it must just be me?

So dinner is in the oven, and I sit to kill a little time by flipping. I enjoy that at the end of a day. I start with the lowest number on the TV which happens to be a christian station. Big San Antonio guy is preaching in his usual style, and as he gives the recap of his 4-part sermon series on how to be a winner or whatever, he says this:

"There are 7 principles in the word of God about how to have your prayers answered. The disciples came to Jesus and said, 'Lord, teach us to pray.' That very sentence means there is a right way and a wrong way to pray. And when you pray according to the formula given by Jesus Christ, your prayers get answered. Otherwise, they're not."

*Calls BS on this kind of stuff*

I can't be alone in this. I'm tired, really tired of formulaic, pseudo-superstitious, "you have to hear my message on that to get it" approaches to the Divine. I think it is wrong to tell people stuff like that. It's like we are all on drugs or we are about to drink the Kool-aide for the umpteenth time. I think of the poor, struggling person whose life is on the skids who listens to this kind of garbage and thinks, "If I can just get it right...say the right things at the right time like the holy man on the stage, then I'll be able to pull my life back together..." It's crap.

Anytime you concretely say that there are 7 (and that was picked because of the mysterious nature of numerology) principles about bla bla bla, you are already doomed for ridiculousness before you even complete your sentence. Enough. We've had enough. I'm sick to death of this kind of crap. Away with your "I've got the key...THE KEY for you to get all the stuff you want from God, and here is the secret incantation, even though you probably will never be righteous enough to acheive the good life.

Yes, I know I ought to quit watching it. Maybe that is one of my NY resolutions.

Have a happy.
Love you,
G