Today my wife, Fairlight, received an email alerting her to the fact that prayer might be banned at the presidential inauguration. She was asked to sign a petition that would be forwarded to the court that would be trying the case. Below was her response, which immediately went to the top of my "things I wish I would have written or said myself" list:
While I appreciate the endeavor to combat secularism in our society, it seems to be that prayer at a civil affair is inappropriate. And you know me, I love Jesus. But I am also wary of invoking "God's" name and not knowing to which God we are praying and asking the entire nation to participate in a religious activity during a secular one. While "We were a nation founded by religious refugees", we are no longer. The signers of the constitution were mostly Deists (which is not by definition Christian.)
The idea that "our nation should not be steered in such a secular direction" is not up to us. People are moral agents. God is not a God of force. People choose to be ungodly. Why ask for folks to be nominaly Christian?
Perhaps the best thing for the Church today would not be to simply claim a religious tradition as a foundation on which to stand, but to rather claim Jesus Christ and his way of life--that would not include this complacency and nominal Christianity. The Church may need to let the civil realm be turned over to secularism, so that those who truly want a new way of life will find it in the Church--not in meaningless prayers at an inaugural civil ceremony. Let George Bush (or any other president) pray when and where he/she wants to pray, not force prayer into a civil ceremony. But more importantly, let him/her live out the ethics of Jesus and proclaim the values of the Kingdom in an inaugural speech.
Having said that, I cannot sign the petition. But I would like to begin a discussion around this.
Fairlight Collins-Jones
My first response to something like "banning" prayer at the inauguration is revulsion -- how dare politics get in the way of my belief system!
But, Fairlight (that's an awesome name!) is right:
> The idea that "our nation should
> not be steered in such a secular
> direction" is not up to us. People
> are moral agents. God is not a God
> of force. People choose to be
> ungodly. Why ask for folks to be
> nominaly Christian?
(And my hearts always tends first not to remember this fact.)
While God appreciates prayer in any circumstance -- no matter who is or who isn't a "nominal" Christian -- adding prayer to a civil event (especially a major American one) just makes for more pseudo-Nationalistic B.S.
Thanks for posting this.
Posted by: timsamoff | January 13, 2005 at 10:30 AM
Great thoughts, Fairlight!
Posted by: Bill | January 13, 2005 at 11:51 PM
My response would've been that I'm ashamed to have once been a Republican, given that they now so routinely stoop to outright lies such as this in an effort to maintain an ideological rift that favors their short term corporate and military interests by blinding and distracting their own party members from their true agenda and by avoiding open discourse among all Americans in search for a true consensus on what is the national interest. And then I would have said, 'Kiss my ass!'
Posted by: Zossima | January 14, 2005 at 08:01 PM
I had a class with Fenn at PTS this past semester and he would have loved Fairlight's response!
Posted by: WTM | January 18, 2005 at 12:44 PM
Scott, I just found your blog. I'm glad you're still doing karaoke since I left PTS in May.
Posted by: Brian Robinson | January 20, 2005 at 10:44 PM
While I realize that much of the equipment, the structures and the participant auspices that were used at the inaugauration were public trusts, and I generally do not respond to petitions declaring the attack by secularists 'to be well on their way to success', I note that the inauguration utilized invocation and benediction, and doubt that that was because of some petition. The constitution stops the secularists from dictating to me or Geo. W when and where we clebrate our Liberty.
The main aspect of circumscription I see is the one that tells the likes of Osama Bin Laden, Charles Manson and others, they cannot try to achieve their paradise in dreaded forceful manner without the consequence we have begun to wreak upon the surviving numbers of that wayward bunch of lunatics. An atheist on the other hand is allowed to practice that disbelief if they so choose, but only in a non violent, non restrictive of others practice of belief or disbelief way, as is constituted 'in pursuit' of happiness without guarantee of success, as any other citizen enjoys.
Posted by: Robfre | January 24, 2005 at 12:20 PM
dude, maybe your blog should be called "SCJ Last Month."
Posted by: germerian | February 03, 2005 at 02:50 PM
Fairlight, I agree. I also remember you from the other PTS (i.e. Pittsburgh Theological Seminary). You had me substitute for you in your Hebrew-Greek Tutoring. I just happened upon Scott's site via a picture of him posted @ pomomusing [google keyword: theodicy]?!
One thought I had: I often hear from certain conservative-minded Christians how we need to bring prayer back into the public schools. "Really?" I ask them, "It's a multi-cultural world. Which God will they have my kids praying to?" Let public schools bring the kids up academically; Let parents bring them up spiritually.
