The Universe--God, if you will--is programmed to give us what we choose. Say "I want this or that", the Universe replies "Okay--go ahead and want it," and thus you manifest the experience of wanting. Say "I CHOOSE this or that" and the Universe replies "Okay, here you go."

And that's the problem with religious fundamentalism. I think there are a lot of folks foaming at the mouth over what is happening in the Middle East.

The Universe--God, if you will--is programmed to give us what we choose. Say "I want this or that", the Universe replies "Okay--go ahead and want it," and thus you manifest the experience of wanting. Say "I CHOOSE this or that" and the Universe replies "Okay, here you go."

ummm, im a little confused here. my religious teachings, limited i know, state that prayer is communication with god where 'he' rewards your faith by giving you what the hell you want.

ie, parting of the red sea, walls of jericho etc.

so these people said i 'choose' that the sea will part/ walls will fall down instead of i 'want?'

Deism much?

Your first line was not necessary and is erroneous. The complete absence of evidence of something is not proof of its existence, nor is the chance of its existence, assuming no evidence either way, anything but absoluletly negligable.

You are describing deism, though.

ummm, im a little confused here. my religious teachings, limited i know, state that prayer is communication with god where 'he' rewards your faith by giving you what the hell you want.

ie, parting of the red sea, walls of jericho etc.

so these people said i 'choose' that the sea will part/ walls will fall down instead of i 'want?'

In my understanding it's the attitude present when 'praying'.

When saying 'I want', the implication is that you cannot get the thing that you want. You want it because if you could get it, you would; and so you need intervention. To me this shows helplessness on the part of the praying person.

When you 'choose' something, you are saying that something is within your grasp, and that you are going to attain it through your will and action.

Reminds me of Thus Spake Zarathurstra.

Then again I think that God (if there is one) has given us everything we need to attain everything we decide to aim at, making prayer something aimed at the self, rather than aimed outwardly. Mind you, I tend to take most of these things a bit too un-literally for some people.