Lecture Disguised as Prayer

This is another one of those posts where I step into the forbidden territory of religion and politics. These are the two topics you never should discuss at work or with people who you would like to remain friends with. And yet here I am once again. The prayer listed below was too delectably controversial not to take a lick at it.

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The Chronicle of Higher Education recently posted an online article about how an appeals court lifted an injunction against stem-cell research. A philosophy professor posted a comment about stem-cell research and included this prayer which he attributed to Rev. Billy Graham. A Google search revealed that the prayer is real, but the attribution to Billy Graham is incorrect. The Snopes website points out that the prayer is often misattributed to the Rev. Billy Graham, and Paul Harvey, but came from Rev. Joe Wright when opening the Kansas House of Representatives with this prayer in 1996, which was actually crafted from a prayer written by Bob Russell in 1995 for a Kentucky Governor’s prayer breakfast.
http://www.snopes.com/politics/soapbox/prayernation.asp

Yes, that is way too much information, but finally, here is the version of the prayer I’d like to discuss that was posted by a professor as a comment on the Chronicle of Higher Education –

Heavenly Father, we come before you today to ask your forgiveness and to seek your direction and guidance.
We know Your Word says, 'Woe to those who call evil good,' but that is exactly what we have done.
We have lost our spiritual equilibrium and reversed our values.
We have exploited the poor and called it the lottery.
We have rewarded laziness and called it welfare.
We have **killed** our unborn and called it "choice."
We have shot abortionists and called it justifiable.
We have neglected to discipline our children and called it building self esteem.
We have abused power and called it politics.
We have coveted our neighbor's possessions and called it ambition.
We have polluted the air with profanity and pornography and called it freedom of expression.
We have ridiculed the time-honored values of our forefathers and called it enlightenment.
Search us, Oh God, and know our hearts today; cleanse us from every sin and Set us free.
Amen


So here is my line by line reaction -


Heavenly Father, we come before you today to ask your forgiveness and to seek your direction and guidance.

No arguments from me so far. Who wouldn’t like some divine direction and guidance? And forgiveness, wow, a universal need. I can forgive others, but forgiving myself has been a lifelong disability. This first line I am willing to pray every day of my life.


We know Your Word says, 'Woe to those who call evil good,' but that is exactly what we have done.

This quote is from Isaiah 5:20. Apparently the guy is going to delineate for us exactly how we have gone about calling evil things good. I am looking forward to the particulars.


We have lost our spiritual equilibrium and reversed our values.

This is just a restatement of the previous point; evil is good and good is evil. The guy is saying we are confused. I think I got that point. Sorry to make fun of the guy. No doubt he feels passionately about the subject. Maybe I will agree with him, but I am still looking forward to the particulars.


We have exploited the poor and called it the lottery.

He is right-on about this point. The lottery does take advantage of the mathematically challenged. There have been plenty of articles over the years about having a better chance of getting hit by lightning than winning the lottery. A quick Google search shows a bunch of articles saying that lotteries exploit the poor and the gullible.


We have rewarded laziness and called it welfare.

I agree with the guy here. Sure, there are justifiable instances where welfare is called for. As a general rule I feel that welfare encourages sloth. It takes money from people who have earned it and gives it to those who have not earned it. If I choose to donate my money to someone else that is my choice. When others use the government as their instrument of plunder to take the fruits of my labor and give it to those who have not earned it, I say that is wrong. It’s MY money and I earned it. It’s not yours or anyone else’s.


We have **killed** our unborn and called it "choice."

This one is a matter of belief. Clearly this guy believes in Pro-Life. You either believe in the Pro-Life position or you believe in the Pro-Choice position. Perhaps there are other positions in-between, but whatever your position, it is one of belief. No doubt you can state your position and the reasons for your position, but ultimately your position is based on belief and doesn’t contain facts and arguments that would compel someone to change their position. Those who have chosen their position often think their arguments are compelling, but I’ve never heard of anyone who has been convinced to switch sides. I don’t know what’s right; I wish I did. I wish we all did. What I do know is this sort of self-righteousness is ugly.


We have shot abortionists and called it justifiable.

