Conservative religious groups are criticizing President Obama for what the Associated Press called his “muted” observance of National Prayer Day Thursday. “At this time in our country’s history, we would hope our President would recognize more fully the importance of prayer,” said Shirley Dobson, chairwoman of National Day of Prayer Task Force, which organizes the prayer day festivities. The Family Research Council said Obama’s decision to not have a big White House prayer event constituted a “de-emphasis on prayer.”
Also a de-emphasis on silly walks.
I think this is actually a case of religious conservatives having cut off their noses to spite their faces. Putting aside for a moment the question of whether it’s appropriate for the White House to be involved in encouraging prayer, this particular occasion has evolved in a way that almost guaranteed its demise.
The Bush White House had National Prayer Day run by a conservative, evangelistic Christian group. The mission statement on the Task Force’s Web site states that “in accordance with Biblical truth,” the Task Force seeks to, among other things:
“Foster unity within the Christian Church”
“Publicize and preserve America’s Christian Heritage”
“Glorify the Lord in word and deed”The event became a showcase for religious conservative Christians to lead the nation in prayer…
Eight years of public butt-kissing doesn’t make ritual and superstition automatically part of the Constitution.
I have it on the HIGHEST authority and Zeus is real. He’s spoken to me…told me the Truth…blessed my heart and told me you’re going to Hades when you die. I believe this, even though there is no proof, you can’t photograph or see my god. But the PROOF for my god is in front of your eyes Alfred1. Just LOOK around. The oceans, the air, the planets! You think evolutions and the “BIG BANG” are responsible for those? Doesn’t make sense…ONLY Zeus could have done that…any idiot could see that.
I’m sorry you’ll be spending eternity in Hades for denying the true god.
#77 In high school, I remember Apollo (Sun God) to be quite hot. No pun intended.
Worship wise, put me down for that one.
Alfred has made more strawmen than an Iowa corn farmer.
#70 Alfred1,
I’m not getting a tattoo of anything. How about if I just say loudly and clearly that I deny the existence of the holy spirit. That sin is unforgivable in your bible. No amount of repenting will undo it.
There done.
Good enough?
I also deny the existence of Satan, Zeus, etc.
The point about Satanists, if there really are any, being Christians is that they do indeed believe the Christian bible. And, believers in the Christian bible do indeed believe Satan exists.
Therefore, Satanists are Christians and Christians are Satanists. It’s only a matter of which deity each believes is worthy of worship.
Oh, and Satan may once have been a fallen angel according to your myth. But, he has grown up to be a god. Otherwise, god would swat him like a bug and kill him, assuming your god is just and all-knowing as well as all-powerful. But, s/he isn’t.
#73 – Alfred1,
A death atheist = dressed up corpse in the morgue…
Wrong part of speech. Death is not an adjective.
Get it?
#74 – Alfred1,
#71 Oh…a typo…sorry…
A dead atheist=all dressed up with nowhere to go
Yup. Got it even with the typo and replied to it in #71. But, go ahead and deal only with your typo since you are emotionally incapable of dealing with death.
#78 – Alfred1,
#76 yeah…you could answer the questions I raised…
Why is it satanists and liberal judges both want pedophiles free?
I thought I picked up that one. They’re following the lead of your priests.
#80 – Alfred1,
#79 I have it on good authority, YHWH is the only true God.
Sorry you made the wrong choice…sorry for you…
Then you should stick strictly to the O.T. Had moshiach already been here, there would be peace in the world today. There isn’t.
Oh, and g-d just might smite you for spelling out his name somewhere from which it may be deleted. Shame on you.
Also, with YHWH, there is no hell and no Satan and quite possibly no afterlife, not even an apres vie. So, you lose again.
#92 – Alfred1,
#89 Tch tch… its a typo…try to keep up.
You’re the one who’s behind. You still haven’t recognized that I answered your comment about the dead atheist.
I don’t fear death.
You don’t believe in death.
You can’t handle the truth.
Jesus was a liberal. That long haired beatnick didn’t believe in tradition. He wanted to shake things up and introduce a new way. Peace, love, tolerance: man, what a dangerous liberal.
Was he a child molester?
It is said he loves the little children, but I don’t think that’s what they meant.
That was the argumentative equivalent of “unh-uh was not”
Try again.
#98 – Alfred1,
Yes. And my point is that you too have no where to go. You just can’t accept reality.
Just to touch the corner stone of this discussion once more: There is no god, no jesus, and religion is a crock.
