Pray4Trig January 18, 2010

Pray4Trig

By Guest Contributor
January 18, 2010

Apparently, there’s going to be a worldwide day of prayer to heal Trig Palin… of Down Sydrome.

… it is known publicly that Trig Palin indeed has Down Syndrome. Science has no way to undo this condition, which is the result of an extra chromosome; but God can. When Trig Palin is found to be miraculously healed, everyone but the most hardened atheist will have to acknowledge God’s Majesty!

Ugh… what a waste of time. It’s sad that anyone might fall for it.

And what does it even mean for someone to be “healed of Down Syndrome”? Will every cell in his body change overnight?

That’s not even the only problem with the site. Bay of Fundie has plenty more to complain about.

I like the end of his commentary: If Trig doesn’t get “healed,” will Christians all lose their faith?

Of course not. The people who created this site (and I hope it’s a Poe but I don’t think it is) will just make excuses when nothing changes.

(Thanks to Lagunatic for the link)

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  • Gabriel G.

    The audacity of trying to make god reroute his grand plan for one little kid with downs is enough to choke the planet eater.

    Of course when their prayer session fails, they’ll just say Trig was meant to have downs and that it’s a part of god’s plan.

    Someone needs to tell these people that they can’t have it both ways, either god has a plan or he doesn’t.

  • I think this MUST be a poe.

  • Ron in Houston

    I think we should make cognitive gymnastics an Olympic sport. The leaps, twists, and turns some people make to justify their God are quite impressive

  • A lurker

    I'm new to the atheism community. What's a "Poe"? as in:

    The people who created this site (and I hope it’s a Poe but I don’t think it is) will just make excuses when nothing changes.

  • Coreen

    I think that's a Poe.

  • BigMKnows

    Check out the forum on the Pray4Trig site. Looks like they have hundreds of posts, but they are all spam for pharmaceuticals. The admin hasn't bothered to clean them up. You can tell these people don't have their act together.

    Also, when Trig is NOT healed, they'll just claim that not enough people prayed, or they weren't True Christians. Nothing can disconfirm that which was accepted without evidence or reason in the first place.

  • Karen

    I got this kind of crap all the time at the Christian school I went to as a kid. It was so weird, usually pulled out of a man's sleeve (sorry guys) to make him look like he had the inside to the Lord. And you're right, that when the "whatever" isn't what they wanted it to be after exerting a ridiculous amount of time and energy, then it was "God's Will" or some such nonsense.

    "Now, moving on, turn to page 144 in your hymnals.."

    Anyway, the best idea would be for women over 40 to remember that if you're going to have a baby that there is a 1 in 60 chance you're going to have a child with chromosome abnormalities. Sarah (and the rest of her offspring) should just have been more careful.

  • MKR

    I think that the best part of that site is their reply to "atheists and others who hate God" (!! — will they also accuse us of hating Bigfoot and the Tooth Fairy?), when these cite the fact that God has never restored the limb of an amputee to refute belief in the efficacy of prayer: "Honestly, when’s the last time you heard of a congregation praying, with faith, that a member’s lost limb would be restored to him?" ZING!

  • Gabriel

    This is cruel. Is it even possible that they believe this will work? Are they going to pretend that he no longer has down syndrome or will they invent some way to blame the child?

  • Humanists Harbor

    Has to be a parody. Pure Poe-try.

  • pretty sure it's Poe's Law at work

  • Greg

    A lurker. A Poe, is basically someone who is satirising the fundamentalist theist's position.
    See: Poe's Law.

    http://www.includipedia.com/wiki/Poe's_Law

  • Scubabee

    It's a post that we hope is a parody, but cannot tell.
    http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Po…

  • NewEnglandBob

    How about a session to cure Sarah Palin for extreme stupidity.

  • NewEnglandBob

    How about a session to cure Sarah Palin for extreme stupidity.

  • Richard P.

    Well, I know I will be waiting with abated breath….

    Now how do we make money off this..
    christians, have to donate money to confirm their faith in gods power to heal. We match any bet they make heheh…. If god heals they get all the money to put toward a charity. If he doesn't we get to keep the money. Yeah it would work, Idea needs a little tweaking, but…..

    Challenge them to put their money where there faith is.
    SSA could use it as a fund raiser within the colleges. You'd make huge in so many ways.

  • Richard P.

    Well, I know I will be waiting with abated breath….

    Now how do we make money off this..
    christians, have to donate money to confirm their faith in gods power to heal. We match any bet they make heheh…. If god heals they get all the money to put toward a charity. If he doesn't we get to keep the money. Yeah it would work, Idea needs a little tweaking, but…..

    Challenge them to put their money where there faith is.
    SSA could use it as a fund raiser within the colleges. You'd make huge in so many ways.

  • BlueRidgeLady

    Haha. Indeed!

  • I’m almost 100% certain that this is a Poe by the guys behind Why Won’t God Heal Amputees. Christians simply don’t make this argument, citing Jesus’ quote about not putting God to the test. This is the sort of argument I make to ask them why they can’t just pray for world peace and have it happen, combined with the fact that Jesus was misquoting scripture when he said the thing they always quote.

