Day Of Prayer Turning Into Day Of Discord

[goofyfish]

It's the LIBERALS! Muscling in on OUR GOD!

MUNCIE, Ind. -- The minister who has planned this city's National Day of Prayer service for the last decade ran into a dilemma this year. The Jewish community wanted to show up. So did the Muslims, Unitarians and Hindus.

Rev. William Keller, 85, an evangelical Christian, decided everyone would be welcome to join him at noon Thursday between the flowering pear trees that flank the steps of City Hall. But only on one condition: People of other faiths could not take the microphone and pray to their God; they could only listen to Keller pray to his. ((Full text here)

If you want to pray to Jesus or whoever, then go to your church and pray. A "National Day of Prayer" comes perilously close to mixing church and state, and all of the disastrous implications thereof. Iran, Israel, Saudi Arabia, the list goes on and on, and each is a variation of the cautionary story of what can happen when the laws of man attempt to incorporate something too large and far too complicated within their purview. Here in North America we briefly dallied with witch burnings before we figured it out. Let's hope we don't forget too much of what we know.

Of the “zillion” other aspects to comment on, this also jumps out:

"I would say it's not a good sign," said Don Browning, a professor emeritus of religious ethics and the social sciences at the University of Chicago's divinity school. "I just think it's a sad thing. Religion is already marginalized in Western society. The kind of uncooperative stand this person is taking will contribute to its further marginalization."

I know what he means, but I have to disagree. Religion is on the upswing in America the same way "patriotism" is on the upswing. A bunch of scared, ignorant people mouthing the words that glorify the symbols that make them feel safer. Religion is on the upswing in America, along with all its negative energy. For all its claimed benefits, religion as a social force is probably responsible for more death and destruction than any other human invention. On this score, it is challenged only by its cousins, the social doctrines: fascism, communism, and capitalism. This why we are supposed to have separation of church and state. Different religions cannot get along. Period. Any time Religion is the subject it becomes whose religion. Any discussion of religion, no matter how well the intentions of the parties involved, will turn sectarian.

:m: Peace.

 

[heflores]

Fish, what do you mean by "about to mix religion and state". It's already so mixed up beyond belief.

You wanna get funding for your hospital, all you have to do is show that you're using compassion and faith based techniques. You wanna open a school, same, how about a church, no big deal, federal funding by the billions is availalbe for those type of projects. Not long from now, we'll have a new department of compassion to tell us how to live our lifes and be compassionate.

http://www.whitehouse.gov/government/fbci/activities.html

 

[spacemanspiff]

"People of other faiths could not take the microphone and pray to their God; they could only listen to Keller pray to his"

well then it's not really a day of prayer is it??

i just think this is a great example of how when people say that religion in gov and schools is a good thing what they really mean is their religion, not other people's.

really it's not religion that's in the government. it's christianity.
i wouldn't get funding for a faith based hosipital if the faith were some strange wacky non-christian religion.