For anyone who might want to know, today saw the beginning of the4-day Topoff 4 terrorism drill here in Portland...it's my understanding that today at PIR they have simulated a radioactive "dirty" bomb going off on the North Portland Max line, then triaged and treated "patients" at OHSU. You can read more about the exercises at KATU, KGW, KOIN or KPTV. I believe there are several other exercises planned over the next few days.
I think a drill such as this, while certainly having it's limitations, is smart and productive. It trains emergency crews and hospitals to deal with large numbers of injured people, and helps emergency services and local government improve the ways they communicate in a crisis. There are some naysayers, with the arguments that in these drills even the media involvement is simulated...that local media crews are not allowed to participate in the drill. This fails to acknowledge the vital role the local media plays in such an event, and fails to train the media to cope and communicate in such an emergency, making them a weak link. Nonetheless, I don't think this factor renders the drill useless, simply incomplete.
The last several days have found me down with a cold. My online time and blogging/blog reading has been limited mostly to what I have to do...answering comments here. This would explain my absence at all the WWJDWTC posts...I have read some of them, but am unable to try to pull together enough coherant thoughts to comment on most of them. I will get to that as soon as I am able. Needless to say, the posts are beautiful and meaningful and I am completely appreciative of all the participants. A few have already posted follow-up posts to this 30-day experiment.
I also want to pose a question to you all in preparation for a post I'm going to be writing soon:
If someone who is clearly of another faith offered to pray for you, how would you respond? Are all prayers the same regardless of what deity those prayers are offered up to? Would you ever tell someone NOT to pray for you if you knew they would be praying to a god other than yours?
I think a drill such as this, while certainly having it's limitations, is smart and productive. It trains emergency crews and hospitals to deal with large numbers of injured people, and helps emergency services and local government improve the ways they communicate in a crisis. There are some naysayers, with the arguments that in these drills even the media involvement is simulated...that local media crews are not allowed to participate in the drill. This fails to acknowledge the vital role the local media plays in such an event, and fails to train the media to cope and communicate in such an emergency, making them a weak link. Nonetheless, I don't think this factor renders the drill useless, simply incomplete.
The last several days have found me down with a cold. My online time and blogging/blog reading has been limited mostly to what I have to do...answering comments here. This would explain my absence at all the WWJDWTC posts...I have read some of them, but am unable to try to pull together enough coherant thoughts to comment on most of them. I will get to that as soon as I am able. Needless to say, the posts are beautiful and meaningful and I am completely appreciative of all the participants. A few have already posted follow-up posts to this 30-day experiment.
I also want to pose a question to you all in preparation for a post I'm going to be writing soon:
If someone who is clearly of another faith offered to pray for you, how would you respond? Are all prayers the same regardless of what deity those prayers are offered up to? Would you ever tell someone NOT to pray for you if you knew they would be praying to a god other than yours?
*cynical voice*
ReplyDeleteI am glad to see that you are asking lite questions in the midst of your cold.
*serious voice*
Many will cringe at my response .... yes
Hope you are feeling better soon, Erin.
ReplyDeleteIn answer to your question, if somebody from another faith offered to pray for me, I would have no problem with it. Just as if I offered to pray for somebody from another faith, I would hope they would have no problem with it either.
However, if somebody wanted to lay hands on me, regardless of their faith, it would absolutely need to be somebody I trust. I am not sure why that is.
Hey Jeff - this is actually something that came up last week...unfortunately my brain is not in good enough condition to have thought of that today.
ReplyDeleteAnd "yes" to which question?
Heather - thanks!
ReplyDeleteInteresting thoughts you have shared about laying on of hands. I had never thought about that being different...good point.
Erin:
ReplyDeleteYes, I would allow prayer to occur.
I *have* had people of other faiths offer to pray for me. My response is, "Thank you very much."
ReplyDeleteWorst case scenario is ... they use empty words.
Best case scenario ... they are praying to the same God with different clothes on.
In one case it doesn't matter, in the other I get help. And, it may over time build a bridge to further spiritual conversations with that person. Turning down prayer is almost sure to build walls.
Jeff - Thanks for clarifying.
ReplyDeleteSonja - The same God with different clothes on. I like that. Very much.
ReplyDeleteIf someone from another faith offered to pray for me, I would be grateful. Say for instance, if an adherent of Santaria told me that they were going to kill a chicken for me, I would feel bad for the chicken, but still appreciate the intent. And, of course, we have a faith that many Christians believe is centered around blood sacrifice as well. I think the Santaria practicioner would understand the Eucharist better than a Buddhist, for example.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteI meant Santeria.
ReplyDeleteGreat analogy, Gary.
ReplyDeleteNo problem.
ReplyDelete"Eternity in their hearts" I think is the name of the book that talks about other cultures religious beliefs and that they are so close to ours, that they may be "our God with different clothes on." (I like that saying a lot)
Erin ~ Hope you're feeling better soon. Simply answered, absolutely yes. The offering of a prayer is a gift of love.
ReplyDeleteNate - thanks for the title. I do like that quote.
ReplyDeleteMike - I agree. And thanks for the get-well wishes...
ReplyDeleteErin
ReplyDeletehope you feel better soon. ~hugs~
I have had people say they'll "pray" for me of different faiths...and I don't mind at all.
