up on the touching/not touching thing, just stop touching, it's pretty simple. However, it has been revealed that Scott Morrison prays for people when he puts his hands on them or when he gives them a hug. This is where I start to question what is going on.

Remember, I'm an atheist, telling me that you're praying for me is a bit like telling me that you're writing a letter to Santa. Good for you, it has zero impact on my life, but I'm not "everyone". Some people may feel that they are having something done to them which wasn't asked for or desired. This would be considered an intrusion. Sure, he could have said nothing and still been praying for the person and they'd never have known, but...and this IS the crux of my concerns...he felt strongly enough about his actions that he needed to tell people about it. Further to this, it is revealed that he believes he is doing God's work, he PRAYED to win the 2019 election! And sure, a bunch of people probably prayed for an election result that they wanted, but a lot of them didn't GET the result they wanted. Were they wrong? Did God say no? Were they praying to the wrong God? Was this God working in mysterious ways? If the ALP had won, would Scott Morrison have been happy with the result, despite having directly appealed to God for a different one? Would have have accepted it and moved on, or would he have FROM OPPOSITION continued to campaign against what, after all, would have been the "Will of God"?

Do you see where this stuff is getting just a bit ridiculous?
If God listens to Scott Morrison and granted him an unlikely election win in 2019, why did God produce a pandemic? Why did God create all these other natural disasters...dare I say, "Acts of God", during which time Australians suffered and some died. What about the billions of animals that perished during these acts of God. How has Scott Morrison and his praying skills assisted the indigenous population? How has it helped women? How has it helped anyone who has been sexually assaulted or DENIED due process for their sexual assault claims during the period in which Scott Morrison has been alive or at the very least, the Prime Minister? 

Does Scott Morrison pray for the family on Christmas Island? A family who presumably are also religious.

Does Scott Morrison pray for the vaccine rollout to work properly?

Does Scott Morrison pray for those who lost their jobs during the pandemic?

Does Scott Morrison pray for those in the LGBTQI community who continue to be disadvantaged?
Does Scott Morrison pray for ....you know what? Scott Morrison prays for one thing....Scott Morrison.

He may be putting his hands on others, but he's praying for them because he thinks he has some sort of divine connection to the ear of God. 

Prayer, by it's very nature, appears to be a selfish enterprise. Sure, publicly people say they pray for world peace (how's that working out?), but in general, people pray for something that will ease the suffering of them or a family member or for something for themselves. Pass a test, get a job, a safe flight...

How many people who pray, and I don't mean the rote delivery of "God bless mum and dad and little jimmy and everyone in the world", actually pray for other people and GET results?

Prayer is a self-soothing activity. That doesn't mean it does anything other than that.

Finally, Scott Morrison has stated that social media is used by "the evil one". Why might he say this? Is it possibly because he doesn't get the same reception that he might receive at a Christian Conference? Is it maybe because on social media, you're largely free to say what you like and voice your concerns about what other say, unfiltered by the mainstream media and those who run it?

Make no mistake, Scott Morrison isn't praying for your well-being or your good fortune, he's praying for his own. Whether or not that prayer has any effect (it doesn't), the meaning behind it is actually the more important thing to be looking at here.

Scott Morrison believes he was chosen. He believes he is doing God's work.

There's a book that mentions people like this...

The Bible - Matthew 7:15 - 

"Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves."

llama
@SirWonderLlama