If God really were love, praying would be a complete waste of time.
Why? The placebo effect and other mindhacks apply to any sort of ritual or ‘magic’. If you accept this, then worshipping ‘love’ or ‘warfare’ or other god-forms is not a waste of time at all—the purpose and effect of prayer need not involve anything supernatural.
That … is a good point, actually. It doesn’t affect my argument—the one I elaborated with my Thom Yorke example—but it does complicate the situation in ways which should be acknowledged.
Why? The placebo effect and other mindhacks apply to any sort of ritual or ‘magic’. If you accept this, then worshipping ‘love’ or ‘warfare’ or other god-forms is not a waste of time at all—the purpose and effect of prayer need not involve anything supernatural.
That … is a good point, actually. It doesn’t affect my argument—the one I elaborated with my Thom Yorke example—but it does complicate the situation in ways which should be acknowledged.