Judeo-Christian Beliefs, the Prayer List, and There Must Be a God

[DISCLAIMER]

During the time that I lived with my dad and late stepmom (pictured above), from half of my fifth to half of my seventh grade years, my dad taught me the doctrine of the Jehovah’s Witnesses. Meanwhile, my stepmom regularly attended an Apostolic church congregation.

Thereafter, as a resident of a children’s home which was sponsored by the Churches of Christ, I learned similarly conservative faith-based dogma. At that time, I maintained strong beliefs (states or habits of mind in which trust or confidence is placed in some person or thing).

Specifically, I believed in God (the supreme or ultimate reality, such as a being who is perfect in power, wisdom, and goodness and who is worshipped, as in Christianity, as the creator and ruler of the universe; a being that is worshipped as having more than natural attributes and powers).

According to one source, “Jehovah’s Witnesses believe the Bible teaches that God has four cardinal attributes: love, justice, wisdom, and power. Similar to other monotheists in the Judeo-Christian tradition, they believe God to be ‘personal’ and not an impersonal ‘higher power’.”

A separate Church of Christ source states, “It is true, nine of the Ten Commandments are found in the New Testament, but this does not make them ‘Judeo-Christian!” For context, one source states:

The “term Judeo-Christian is used to group Christianity and Judaism together, either in reference to a shared history before Christianity split from Judaism, Christianity’s recognition of Jewish scripture (constituting the Old Testament of the Christian Bible), or values supposed to be shared between them.

I can’t accurately recall whether or not I was taught the term “Judeo-Christian” during my Jehovah’s Witnesses or Churches of Christ teachings, though I’ve used this description of my former religious beliefs within my blog. Lately, this term has apparently become politicized.

Given that Israel has committed genocide, ethnic cleansing, and war crimes, through ostensibly unwavering support and active allyship of the United States (U.S.), many people online and elsewhere have collectively thrown Israelis and Jewish people into the same proverbial basket.

I get how this has occurred. Still, it’s foolish to claim that all Israelis or all Jews are collectively responsible and accountable for the terrorism in which Israel and the U.S. have engaged any more than claiming the same for all people subscribing to a Judeo-Christian faith within the U.S.

Nevertheless, partially because the term has become socio-politically disagreeable, I’ve chosen to distance myself from “Judeo,” “Christian,” and “Judeo-Christian” beliefs. I say that I “partially” distance myself, because years ago I already transitioned away from religious beliefs.

After becoming an adult and thinking critically about religion, no longer in regular contact with my dad, I engaged in a number of conversations with my stepmom about skepticism of religiosity (the quality or state of being religious). Admittedly, my stepmom wasn’t thrilled.

At some point, I identified as atheist (a person who does not believe in the existence of God or any gods). My stepmom was initially patient with me, as I worked through the disentanglement of the religious foundation to which I’d subscribed since my youth.

“Honey,” she used to say during many of our weekly phone calls, “I’m keepin’ you on the prayer list.” According to the American Psychological Association, prayer is thusly defined:

[C]ommunication (voiced or contemplative) with a deity or other such entity, generally for the purposes of praise, thanksgiving, supplication, or self-examination or to seek forgiveness, guidance, or serenity. The behavior has been studied periodically at least since William James (see psychology of religion), with varied results.

For instance, researchers and practitioners have noted, on the one hand, that prayer can be used as a defense or escape from the exploration of painful issues and as a form of magical thinking and, on the other hand, that it can be both cognitively meaningful and therapeutically beneficial in some conditions for those with specific religious beliefs or spirituality.

Much work has been done, since the late 1970s, by a growing body of researchers to integrate religious values and practices with psychotherapy. In appropriate circumstances, prayer may be explicitly used by some therapists as a component of intervention and treatment.

The therapist and client may pray individually or together for such goals as personal or interpersonal healing, forgiveness, and the ability to examine problems freely and with discernment.

The “prayer list” was a roster compiled by members of my stepmom’s Apostolic church congregation. Basically, anyone who was placed on the list would be prayed for in accordance with Matthew 18:20, “For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them.”