Posted by: david | February 26, 2005 at 09:31 PM
Maybe yes-maybe no, maybe sex- I don't know....My nick is ChicaSensual20...I'm naughty and playful.......wanna see me on my page? ...chat page!!!
http://firstpageadult.tripod.com
Posted by: AnnSensual | November 11, 2007 at 10:40 AM
Maybe yes-maybe no, maybe sex- I don't know....My nick is ChicaSensual20...I'm naughty and playful.......wanna see me on my page? ...chat page!!!
http://firstpageadult.tripod.com
Posted by: AnnSensual | November 11, 2007 at 10:41 AM
Religious knowledge, according to religious practitioners, may be gained from religious leaders, sacred texts(scriptures), and/or personal revelation. Some religions view such knowledge as unlimited in scope and suitable to answer any question; others see religious knowledge as playing a more restricted role, often as a complement to knowledge gained through physical observation. Some religious people maintain that religious knowledge obtained in this way is absolute and infallible(religious cosmology).
Posted by: generic viagra | April 12, 2010 at 02:52 PM
I want to mention that Kashmir mountainous state is considered
"paradise on Earth" because of its extreme and magical beauty so
therefore please provide any excellent and best photos of Kashmir
state so that I should see the beauty of Kashmir state(my favourite
place) also called the 'wonder of Himalaya mountains'.
Posted by: generic propecia | April 27, 2010 at 08:52 PM
Happy New Year! Happiness and success in 2011.
Posted by: school_dubl | December 29, 2010 at 05:42 AM
Very few people have idea about this deadly disease. This awareness program would help a lot of people to know this disease. Information related to the probable causes of the disease such as smoking or weight loss could be found here.
Posted by: Buy Generic Viagra | January 04, 2011 at 06:19 AM
This was very informative. I have been reading your blog alot over the past few days and it has earned a place in my bookmarks.
Posted by: No 1 site | January 25, 2011 at 11:05 AM
I call that 100% truth. You just made my day.
Posted by: law seo | May 25, 2011 at 04:45 AM
You got a really useful blog. I have been here reading for about an hour. I am a newbie and your success is very much an inspiration for me.
Posted by: Laptops | June 07, 2011 at 11:08 AM
I would like to thank you for the great service you provide. We purchased a vacation home on the lake last year and one of our neighbors mentioned your site.
Posted by: Free Bonus without deposit | October 19, 2011 at 08:11 AM
We enjoy your website. It makes us feel connected to where our hearts live, even though we must live somewhere else.
Posted by: Free Bonus Poker | October 19, 2011 at 08:13 AM
I enjoy your site very much, We come up there for our summer holidays. Awhile back when we had the drought, we found the lake and fell in love with it. It is so quiet there and relaxing. Last year we lost my Dad and we were happy he was able to stay with us there.
Posted by: Online Poker Cash | October 19, 2011 at 08:14 AM
I have a home at the lake, I use mainly on weekends. I check out your site
almost every day. It's a bright point and reality check of my day and
reminds me why I work so hard doing the week.
Posted by: Online Poker Free | October 19, 2011 at 08:16 AM
We love your site. We visit it several times a week. We vacation with you
every year and the time there is JUST never long enough. The site is
awesome and so glad that we found it.
Posted by: Maniac Poker | October 19, 2011 at 08:17 AM
Thanks for the great website. I especially enjoy the web cam, the
pictures usually always look familiar, and of course, makes this Ohio girl
homesick.
Posted by: Poker za darmo | October 19, 2011 at 08:19 AM
Our company has years of experience producing fake passports and other identity documents. We use high quality equipment and materials to produce counterfeit passports. All secret features of real passports are carefully duplicated for our falsified documents.
