Isn't the idea of blessing something kind of ridiculous?

[LostInAnomie]

I was at a wedding last weekend and during the service the priest was blathering on about "Lord, bless this..." and "Lord, bless that..." and I was thinking: Isn't the idea that we can actually bless something ridiculous?

The idea of having God bless something seems very arrogant to me. It is essentially telling God to bless something that he/she/it may not have already blessed or may not want to bless, or that somehow we can make something more holy or sacred than it was before. In effect it is claiming dominion over God.

Blessing also takes away the idea of free will. For example by blessing the marriage that I attended the priest was telling God to keep the marriage together in spite of the feelings of the Bride and Groom. This seems very contradictory to biblical teachings.

What do you think?

[MASSAFRA]

1. Catholics

are always blessing something. Depending on the which saint is having a feast day.
If some one wants to believe in this and they are not going to bother me let them. As for me, I gave up on this a long time ago.

[leyton]

2. Respectfully, you misunderstand what the priest is saying.

No offense, but when someone says, "Lord, bless this marriage" they don't mean it as a command. They mean it as a request - "Lord, we hope that it suits You to bless this marriage."

Second, if God blesses a marriage, this is not "in spite of the feelings of the Bride and Groom." It does not mean that they are bound together and cannot separate even if they fight (though permanence is an important part of marriage). It means that He helps keep the marriage strong and the relationship strong. Is it a contradiction of free will? Perhaps, but if you believe in God and free will, I think you are already accepting the notion that free will is a mystery that we cannot understand.

[TahitiNut]

5. Yep. Like a letter to Santa Claus.

:eyes:

[Horse with no Name]

3. Just like I don't think it is right that anyone deny anyone the

belief that God doesn't exist, I don't want to deny anyone the belief that God does exist and however that manifests, whether by blessings, prayers or miracles...far be it from me to be so unwise as to tell someone their beliefs are stupid.

[givemebackmycountry]

4. Here's what I think.

God bless Darfur.
God bless Uganda.
God bless the innocents in Iraq.
God bless anything or anyone who can remove the facist lying, thieving, cheating, stealing, hypocritical, autocratic, theocratic, anti-woman, anti-american, anti-troop,
anti-democracy, scumbag of a administration.

That's what I think.

[sweetheart]

6. The power of intention

The power of a blessing comes from the "blesser". It is their
good will, their love and sincere hopes.

It might be fair to say, that DU has the "blessing" of its membership.
We wish DU well, and our collegues here well, and everything about what
is going on around DU well. We pray that no sickness comes to such
persons, that they are in good health and wealth; that they discover
enlightenment and become tremendously powerful.

A blessing is a "powerless" wish, only if you have no faith in the
sovereign individual. If i give you my blessing, it is better than
money that will soon enough be spent and forgotten. A blessing has
impact, because people's intentions are powerful things.

"But I being poor, have only my dreams, I have spread my dreams under
your feet, tread softly because you tread on my dreams."
- "He Wishes for the Cloths of Heaven" - W.B. Yeats

Many blessings to you all who stand for justice.

[laura888]

7. well said! Bravo! n/t