Believers worldwide have been praying for millennia speciously convinced, despite the glaring evidence to the contrary and thanks mainly to organised priesthood systems, that praying served a useful purpose whether they were invoking the generosity of Zeus , the might of Jehovah or the bounty of Buddha; to name just three out of the seemingly interminable list of celestial stalwarts who are supposed to be perpetually in attendance on the entire human race and its never ending demands, exhortations and cries of despair.

Belief in prayer automatically means belief in the supernatural which is analogous to belief in witches and wizards, gnomes and goblins, leprechauns and what have you .When priests from primitive times came up with the concept of praying, which was later copied by every subsequent religion, they were preying on a very basic human weakness – Fear. And because ignorance promotes fear, the farther back we go in the mists of time, a more terrified human psyche is notably encountered everywhere, due in great part to the lack of scientific knowledge and the great terror of the unknown. This proved to be the perfect scenario for the planting of the seeds of superstition in unfortunate human minds.

Arguably, over the millennia some prayers may have provided solace to many believers despite their irrelevance, but in the end it is the religious institutions that stand to gain big time from prayer and no one else. Just look around you.

Vladimir Cini

Marsaxlokk