Yes, there are some nutcases out there who have shot abortionists, and it is not justifiable. That seems to be this gentleman’s point and I agree with him. Taking the law into your own hands and exercising what you believe is justice is wrong. I believe in Law and Due Process. But I have to say, no, “WE” haven’t shot anybody. This repeated “WE” statement is getting on my nerves.


We have neglected to discipline our children and called it building self esteem. 

I agree that a lot of parents are neglecting to discipline their children. On the sidewalks at Stone Mountain, on the highways, and at the malls I see rude and discourteous behavior. It’s not just in children, but I see it in all too many adults too. The parents want the children to like them and be their friend, when it is more important to be respected and set an example. Parents are taking the path of least resistance when raising their children. They need to choose the harder right rather than the easier wrong. Self Esteem? I don’t know if that is the excuse parents are using these days, but whatever the excuse, there is no excuse for a lack of discipline and values.


We have abused power and called it politics.

This is true of both parties every day, all-day. The guy doesn’t need to cite specific instances to convince me. I’ve been reading the newspaper and watching the news for years and I know exactly how Congress operates. Bi-partisanship is a thing of the past. The political ads for the November 2010 elections sound like the candidates believe that the end justifies the means. The personal attacks and falsehoods have been astounding. Bravo to the networks for investigating the ads and exposing the lack of truth in most of the attack ads. I am worried for our country. Term limits would turn politicians back into representatives of the people. Term limits would allow our representatives to do what is right, rather than doing what will get them reelected.


We have coveted our neighbor's possessions and called it ambition.

Huh?  Where did this one come from?  I don’t get this one at all or what he is referring to.  Who is coveting whose possessions, and how does that relate to ambition?  I like my neighbor’s car.  It’s new and shiny and has leather seats that are heated.  I’d like to have one just like it someday.  Is it ambitious to work harder and longer so I can afford one too?  Is that coveting?  Is working harder a bad thing?  Whatever point he meant to make is lost on me. Oh well, let’s move on.


We have polluted the air with profanity and pornography and called it freedom of expression.

Is this a call for censorship? If so, I won’t have it. I do agree that a side effect of free speech is some unpleasantness in the media. A little too much skin, suggestive situations, graphic violence and profanity is going to happen when you have free speech. The alternative is a Theocracy like Iran, or the thought police as in George Orwell’s 1984. I’ll stick with freedom of expression. The alternative is unimaginable.


We have ridiculed the time-honored values of our forefathers and called it enlightenment.

If he is saying that society doesn’t value being trustworthy, loyal, helpful, friendly, courteous, kind, obedient, cheerful, thrifty, brave, clean, and reverent, I would agree with him. America doesn’t seem to value the clean-cut all-American Boy Scout image anymore. People are into dirty long hair, stubble on the face, piercings, and tattoos. The bad boy look has become cool. I don’t understand valuing a lack of values. How hard is it to look like a slob? That doesn’t seem like much of an accomplishment to me.

The other day the ladies at work were lusting after Johnny Depp, and I asked why. They said the bad boy image was attractive to them. The logic continues to escape me. No doubt their gushing was sincere, as is my confusion.


Search us, Oh God, and know our hearts today; cleanse us from every sin and Set us free.

Well good. It looks like the sermon is wrapping up. God would be that being than which nothing greater can be conceived. Surely a God that great can know my heart. Cleanse me from sin? I guess that is the forgiveness gig again, and we could all surely use a healthy dose of that. Keep me from sin isn’t too likely. We have free will and we know right from wrong, and can choose right over wrong. I don’t see this guy saying keep us from sin. He’s just requesting the forgiveness of sins, and I have no objections to that. Presumably the capitalization of the word “Set” is just a typo and doesn’t have any extra meaning. Set us free? I thought I was free already. Remember free will? If I am missing the point, feel free (get it?) to let me know.


Amen

Shame on this guy for delivering a lecture disguised as a prayer. If he wants to express his opinions, next time write a letter to the editor. This guy really is the poster child for the word sanctimonious. Amen, my foot.

At least my lectures aren’t disguised as prayers.