eclecticism

05/07/2004 |

So apparently today was the National Day of Prayer.

I’m sure that was appreciated by those Americans who are Muslim, Jewish, Buddhist, Mormon, pagan, agnostic, or atheistic.

Okay, so yes, the official proclamation (PDF) does make a cursory attempt at inclusivity, inviting “Americans of every faith to give thanks for God’s many blessings and to pray for each other and our Nation.” I find that less than impressive, though, considering the wording of the rest of the document is blatantly Christian in tone.

Then there was this Washington Post article about Bush’s appearance on Christian TV to celebrate the day, where I found this choice bit:

…this year’s theme is “Let Freedom Ring.” He described it as the evangelical response to efforts to remove the words “under God” from the Pledge of Allegiance and keep the Ten Commandments out of public buildings.
“Our theme is, there is a small group of activists unleashing an all-out assault on our religious freedoms. They are targeting the Christian faith,” he said. this year’s theme is “Let Freedom Ring.” He described it as the evangelical response to efforts to remove the words “under God” from the Pledge of Allegiance and keep the Ten Commandments out of public buildings. “Our theme is, there is a small group of activists unleashing an all-out assault on our religious freedoms. They are targeting the Christian faith,” he said.

p>Oh, give me a break. I’m so tired of this argument.

I wish I were rich. First thing I’m going to do when I win the Lotto is make an attempt to place monuments in every government building that has the Ten Commandments posted with key quotes from the Quran, the Mormon Book of Prayer, whatever I can find that will work well as a general catch-all for the larger pagan religions, something for the Oriental beliefs…you get the point.

Can you imagine the furor that would raise?

Sigh.

Okay, I’m done.

iTunes: “Still Alive” by Blind Passengers from the album Cyberl@b (1998, 5:04).

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One Response to “National Day of Prayer”

ChristianWDP Says:
May 7th, 2004 at 8:07 am

Even though I’m LDS, I think that a National Day of Prayer is dumb. In the LDS Church, we are advised to have prayer each day. Because we do, I see no value in having a day where we everyone should pray together. In fact, I think that a National Day of Prayer is imposing too much on other people’s beliefs.

Whenever religion is discussed people cringe or yell at each other. The purpose of freedom of religion is so you practice what reigion you belive in or not to worship at all. Of course this a simplified view, since we do not want people sacraficing others to appease the gods in the name of reigion.

Because this day feels like it is imposing too much on others, I’m surprised that there has been no outcry about it in the media or by other organizations.