Answered Prayers

Again, it's almost a year since I wrote anything.
I'm always writing on Facebook, but since I feel writing opinions there often causes too much controversy and tends to get lost in the timeline, I decided to dedicate political and likewise opions to my blog which can be read anytime, and discovered long after Facebook postings disappear. Also a blog post has room to go in further in depth whereas a status update is truly more of a short "hello world, look what I'm doing" kind of statement rather than a major discussion even though the comments do go on just as long.

I still find Blogs rather odd, and hard to manage, but I have been motivated by the fact that sometimes people are looking for answers, or just wanting to see if anyone out there feels the way they do about certain things in life, and therefore it may be worthwhile to fill some space with personal thought.

So this entry is about religion. I have provocatively entitled my piece "answered prayers" in order to set up my opinion. I have a fairly neutral feeling about "believers" so long as they leave me alone, and don't cause mental or physical harm to others, I'm fine with people who worship a deity, but how many religious people out there truly keep their prayers to themselves?

I ask this because recently the Church Of England decided to make an advertisement with "The Lord's Prayer", that has so far been banned by the Digital Cinema Media UK as they felt it was inappropriate to be shown in film theaters, and I agree wholeheartedly.

Here's the video:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rgN0s2xmCuM

and one of the articles about the ban: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/religion/12012233/Cameron-adds-to-pressure-over-ridiculous-Lords-Prayer-advert-ban.html

Amazingly Richard Dawkins (he of Atheist fame, and controversial tweets) has defended the use of such an advert in cinemas, on the grounds that we need not find it offensive. http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/nov/22/richard-dawkins-says-uk-cinemas-should-screen-the-lords-prayer

After watching the video, I wholeheartedly disagree.

Strangely, the prayer in the ad is not the wording that I learned in Sunday School, but I find either version of this "prayer" offensive, as it makes an assumption of a chosen doctrine, and is akin to having someone yelling "Jesus Saves" at a public train station, but in this case would actually be advertised in a cinema where you go to watch fantasy. One could perhaps see the whole thing with a sense of irony, as after all the ad was meant to be played before Star Wars, famous for it's " I am your father", and "use the force, Luke" coupled with ...

Luke Skywalker: "You don't believe in the Force, do you?"
Han Solo: "Kid, I've flown from one side of this galaxy to the other, and I've seen a lot of strange stuff, but I've never seen *anything* to make me believe that there's one all-powerful Force controlling everything.'Cause no mystical energy field controls *my* destiny. It's all a lot of simple tricks and nonsense."

The Lord's Prayer, as I remember it goes like this.
UK ad alterations in (parenthesis)

Our Father which art in heaven, (UK ad says, Our Father in heaven)
Hallowed be thy name. ("your name")
Thy kingdom come.
Thy will be done in earth,
as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those
who trespass against us. ("who sin against us")
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil:
For thine is the kingdom,
and the power, and the glory,
forever and ever.
Amen.

It's nice little bit of poetry to read, and all, but kind of makes me think, so what? However, in its the visceral presentation of people doing everyday things, and saying these words in attempt to convince people that somehow this prayer and subsequently "The Church" should be within their daily lives at all times, I am irritated and can't imagine having this on a big screen amongst the equally annoying ads because it represents a philosophy in an insidious manner.

There are already religious "faith" based movies out there. What is the necessity for this short advertisement?