We will well served when religion is studied only as a cultural artifact.
I guess our political “leaders” can’t be faulted too much for pandering to this idiot faction in the voting public and Obama once again leads the way by reducing the talabanistic born agains by returning the day of observance to an ecumenical recognition.
I pray every day for the Rapture.
Alfred1 said: “I don’t agree with the President having a national day of prayer…keep the Government out of religion…”
I can’t stand liberals like you. It’s God’s law and the government should obey. You will truly burn.
#69: not to mention other pedophilic religious leaders.
christians in good standing are all members of the kingdom of heaven. theleader of that kingdom is the lord thy god. Salvation depends on faith in and dependence on the grace of god.
So Jesus was also a statist.
#100
You are so wrong.
The Christian God said this in Matthew 6:
25″Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? 26Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? 27Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life[b]?
28″And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. 29Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 30If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? 31So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 33But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 34Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.
YOUR GOD said he would take care of you.
He was a liberal. He was against tradition for tradition’s sake. He wanted it to be easy for people:
Matthew 11: 29Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”
He even reduced the 613 commandments down to TWO.
What you are teaching is judaism. Not christianity. Just like all the mainstream christians. They are Jews in disguise.
Cursor_
“ritual and superstition”
Let me guess, you pride yourself on your tolerance and your open mind.
Seriously, this guy doesn’t see the irony of railing against “statists” and quoting from a translation of the bible that was ordered by the head of state?
Allah would be okay dude. In fact with western civ pretty much having terminated itself with birth control in a few generation the mullahs are going to be free to tell people like the dude who posted this to go dig themselves a grave and lie down in it.
Damn, I was busy.
>>http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/30602699/
>>http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/30623622/
Christ, haven’t you guys fixed that WordPress stuff-up with the links YET??
And what happened to the “recent posts” thingy on the right?
#106 – Mista Bobbolina
>>There is no god, no jesus, and religion
>>is a crock.
To paraphrase #41, “There you go again, proving the null hypothesis”.
#77 – ANFSD
>>So out of this list of gods/goddesses ONLY
>>one is allowed for worship by our President
>>and our ‘national day of prayer’
Hey! You forgot Changó. He’s my favorite orisha. And make no mistake, Santeria IS a religion (see Supreme Court case Church of Lukumi Babalu Aye v. City of Hialeah, 1993).
You DO NOT FUCK with Changó. You can take it from me, and I am a babalao.
#117 – MM,
Welcome back. If you’ve been around, I haven’t seen you. (Could be me, I’ve been on less lately.)
Both of my favorites were in that list. I like Ganesh/Ganesha because s/he is really cute with the elephant head and Thor. Thor is cool because at least if I can’t see him, I can hear him from time to time.
I find it mildly amusing that we can still have this same argument with little change.
I’ll never quite see what you find different about any creature on the list of post #77 (plus Chango, of course) versus any of the creatures on this list.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_legendary_creatures
Oh well. I guess you simply figure if one person believes the creature is real, there must be something worth considering. I don’t. I wait for real evidence.
Whatever. At least I can count on you not to quote scripture at me as if it were proof of anything other than that scripture exists.
I’m actually pretty disappointed in Alfie lately. He’s been giving up on these deabtes far too easily. First the evolution one and now the atheist/satanists are pedophiles one…
Think of the children, Alfie!
Skip it? I live it every day baby!
#118 – Scottie
Nope, I’ve sadly been preoccupied with activities IRL. I’m back now, for a while. I see that the more things have changed, the more they’ve stayed the same.
And you are correct, I won’t quote Scripture at you. I may pass along some wisdom derived from Scripture for your consideration, that’s all.
Just be thankful that I don’t be quoting Changó at you. That’s one orisha you do n ot mess around with. In fact, I may go looking for a goat to sacrifice, for even writing his name. I should spell it Ch-ngó, like the Jews write “G-d”. “The orisha that dare not write its name”, to borrow a concept from the Prophet Oscar Wilde.
Welcome back, Mr. Mustard! Come visit us at Cage Match, too! Scott’s a guest editor and I throw my 2 cents in once in a while. KD lets me comment there as well.
According to the official website, thousands of “events” were held from coast to coast. These political activists apparently forgot to consult their Bibles when they organized this National Day of Prayer. If they had, they might have run across this uncomfortable set of prayer instructions which seem to preclude public events such as this, not to mention school prayer as well:
(Words attributed to Jesus in Matthew 6:5-7, New American Standard Bible)