The Many Faces of Prayer

Book excerpt: Is prayer obsolete? Some people think so. "Prayer is trying to telepathically communicate with your imaginary friend," says comedian and outspoken atheist Bill Mahr. Yet prayer thrives everywhere. Great crowds of Christian worshipers gather every Sunday to raise hands and glorify God. Muslin faithful kneel in prayer five times a day. Hindus often pray three times daily, chanting with beads, reading from sacred books, and singing devotional songs. Many traditions meditate, which is the preferred spiritual discipline of Buddhists. Yet, some would argue all this prayer is nothing more than talking to the ceiling. What does prayer mean to postmodern humans, who have abandoned supernatural explanations for a scientific model of the Cosmos? Are they all in denial, or deluding themselves into believing their prayers are being heard? The Many Faces of Prayer takes you on a journey from the stone temples of prehistoric peoples to the high-tech churches of the 21st century.