Crazy prayer and sensible prayer
In this post Fred mentions the unbelievable story of a crazy Southern Baptist Pastor who asked his congregation to pray for the deaths of two leaders of a “separation of church and state” organisation for asking the tax office to investigate him after he endorsed a political candidate on the church’s letterhead. Firstly, although I don’t agree with this kind of church supported political endorsement, I think these activists are being a bit pedantic for attacking this church over that kind of thing. But what is really insane is this pastor and his flock praying for the deaths of these guys because of it. Can you ever imagine Jesus (you know the guy who said “turn the other cheek” and “pray for those who persecute you” – Matt 5:44
) praying such a thing or encouraging his disciples to do so? As Fred suggests, this sort of thing is what we have come to expect from Muslim extremist leaders and their fatwas – it should not be coming from a Christian pulpit. Only gives ammunition to the “all religions are bad” type athiests.
However, I do like the recent quote he gives from Barack Obama on the utility of prayer :
OBAMA: I believe in the power of prayer. And part of what I believe in is that, through prayer, not only can we strengthen ourselves in adversity, but that we can also find the empathy and the compassion and the will to deal with the problems that we do control. Most of the issues that we’re debating here today are ones that we have the power to change. We don’t have the power to prevent illness in all cases, but we do have the power to make sure that every child gets a regular checkup and isn’t going to the emergency room for treatable illnesses like asthma. We may not have the power to prevent a hurricane, but we do have the power to make sure that the levees are properly reinforced and we’ve got a sound emergency plan. And so, part of what I pray for is the strength and the wisdom to be able to act on those things that I can control. And that’s what I think has been lacking sometimes in our government. We’ve got to express those values through our government, not just through our religious institutions.
This is what real prayer involves – prayer and action. Asking for God’s help not just to miraculously change the world, but to change us and hence change the world through us. Now that’s real, sensible, Christian talk.
Categories : Christianity | 2 Comments
