27 March 2009

Does Prayer Still Count If a Machine Does It for You?

By Jeremy Taylor

Who says technology is an enemy of religion? For a small monthly fee, a new Internet service called Information Age Prayer will use speech synthesis to verbalize three prayers a day for you.

While the company offers no guarantee that God will answer, they do promise the computer-generated prayers will be read at the proper volume and pace, and that your name will be printed on a screen each time one is articulated.

Prices vary from $1.95 a month for prayers for your children, to $3.95 a month for prayers for world peace. As of now, you can't write your own prayers, but the company claims they will add this feature once they can assure "no malicious prayers will get through."

We're all for time-saving convenience, but do you think God would really go in for this loophole?