The power of prayer

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Pilot who paused to pray in crash-landing sentenced to 10 years in jail
A Tunisian pilot who paused to pray instead of taking emergency measures before crash-landing his plane, killing 16 people, has been sentenced to 10 years in jail by an Italian court along with his co-pilot.

article

Who or what did he pray to?

The article didn't say. I guess he was praying for a safe landing instead of actually making sure the plane had a safe landing himself.

Part of the pilots exam should include psychological test questions such as:

A car is approaching you at hight speed do you:
a) Pray for the car to stop.
b) Move out of the way.

Duh?

In the current state of lawsuit maddness in the US, the correct answer would be "A".
And then sue, the driver, the maker of the vehicle, and also whichever branch of religion you were praying to.

But I agree it's a good screening question.

Ooo ... now that's a toughie ... what make, model, and year is the car? Does the driver look wealthy? Is it part of a police pursuit? Do I know whether or not the driver usually brakes for poeple in an attitude of prayer? Is the driver an Atheist, Deist, Theist, or "other"? Is he or she using seatbelts, shoulder harness, and a hands-free cell phone?



Sometimes, I wonder if we're still in the Dark Ages or if the Rennaissance ever really occurred ...

Don't know, but as he survived, it looks like it worked. Obviously he hasn't been praying hard enough to avoid a prison sentance.

Nope, not left the Dark Ages. Mind you, contrast "Prayer" and "Positive Thinking". One of these is self-delusion and the other is ... probably the same.

I would have expected a pilot to be familiar with the concept of multitasking...

Insha'allah! There goes your Muslim. Different God, different Mountain.

ruveyn

Last edited by ruveyn on 28 Mar 2009, 8:15 am, edited 1 time in total.

When that plane went down in the Hudson River in January, I remember seeing someone on Faux News interviewing the pilot. She asked him if god was on his mind as the plane went down, his response that the only thing on his mind at the time was safely landing the plane.

Word, man! Amen to that!

ruveyn

As it should.
If prayer really worked there would never be a plane crash, because if a plane is going down, and the pilot isn't praying, chances are some of the passengers are.

Very skeptical agnostic chiming in here. There are a number of studies that have been done showing there may actually be something to positive thinking, especially when done in large groups. On an individual basis, prayer and positive thinking likely only have a placebo effect, but I would not say that with any certainty. As for a large group of people meditating together on a specific problem, it's been shown to have at least a minor effect that could not be described as placebo.