The idea is that if more than one person prays for another individual, there’s an increased likelihood of the prayer being fulfilled. No matter how much I protested having been placed on the prayer list, my stepmom was determined to pray for my soul (immaterial essence).

I then disavowed atheism and used the label agnostic (a person who holds the view that any ultimate reality, such as a supreme being, is unknown and probably unknowable, as in one who is not committed to believing in either the existence or the nonexistence of God or any gods).

Personally, it’s as absurd to claim that there absolutely is a deity as it is to profess that there definitely isn’t one. Thus, I’ve settled on the conclusion that I don’t know about such matters.

When further contemplating this topic, I’m reminded of the collaborative album If You’re Scared Stay Inside (2021) by rappers Trae tha Truth and Mysonne. It contained the track “Prayer for Me” that featured lyricist Big K.R.I.T. and Pastor Stephen A. Green.

In particular, the latter said, “I am the answer to my grandmother’s prayers. Up above my head, I hear music. In the air, there must be a god somewhere. There must be God!” At this point, I’ll offer a lesson on how I address such beliefs in both my personal and professional capacities.

When providing psychoeducational lessons on Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT), I teach people about the ABC model of self-disturbance (how people upset themselves through use of irrational beliefs). Now, I’ll address a finer point of this psychotherapeutic model of wellness.

For context, REBT uses the ABC model to illustrate how when an undesirable Action occurs and you Believe an unhelpful narrative about the event, it’s your unfavorable assumption, not the occurrence itself, that causes an unpleasant Consequence. That negative outcome is disturbance.

In particular, there are four predominate irrational beliefs which people often use to disturb themselves: global evaluations, low frustration tolerance, awfulizing, and demandingness. When contemplating these unproductive Beliefs, think of the acronym GLAD.

It’s worth noting that the two forms of should, must, and ought-type demands with which people most often self-disturb are associated with use of absolutistic and conditional should beliefs. Generally speaking, these serve as rigid commands used toward oneself, others, and life.

An absolute must narrative is, “You absolutely must do as I say!” A conditional should narrative is, “Either you should do as I say, or you should be punished!” Significantly, in REBT literature, demandingness of this sort is said to function as a primary appraisal mechanism of disturbance.

Global evaluations (i.e., self-downing, other-downing, and life-downing), low frustration tolerance (also known as frustration intolerance), and awfulizing (e.g., terrible, horrible, etc.) function as secondary appraisal mechanisms. Together, GLAD will make you sad or mad, etc.

Noteworthy, with my approach to care for mental, emotional, and behavioral health (collectively “mental health”), I invite people to consider mental scripts which are rational (in accordance with both logic and reason) – especially regarding events which correlate with strong feelings.

Logic is the interrelation or sequence of facts when seen as inevitable or predictable, and reason is a statement offered in explanation or justification. As such, I often use syllogisms (deductive schemes of formal argument consisting of a major and a minor premise and a conclusion).

Importantly, a syllogistic statement, proposition, or belief may be logical while simultaneously unreasonable. In this case, even though the logic consequentially follows (the conclusion is a necessary and inevitable result of previous facts or premises), it’s considered irrational.

While still functioning as prescriptive rather than descriptive, flexible use of recommendatory, preferential, ideal, empirical, moral and ethical, and legal ought beliefs won’t inevitably cause disturbance, as they may align with distress. Thus, rigidity versus flexibility makes a difference.

As well, a rigid form of irrational belief results in self-disturbance (e.g., rage) while a flexible form of rational belief results in self-distress (e.g., righteous indignation). Ergo, what one thinks, feels (i.e., emotions and sensations), and behaves reveals what type of beliefs are being used.

Addressing how people upset themselves with unhelpful attitudes, the ABC model incorporates Disputation of unproductive philosophies of life in order to explore Effective new beliefs. Whereas rigid beliefs cause self-disturbance, flexible beliefs result in an un-disturbed condition.

