Prayers, please, for Sen. Ted Kennedy, who has been diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor. The prognosis for this kind of brain cancer is not good.
UPDATE: Just saw something startling on TV. A live shot from the Senate. Elderly Sen. Robert Byrd, in the well of the Senate, sobbing, choking out the words, "My dear friend, I love you, and I miss you." Go to the two-minute mark.
UPDATE.2: You would have thought that asking for prayers for a man diagnosed with brain cancer would be a simple enough request. Check out the comments thread, though. Man. I was just talking with a colleague here, who reminded me that when Ronald Reagan died, we had lots of people writing in to say they'd be happy to dance on his grave.
UPDATE.3: Perhaps this will be a more edifying thread all the way around if we use it to discuss the proper way to pray for people we consider to be our enemies, or at least consider to be immoral and harmful to the common good. Because sooner or later, we'll all be in the position of being asked to pray for a politician we may despise. I have no doubt that if George W. Bush had been diagnosed with brain cancer, we'd have just as many people on the thread below saying they're not going to pray for the likes of him. How does one pray for the welfare we dislike, despise or disrespect?
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Why do people here keep referring to Ted Kennedy as "God's servant"? I.e. "we pray for Your servant"? How do they know that? If they want to pray for him, fine. But it seems a little peculiar to pray for him as if God has been using him all along. (Sounds surprisingly... Bushian.)
uggh!, as you can see, you are so right. Not edifying, not satisfying, predictable, kind of boring, actually...
;-)
Ellen,
I suggest that anyone I would put on a list is a person whom you would not hold in high regard or whom you would necessarily view as a good person, as by definition, that person would not be what you might call conservative.
I respectfully therefore decline your invitation. My point was that one can hold what many here would consider "liberal" views, support women's rights, and fight for the oppressed, and still not be the scourge of the earth.
And so long as you're not saying "Help all those in need, Lord, except for the following people I disagree with personally or politically," you don't have to pray for Sen. Kennedy by name. But I still think it's a kind act to do so.
Posted by: Erin Manning | May 20, 2008 5:09 PM
I really do agree. My question would be that of all the things in the world worthy of us to exhort one another in prayer, what does it mean when because in our society famous or powerful people get their sufferings published in the news, these are so often the things passed about? This imbalance or injustice is somehow what I find uncomfortable, when Christians pass around the requests to give our prayers to people of celebrity. Never would I deliberately exclude them, as you say, but of all the privilege certain Americans have been given and what they choose to do with themselves...what I can do is sincerely thank God that His love and mercy are greater than mine, for the sake of this Kennedy, for myself and for the whole world.
I'm sorry to say it, but a few posters on this thread are making me sick. I'm going to close it down.