The other day, a colleague at work told me to pray for a snow day.
He knows I don’t believe in God — He just figured my atheist prayers would be much more powerful than his own 🙂
No snow day. Epic fail.
Maybe I should give it a shot, though.
Reverend Tom McDaniels from Lifebridge Church in Longview, Texas seems to think his prayers had something to do with his recent windfall.
In 2007, [McDaniels] wrote one million dollars on a bank deposit slip and prayed over it countless times hoping the church would get a million dollar gift to pay for a new building.
So an anonymous donor called him last Tuesday, asking how much he needed. McDaniels told him.
The donor then wrote a check for $1,500,000.
(Is that how life works in the Christian world…? Because if it’s true, then I am *so* gonna convert.)
McDaniels has been thanking the anonymous donor in the media all week.
Wait a minute…
He has done no such thing:
“I was ecstatic about God especially in these economic times helping us the way that he did,” Rev. Tom McDaniels says.
…
His wife said the timing of the gift, coming amid dire financial news in the American economy, reveals God’s hand.
“The Lord wanted to show his power, in that, he is not limited,” she said. “And he is not joining us in this economy that is going on, on the earth. That’s what I love so much about it coming now. It just makes it so much more powerful, that he would choose this time … and Christmas.”
*sigh*
It’s a nice gesture by the donor, even if it went to another church.
Where are the rich, anonymous atheists? We need them now more than ever to help facilitate the spreading of the idea that human kindness and generosity go much further than unheard prayers and lip service ever will.
With all that in mind, I figure I might as well say this:
The Secular Student Alliance could use $1,000,000 to pay for a new office, bring on new full-time staff members, and help sustain our growing number of active and strong campus groups.
If you’d like to pray for donations, you can always do so at the SSA website. (You may have to type in a credit card number as you pray…)
(Thanks to Spurs Fan for the link!)