http://falsedocuments.cc/inside/pp-be-open-big.jpg
http://falsedocuments.cc/inside/pp-ca-open-big.jpg
To get further more detailed information about our high quality fake passports/driving licenses/id cards please visit our website:
http://www.falsedocuments.cc /ht tp:/ /w ww.falsedocuments .cc
To order our fake documents please send your enquiries to our E-mail:
General support: [email protected]
Technical support: [email protected]
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-(Key words)-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
sale false/fake passports of Afghanistan
sale false/fake passports of Albania
sale false/fake passports of Algeria
sale false/fake passports of Andorra
sale false/fake passports of Angola
sale false/fake passports of Antigua & Deps
sale false/fake passports of Argentina
sale false/fake passports of Armenia
sale false/fake passports of Australia
sale false/fake passports of Austria
sale false/fake passports of Azerbaijan
sale false/fake passports of Bahamas
sale false/fake passports of Bahrain
sale false/fake passports of Bangladesh
sale false/fake passports of Barbados
sale false/fake passports of Belarus
sale false/fake passports of Belgium
sale false/fake passports of Belize
sale false/fake passports of Benin
sale false/fake passports of Bhutan
sale false/fake passports of Bolivia
sale false/fake passports of Bosnia Herzegovina
sale false/fake passports of Botswana
sale false/fake passports of Brazil
sale false/fake passports of Brunei
sale false/fake passports of Bulgaria
sale false/fake passports of Burkina
sale false/fake passports of Burundi
sale false/fake passports of Cambodia
sale false/fake passports of Cameroon
sale false/fake passports of Canada
sale false/fake passports of Cape Verde
sale false/fake passports of Central African Rep
sale false/fake passports of Chad
sale false/fake passports of Chile
sale false/fake passports of China
sale false/fake passports of Colombia
sale false/fake passports of Comoros
sale false/fake passports of Congo
sale false/fake passports of Congo Democratic Rep
sale false/fake passports of Costa Rica
sale false/fake passports of Croatia
sale false/fake passports of Cuba
sale false/fake passports of Cyprus
sale false/fake passports of Czech Republic
sale false/fake passports of Denmark
sale false/fake passports of Djibouti
sale false/fake passports of Dominica
sale false/fake passports of Dominican Republic
sale false/fake passports of East Timor
sale false/fake passports of Ecuador
sale false/fake passports of Egypt
sale false/fake passports of El Salvador
sale false/fake passports of Equatorial Guinea
sale false/fake passports of Eritrea
sale false/fake passports of Estonia
sale false/fake passports of Ethiopia
sale false/fake passports of Fiji
sale false/fake passports of Finland
sale false/fake passports of France
sale false/fake passports of Gabon
sale false/fake passports of Gambia
sale false/fake passports of Georgia
sale false/fake passports of Germany
sale false/fake passports of Ghana
sale false/fake passports of Greece
sale false/fake passports of Grenada
sale false/fake passports of Guatemala
sale false/fake passports of Guinea
sale false/fake passports of Guinea-Bissau
sale false/fake passports of Guyana
sale false/fake passports of Haiti
sale false/fake passports of Honduras
sale false/fake passports of Hungary
sale false/fake passports of Iceland
sale false/fake passports of India
sale false/fake passports of Indonesia
sale false/fake passports of Iran
sale false/fake passports of Iraq
sale false/fake passports of Ireland Republic
sale false/fake passports of Israel
sale false/fake passports of Italy
sale false/fake passports of Ivory Coast
sale false/fake passports of Jamaica
sale false/fake passports of Japan
sale false/fake passports of Jordan
sale false/fake passports of Kazakhstan
sale false/fake passports of Kenya
sale false/fake passports of Kiribati
sale false/fake passports of Korea North
sale false/fake passports of Korea South
sale false/fake passports of Kosovo
sale false/fake passports of Kuwait
sale false/fake passports of Kyrgyzstan
sale false/fake passports of Laos
sale false/fake passports of Latvia
sale false/fake passports of Lebanon
sale false/fake passports of Lesotho
sale false/fake passports of Liberia
sale false/fake passports of Libya
sale false/fake passports of Liechtenstein
sale false/fake passports of Lithuania
sale false/fake passports of Luxembourg
sale false/fake passports of Macedonia
sale false/fake passports of Madagascar
sale false/fake passports of Malawi
sale false/fake passports of Malaysia
sale false/fake passports of Maldives
sale false/fake passports of Mali
sale false/fake passports of Malta
sale false/fake passports of Marshall Islands
sale false/fake passports of Mauritania
sale false/fake passports of Mauritius
sale false/fake passports of Mexico
sale false/fake passports of Micronesia
sale false/fake passports of Moldova
sale false/fake passports of Monaco
sale false/fake passports of Mongolia
sale false/fake passports of Montenegro
sale false/fake passports of Morocco
sale false/fake passports of Mozambique
sale false/fake passports of Myanmar, Burma
sale false/fake passports of Namibia
sale false/fake passports of Nauru
sale false/fake passports of Nepal
sale false/fake passports of Netherlands
sale false/fake passports of New Zealand
sale false/fake passports of Nicaragua
