Terri, I think you misunderstood what I said. I never said I believed or disbelieved whether God gave the money to the Lady. I said I dont automatically come to that conclusion just becasue she prayed. I have no way of know what God does or doesn't do for others and I will never assume to know. I only stated my belief to give insight to what this woman may have believed, so that you could see that the Reporter may not have written with a christian point of view but rather written as a reporter should : impartially - i.e. reported on what he had been told. I was not debating anything on this board. I merely answered a question and expalined my answer. It doesnt matter one way or the other to me if you "see" my point, but I presented it for the purose I just stated. I specifially stated that it was my belief but I wasn't saying it was the right belief. I never said anyone had to , should, ought to believe as I do, or that any contrary belief was not valid. As to "Unfortunately, you will never be able to have a civil or "friendly" discussion with a die hard Atheist on the subject of christianity. That is just the way it is." This is sad. I dont think I've been anything but civil here. What is sad is that we can't be tolerant inspite of the differences. I never discussed Christianity, I simply stated my belief. I have never said anything mean, rude, condescending or insulting to anyone on this board. If what I said was perceived to be such, I wholeheartedly apologize as it was never my intention to do so. Becky

"Many people, religous or not, seek to find a cause and effect for the things that happen in life." ....and so, religion evolves. Early man had no science to explain his surroundings or why the sun rose and set. There had to be a reason right? The bible represents mans reasoning his existance and purpose. Everything that happened had no scientific resons or causes for early man. That was the best he could come up with. Did you know that the bible clearly states in several places that the earth was not round. If you went against this teaching, then you were murdered. THIS is a fact. If you ever study statistics you see that a world of randoms has infinite possiblities. Anything can happen to you at any time. It is all random. I do not understand how you make such a leap to believe God provides you your job and not believe God let that woman win the lottery. What is the difference and how in the world could you know that God chose to help you by intervening and not that poor old woman? I am sorry, it makes no sense to me and seems just preposterous. Here is the problem as I see it: It does no good to debate or defend christianity to an atheist. We will never see your point and will find flaws in ALL your defenses and reasonings. We are atheists because we choose to see ALL of the contradictions and flaws in the reasonsings of religion instead of overlook them as most believers do. Unfortunately, you will never be able to have a civil or "friendly" discussion with a die hard Atheist on the subject of christianity. That is just the way it is. We are not so sypathetic to your cause when in our own homes (such as this board). We practice tolerance in the real world as we have no choice. We keep our heads down and our mouths closed. Come to my home though and you might get an earful of things you do not like. I think reading here is one thing. Trying to get us to discuss religion in a manner that does not put us on the defense is another. Take care, Terri

Tinker, this is the Atheist board. It's where I hope to GET AWAY from the Christian/religious point of view. You've got the whole rest of the board to talk about your religious beliefs. Yes, this IS the place for those who agree with me. IT'S THE ATHEIST BOARD.

Wow, $25K. What a cool windfall! Wish I could say I'd ever won anything!

I think you're assuming that the reporter is religious or is writing out of religious point of view, or is trying to "serve the cause of religion". It could be that he is simply stating what the woman said without drawing any conclusions about it. Isn't that what a reporter is supposed to do? There was no opinion or commentary in that piece to suggest that the writer personally believes in God, in prayer or that this prayer was or was not answered, or that he believes or disbelieves the conclusion the woman came to. Christians don't believe in "luck". Christians believe that everything is given by God. For example, I believe God provides for my financial needs. I believe my job was given to me by God, who gave me the skills needed to do and keep the job. The job provides a paycheck which provides for my financial needs. So, in my thinking God provided for all my financial needs and the job is the method in which He did that. Do I think I am more favored because I have a job and others don't? Not really. I don't think that one has anything to do with the other. I don't say this to say it is the right way to think. I am merely stating it is what I think. With that in mind, I hope you can at least understand (notice I didn't say agree with) where this woman is comming from when she made that conclusion.