Bad Things and Theism

I don't know if anything has happened to Dr. Laura in her personal life, beyond seeing a friend of hers die not too long ago after an awful fight with cancer (which can certainly be devastating to see), but now she has gotten to the point of saying she is offended by the Theistic beliefs and related prayers of her callers. I was just listening to the second hour of yesterday's show and she had to make a point of it when a caller who'd witnessed a death as a result of a car accident says she now prays before driving.

Dr. Laura has a skeptical background, but went through a time of being an observant Orthodox Jew before giving that up after, she has explained, being disillusioned by some others in that community. She also has said she had talked with a famous Christian minister who told her to think of the Gospel as a metaphor, from which she inferred that even he didn't believe miracles were real in the literal sense. (Connecting the dots to other things she has said, I suspect that minister is Robert Schuller, which would not surprise most Christians the way she thinks it would.)

She encourages families to be active in their faith communities, preaches right and wrong as though there is an objective morality, yet has strongly implied she doesn't believe in an afterlife and continually expresses what appears to be Deism, if not Atheism, now to the point of, like I said, stating she is offended by prayers as asking Him to keep someone alert as a driver.

If there is a God, He can intervene in life. If there is a God who has called us to pray, what is wrong with praying for strength, alertness, etc. as long as one takes the reasonable actions they can? It isn't like the caller said she stays up for 72 hours before driving and prays for alertness. I realize the "IF" is a big one.

I will pray that Dr. Laura finds peace. I hope (another word she doesn't like to hear from callers) that doesn't offend her, because it is not meant as a dig. She has done so much good and I don't want to see her in anguish over what is wrong or broken in this life. Yes, there is much broken in this world. I am convinced God has provided a way to overcome that brokenness. If there was anybody who didn't deserve a painful and early death, it was the Jew we know as Jesus. Yet it is through that sacrifice we are reconciled to God, and we can look forward to the redemption of the world from sickness, suffering, and sin. That is not some wishful thinking on my part. It is a conviction based on consideration of facts, facts she can investigate herself if she so chooses. She may find a renewed passion for preaching the morals she does. After all, if there is no God concerned with what we do, and no cosmic justice (an afterlife involving rewards and punishments) then what objective reason is there for any given caller or listener or reader to put aside selfishness for the sake of their spouse, their child, or anyone else?