Remarkably, natural forms of distress are tolerable (e.g., mild anxiousness, sorrow, frustration, annoyance, disappointment, etc.). Even though unnatural forms of disturbance are also tolerable (e.g., enragement), my approach to REBT seeks the outcome which is more likely to be endured.

Now, I offer a finer point of understanding in regard to the ABC model. In particular, I invite you to consider use of a modus ponens syllogism in association with Pastor Stephen A. Green’s empirical (originating in or based on observation or experience) must claims on “Prayer for Me”.

Form –

If p, then q; p; therefore, q.

Example –

Major premise: If my grandmother prayed for me and I hear music in the air (p), then there empirically must be a god somewhere (q).

Minor premise: My grandmother prayed for me and I hear music in the air (p).

Conclusion: Therefore, there empirically must be a god somewhere (q).

This claim satisfies the criteria of a logical form, though it isn’t reasonable, as it’s unfalsifiable (not capable of being proved false). Thus, it’s irrational to claim that “there must be God,” based solely one’s strong religious belief in an entity for which there’s no convincing evidence.

Perhaps now you understand why my stepmom wasn’t thrilled when I voiced skepticism of religiosity. Not all people like having their beliefs challenged. She later used what she considered to be a healthy boundary by requesting that I not discuss religion with her any further.

It’s worth noting that the late psychologist who developed REBT, Albert Ellis, once wrote a mini-book entitled The Case Against Religion: A Psychotherapist’s View and the Case Against Religiosity. An avowed atheist, Ellis was quite vocal on his stance against organized religion.

This was the posture I once took, as well, though I now consider atheism as irrational as belief in an unfalsifiable deity. In any case, Ellis once stated in an interview regarding his clients (page 26):

I choose, rather, to show them, in most instances, that what they call their religious beliefs are totally incompatible with a good state of mental health and emotional well-being and that, whether they like it or not, they are going to have to become less religious (in the accurate sense of the word) if they are to become healthier.

I don’t use Ellis’ approach to mental health in this regard. Rather, I appreciate the approach regarding one of Ellis’ colleagues, psychologist Steve A. Johnson, who wrote the paper Incorporating Religion into Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy with the Christian Client.

Also, it was Ellis, Johnson, and psychologist Stevan L. Nielsen who wrote the book Counseling and Psychotherapy With Religious Persons: A Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy Approach. Even Ellis, an atheist, could contribute to a knowledgebase for working with rigorous clients.

I also work with clients who maintain beliefs reflecting religiosity and spirituality (something that in ecclesiastical law belongs to the church or to a cleric, such as sensitivity or attachment to religious values, or the quality or state of being spiritual—of or relating to sacred matters).

Nonetheless, when I dispute irrational beliefs which are of a self-disturbing nature (e.g., guilt or shame) and that involve religiosity or spirituality, some clients may then use rational beliefs about my behavior which are of the self-distressing nature (e.g., frustration or annoyance).

Ultimately, religious beliefs from my youth and early adulthood informed my worldview. Even though I’m uncertain as to whether or not there is a God or gods, I appreciate the values instilled by my dad and late stepmom. Now, I invite you to practice a similar approach to acceptance.

Simply because you don’t believe in someone or something doesn’t mean that you can’t tolerate and accept different views, does it? If you’d like to know more about how to do this, then I’ll add you to the prayer list. (I kid, I kid!) Rather, I look forward to hearing from you.

If you’re looking for a provider who tries to work to help you understand how thinking impacts physical, mental, emotional, and behavioral elements of your life, I invite you to reach out today by using the contact widget on my website.

As the world’s foremost hip hop-influenced REBT psychotherapist, I’m pleased to try to help people with an assortment of issues from anger (hostility, rage, and aggression) to relational issues, adjustment matters, trauma experience, justice involvement, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, anxiety and depression, and other mood or personality-related matters.

At Hollings Therapy, LLC, serving all of Texas, I aim to treat clients with dignity and respect while offering a multi-lensed approach to the practice of psychotherapy and life coaching. My mission includes: Prioritizing the cognitive and emotive needs of clients, an overall reduction in client suffering, and supporting sustainable growth for the clients I serve. Rather than simply trying to help you to feel better, I want to try to help you get better!