  • Sarah

    This is pretty damn offensive, Poe or not. Sadly, whoever made this appears to be as ignorant about disability as the majority of Americans (it’s better in some countries…).

    http://www.disabilitypride.org/credo.htm

  • Maybe I’m insensitive, but I don’t see the value in taking pride in disabilities. Be proud of the people with the disabilities, but look for a way to prevent it in the future, too. The same goes for this push for acceptance of being overweight and obese. I mean, I accept the people, but I don’t think we should be settling for less than we could be.

  • sophia b

    This is horrible in more ways then one. Although Down’s syndrome can be challenging in many ways, if they get the personal and societal support they need (which i’m sure Trig will due to his wealth) they can live full, happy lives. Although I hate his mothers politics and think she uses him as a pro-life credential, she has given the impression that she is happy with her son the way he is. So do they have much reason to believe he’ll want healing?

    Karen: cause everyone over 40 who accidentally gets pregnant was just stupid, right? As if being careful is a 100% guarentee..
    Man, i never thought i post something defending that evil republican…

  • I think it’s a hoax and I don’t really see the point. Yes, yes, christians are irritating with their illogical beliefs but they have the right to those beliefs. If I want tolerance, shouldn’t I extend tolerance to others?
    I am not talking about all the political stuff they try to get pushed through, btw…just their spiritual beliefs.
    Live and let live.
    .-= lonesparrow´s last blog ..Mental Disorders and Religion =-.

  • November

    Yes, it is a Poe. Not quite sure if Sally is from Why Won’t God Heal Amputees or from LBC, but either way it is fake. The sad part is how they used a person with Ds for a prop in their attack on Christianity. The site will likely not hurt any Christian beliefs but it does further negative stereotypes about people with Ds.

  • bernerbits

    I say let them go for it. When her Down Syndrome doesn’t go away, if just one person participating has the audacity to question their faith as a result, so much the better.

    And if her Down Syndrome is miraculously healed, while far from proof of the efficacy of prayer, it would at least give us pause while we considered the evidence.

  • Listen ye of little faith, you don’t even have to get God to change every cell in Trig’s body, but only retroactively effect an earlier conception date, by like 15 years. Squeeze him in between bristol and willow, and he’ll probably turn out fine. God doesn’t make mistakes, but he can’t be bothered with each and every birth, he lets a few get botched. But he does perform miracles, which means he’s open to suggestion and reminders from those feeble little creations of his. Now, if Trig turns 17 on his birthday, spontaneously sprouting five in a half feet tall, and no longer with Down’s Syndrome, we’ll know why, and all of you will eat your hats. Start buying the condiments, cause you’ll need ’em, ON YOUR HAT… CAUSE THAT’S WHAT YOU’RE GUNNA EAT!!!

  • Scott

    One of the comments on the “Amazing Hatred” post on the Pray4Trig website mentioned the fact that the website had not obtained consent from the Palin family to pray for their baby. I was wondering if there are any laws in any districts with regard to requiring consent before praying for somebody or laws preventing people from praying for harm and/or misfortune to befall somebody. If not, I think Atheists should lobby do get these 2 laws on the books.

  • Sarah

    Maybe I’m insensitive, but I don’t see the value in taking pride in disabilities. Be proud of the people with the disabilities, but look for a way to prevent it in the future, too. The same goes for this push for acceptance of being overweight and obese. I mean, I accept the people, but I don’t think we should be settling for less than we could be.

    That was exactly my opinion when I didn’t know anybody with any kind of disabilities. It makes sense rationally, but people and life aren’t rational.

    Many people with disabilities don’t see themselves as “less than [they] could be.” In fact, they’d see it as just as insulting as saying that a non-white person is less than they could be if they were white. It’s not necessarily the disabled/non-white person that needs to change — it’s the societal perceptions of them and their resulting obstacles. In the end, though, I think the people with the disabilities are the final authority on how they should be treated. They’re the ones experiencing their lives, after all. And it’s a ridiculously complicated issue that isn’t exactly on topic, so I’ll stop here.

  • Jamie

    You know there’s a Visit the Holy Land ad at the top of this page. Not the Trig page THIS Friendly Atheist page.

    LOL

  • I didn’t say that the people see themselves as less than they could be. I said that we’re settling for less than we could be.

    I do happen to know plenty of people with disabilities. While I was in college I volunteered for a school for people with various learning, emotional, and physical disabilities, and I grew up with an aunt with severe learning disabilities.

    The issue isn’t that these people should be unsatisfied with their lives. It’s that we can change things so that others won’t have to face the challenges they do. These aren’t just challenges that come from society; changing our mindset isn’t enough.

    I’m not talking about eugenics. I’d never suggest that we should kill fetuses with birth defects. I do think, however, that we can try to find ways to prevent these things from developing in otherwise healthy fetuses in the first place.

  • +1 for “it’s a Poe.”

    A very subtle Poe, to be sure, and it’s apparently luring a lot of sincere faith-heads in. But my gut tells me it’s a Poe.

    Which makes the faith-heads all the funnier.

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