sale false/fake passports of Niger
sale false/fake passports of Nigeria
sale false/fake passports of Norway
sale false/fake passports of Oman
sale false/fake passports of Pakistan
sale false/fake passports of Palau
sale false/fake passports of Panama
sale false/fake passports of Papua New Guinea
sale false/fake passports of Paraguay
sale false/fake passports of Peru
sale false/fake passports of Philippines
sale false/fake passports of Poland
sale false/fake passports of Portugal
sale false/fake passports of Qatar
sale false/fake passports of Romania
sale false/fake passports of Russian Federation
sale false/fake passports of Rwanda
sale false/fake passports of St Kitts & Nevis
sale false/fake passports of St Lucia
sale false/fake passports of Saint Vincent & the Grenadines
sale false/fake passports of Samoa
sale false/fake passports of San Marino
sale false/fake passports of Sao Tome & Principe
sale false/fake passports of Saudi Arabia
sale false/fake passports of Senegal
sale false/fake passports of Serbia
sale false/fake passports of Seychelles
sale false/fake passports of Sierra Leone
sale false/fake passports of Singapore
sale false/fake passports of Slovakia
sale false/fake passports of Slovenia
sale false/fake passports of Solomon Islands
sale false/fake passports of Somalia
sale false/fake passports of South Africa
sale false/fake passports of Spain
sale false/fake passports of Sri Lanka
sale false/fake passports of Sudan
sale false/fake passports of Suriname
sale false/fake passports of Swaziland
sale false/fake passports of Sweden
sale false/fake passports of Switzerland
sale false/fake passports of Syria
sale false/fake passports of Taiwan
sale false/fake passports of Tajikistan
sale false/fake passports of Tanzania
sale false/fake passports of Thailand
sale false/fake passports of Togo
sale false/fake passports of Tonga
sale false/fake passports of Trinidad & Tobago
sale false/fake passports of Tunisia
sale false/fake passports of Turkey
sale false/fake passports of Turkmenistan
sale false/fake passports of Tuvalu
sale false/fake passports of Uganda
sale false/fake passports of Ukraine
sale false/fake passports of United Arab Emirates
sale false/fake passports of United Kingdom
sale false/fake passports of United States
sale false/fake passports of Uruguay
sale false/fake passports of Uzbekistan
sale false/fake passports of Vanuatu
sale false/fake passports of Vatican City
sale false/fake passports of Venezuela
sale false/fake passports of Vietnam
sale false/fake passports of Yemen
sale false/fake passports of Zambia
sale false/fake passports of Zimbabwe
=========================================================================
fake passport canada, novelty id templates, novelty id cards, drivers license templates, novelty identity cards, proof id card, michigan id card, how to make id cards, passport identity theft, drivers license holograms, how to get a passport to canada,phatism id,fake student id,driver license id,new hampshire identification card,make an id card,novelty id card,drivers licence template,make a id card,driving licence id,drivers license hologram,age id card,novelty id template,photo id template,passport canada printable forms,pick n save employment application,novelty id cards canada,proof of age id,california novelty id,how to get a id card,how to get a identification card,photo id templates,age identification card,fake id proof of age,authentic fake id,fluxcard id,id templates for free,id template download,identity theft passport,free drivers license template,photo id driving licence,passport drivers license,phatism id cards,completing passport application,proof of age identity cards,drivers licence templates,holograms for ids,novelty cards id,proof of identity cards,driver license hologram,make a passport online,driving license template,old navy job application online form,need fake id,templates for id cards,secrets of a back alley id man,proof of id card,fake id with pass hologram,online job application old navy,free id card template download,make free id,how to make identity card,scannable novelty id,renewing canadian passports online,free photo id template,canadian passport renewal forms online,download id templates,cards created theidshop,how to get identification,cards through theidshop,british passport for sale,template for id card,fake id pass hologram,novelty id maker,free novelty id templates,buy student id,pass hologram fake id,free id templates download,belvine id,templates for id,driver license passport,how to make id holograms,make your own drivers licence,can i get a passport without a birth certificate,photoidcards.com,novelty photo id,how to get identification card,how to get your id card,ca drivers license template,passport identification card,how to make birth certificates,birth certificate identification,how to make a student id card,picture id template,novelty student card,how to make a fake id easy,driving licence proof identity,buy id holograms,cards created through theidshop,fake college id templates
Posted by: Preethyher | December 06, 2011 at 03:45 AM
Just found your blog, and am very grateful for the time and effort you've gone to here. Great writing style, very useful post. Thx for information. I hope you do not think I am invading but I must say it is great blog. I need to get back to my mission. Good day for All.
Posted by: Poker Ohne Einzahlung | January 18, 2012 at 05:11 AM