Rhonda - Thanks!
ReplyDeletehope you are on the mend erin! it is never convenient to get sick, is it?
ReplyDeleteas for your thoughtful question, well i have a story for you.
a few years back, when my 10 year old jeremy was a toddler, he was in the hospital for another surgery (he had four surgeries by age 2, but that's another story...) anyway, a friend of mine that i knew from a neighborhood playgroup called the hospital to check on his condition. at the end of the call she kindly said, "I'll be sure to think good thoughts of Jeremy." I understood this to be her new agey-airy-fairy way of prayer, and being the devout evangelical woman I was I had to set her straight. So I said back to her, "Um, that's ok, but you can pray for him if you like."
She took it well at the time. After all, I was at the hospital with my son. But much later, when our relationship deteriorated for a variety of reasons, she brought up her list of charges of how judged she felt by me, and towards the top of that list was this incident.
Ouch.
Since that happened I have asked myself about this. There was another time when I was telling a prayerful man I know about the pagan women in my life that I care about. He cautioned me that their spiritual rites could have an adverse affect on me. "What do you mean?" I asked. "My friends love me and would never do anything to harm me." He went on to explain that it was his belief that if my pagan friends performed a spell or rite with intention to bless me that it would instead release demonic energy my way. What do you think about that? Does prayer, or spell casting which is a kind of prayer my pagan friends will tell you, does it release spiritual energy that affects us? What happens in the spirit realm when we pray to God or another deity? Anything?
This are interesting questions for me to think about,but meanwhile, if someone ever offers to pray for me or my family I will simply thank them and enjoy the fact that they care about me.
yes, altho i think i'd kinda like to know what they were praying about me. In fact i'd think i'd return the favour and ask them what i could pray for them about.
ReplyDeleteAll hypothetical as it has not happened to me :)
Do you always ask the big questions when you are sick? :)
ReplyDeleteI think I run along the same lines as Heather..pray for me, YES. Lay hands on me....maybe not. That can be so personal, and I don't let people get that close to me that I don't trust to some degree.
The questions Pam asks have been rolling around in my head as well.
My partial conclusion has been this: God has got me, He's the one who protects me...so I'll let Him do His job. People may pray to other deities, but God is the one who is active in my life...
so I choose to accept with thanks the loving offers...and let God sort it out.
Have you listened to the "Interview with a Pagan" on Square No More?
He would be an interesting person t ask that question to. He'd probably have a great take on it...
Pam - Thanks for your thoughts. Interesting story.
ReplyDeletePaul - Good point.
ReplyDeleteChe - Which interview are you talking about? Was that from the God for People Who Hate Church conference...
ReplyDeleteOn the site, Square No More, the interview is on the sidebar.
ReplyDeleteOh...wait a minute...
You have to link to his other site..
top left corner...about following Halloween in Salem.
This brings you to "Lessons on Christianity in Witch City"(I think that's what it's called).
From there, there are podcasts at the side that are interesting.
Hope that helps..
I think it's just called "Interview with a Pagan",
Thanks Che! Yeah, that's from the GFPWHC conference. Those are a really interesting series of podcasts. If you haven't already, listen to the Jay Bakker ones.
ReplyDeleteIn the same way that I would eat meat offered to an idol, I would let someone pray for me. I would even let them touch me if they wished. I'm not afraid. I used to be afraid before I realized that I let a massage therapist "lay hands on me." as well as other people, doctors, ect. You see I used to be afraid that the enemy was stronger than my God. The more I believed that, the sronger he got. I quit believing lies and am able to let people love me and me them the best they are able.
ReplyDeleteI would ask them about answered prayer though and ask if I could tell them some of my stories. I have great stories!
I don't think all roads lead to God by any stretch of the imagination. I also don't think that truth is just confined to Christendom (a glance of a second would confirm that, and the rest of the world is completely convinced of the knowledge of that).
ReplyDeleteI would have no problem with their prayer. God, whatever he ends up being in reality, I believe hears all the prayers of people, whether they are close to his reality or a million miles away from it.
Barb - That's a very good point. I too have struggled in the past with (unconsciously) thinking the enemy was stronger than God, or something to fear. I'm glad I'm not in that place anymore.
ReplyDeleteSue - Good points. I agree with your comment about truth. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteI must say that Pam's comment was precisely the perception I had in mind, Erin. The question of whether the community thought that there would be some demonic energy sent from me to them. Too bad nobody took her up on it.
ReplyDeleteHey Steve - Thanks for stopping by to comment. I'm going to post more thoroughly on this, and I would love to hear your thoughts when I do.
ReplyDeleteWhen you said "too bad no one took her up on it", were you referring to the questions at the end of Pam's comment?
I think I'm sure I don't know...but I will say I'm proud of my friends here that no one attacked the idea that someone of another faith pray for them.
Erin - Yes, the questions were what I was referring to. I must say that having had a number of adverse reactions in the past I am pleasantly surprised, and impressed by the general consensus here that they wouldn't mind. I am also pleased to see the larger volume of response than I got, although being off line for about a year did kind of kill my readership.
ReplyDeleteI look forward to seeing your post when you put it up there, and am more than willing to put my 2 cents in.
Thanks for being willing to be part of this conversation.
ReplyDelete