Deric Hollings, LPC, LCSW

References:

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Hollings, D. (2025, March 4). Justification. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/justification

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Hollings, D. (2025, May 18). Learning to understand, attentively and deeply. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/learning-to-understand-attentively-and-deeply

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Hollings, D. (2023, September 19). Life coaching. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/life-coaching

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Hollings, D. (2023, September 8). Lived experience. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/lived-experience

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Hollings, D. (2026, May 15). Owning up to personal and collective codes of conduct. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/owning-up-to-personal-and-collective-codes-of-conduct

Hollings, D. (2025, March 5). Pain. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/pain

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Hollings, D. (2024, January 13). Prevention, diagnosis, and treatment. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/prevention-diagnosis-and-treatment

Hollings, D. (2023, November 23). Problems. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/problems

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Hollings, D. (2023, September 15). Psychotherapeutic modalities. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/psychotherapeutic-modalities

Hollings, D. (2024, May 5). Psychotherapist. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/psychotherapist

Hollings, D. (2022, March 24). Rational emotive behavior therapy (REBT). Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/rational-emotive-behavior-therapy-rebt

Hollings, D. (2025, August 13). Rational versus irrational thoughts and beliefs. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/rational-versus-irrational-thoughts-and-beliefs

Hollings, D. (2026, April 9). Real Terrorism: Operation Eternal Darkness. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/real-terrorism-operation-eternal-darkness

Hollings, D. (2024, December 5). Reasoning. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/reasoning

Hollings, D. (2024, March 14). REBT and emotions. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/rebt-and-emotions

Hollings, D. (2024, July 18). REBT flexibility. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/rebt-flexibility

Hollings, D. (2024, July 10). Recommendatory should beliefs. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/recommendatory-should-beliefs

Hollings, D. (2024, June 30). Righteous indignation. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/righteous-indignation

Hollings, D. (2024, January 4). Rigid vs. rigorous. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/rigid-vs-rigorous

Hollings, D. (2023, March 9). Road rage. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/road-rage

Hollings, D. (2025, October 9). Self-awareness, self-examination, and self-determination. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/self-awareness-self-examination-and-self-determination

Hollings, D. (2026, July 7). Self-distress and distress tolerance. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/self-distress-and-distress-tolerance

Hollings, D. (2022, November 1). Self-disturbance. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/self-disturbance

Hollings, D. (2025, January 6). Self-downing. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/self-downing

Hollings, D. (2024, April 21). Sensation. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/sensation

Hollings, D. (2025, April 4). Serenity now. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/serenity-now

Hollings, D. (2026, June 11). Shaping: Force of habit – No rewarding bad behavior! Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/shaping-force-of-habit-no-rewarding-bad-behavior

Hollings, D. (2026, March 31). Shortsighted fundamentalism and dogmatic attitudes. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/shortsighted-fundamentalism-and-dogmatic-attitudes

Hollings, D. (2022, October 7). Should, must, and ought. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/should-must-and-ought

Hollings, D. (2026, February 24). Skepticism: I doubt it. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/skepticism-i-doubt-it

Hollings, D. (2025, September 14). Spoiled without boundaries. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/spoiled-without-boundaries

Hollings, D. (2023, October 17). Syllogism. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/syllogism

Hollings, D. (2025, October 22). The construct. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/the-construct

Hollings, D. (2026, April 23). The three traditionally identified components of the mind: Affect, cognition, and conation. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/the-three-traditionally-identified-components-of-the-mind-affect-cognition-and-conation

Hollings, D. (2024, February 6). This ride inevitably ends. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/this-ride-inevitably-ends

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Hollings, D. (2025, January 9). Traditional ABC model. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/traditional-abc-model

Hollings, D. (2023, October 22). Unfalsifiability. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/unfalsifiability

Hollings, D. (2025, March 13). Unscientific thinking and believing. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/unscientific-thinking-and-believing

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Hollings, D. (2024, September 29). Well, well, well. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/well-well-well

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