“Christians Defy Judge’s Ruling and Mark National Day of Prayer”
Lying to generate false martyrs doesn’t help your side.

NO one is losing their religious freedom.
The nation has committed mass murder through abortions and taken religion out of our schools. Wow, Franklin is on a binge. First, it is none of his business what women do, and yes, religion doesn’t belong in PUBLIC schools. He wants prayer in school…send kids to private schools run by churches. He is apparently for mixing government and religion mixing. Sorry Franklin…the government has no business in my religion or lack of it.

I disagreed with Franklin in name calling Islam but I’m with him in this fight. This nation was built on prayer from the presidents to congress and prayer has served us well. One would have to literally lie about the history of this nation to omit prayer from public places. Other religions state their beliefs through bombs we pray. And he is right about the body count on aborted babies too, its stacked really high.

I won’t comment on abortion except to say that it IS a moral issue–and the reason I am pro-choice is that I can’t see any way to legislate an easy and universal answer, which means it MUST be a choice made by each individual woman who finds herself pregnant and doesn’t wish to be. I desperately want the abortion rate to fall drastically, but that must come about through more responsible sexual behavior on the part of both men and women to avoid unwanted pregnancy.
As for the National Day of Prayer, it is NOT about freedom of religion–it is about freedom to make a public show of piety. Faux-piety is CONSTANTLY on full display in America, and I find nothing admirable or convincing about a special Day of Prayer, especially when it involves political curs who have learned to howl and bark in a religious-sounding manner.
As for America being a “Christian nation,” there is no point arguing this matter. The flat-Earth people and the fixed-Earth people CANNOT accept that the Earth is a sphere moving in orbit around the Sun; the young-Earth creationists CANNOT accept that the age of the Earth is measured in billions rather than thousands of years, or that life-forms evolve. These people all have their own lists of arguments, talking points, and websites to back up their beliefs. And people who think America was founded to be a Christian nation CANNOT accept that the founding fathers intended for America to be a secular nation that would reflect the best ideals of the Age of Reason.

Who came up with the headline for this article — your corporate masters at Faux News?
No one is forbidding anyone from praying, or praying corporately, or praying publicly, on a particular day. All that the court ruling did was rule that the government can’t establish a national day of prayer.
I’m a Christian. I do not need, want or expect the government to promote Christianity. I wish my conservative coreligionists would, for God’s sake, quit whining, quit playing martyrs (you’re not) and stop trying to engage government in Christian proselytization. When Church and State become comingled, both institutions are compromised and corrupted, as history points out numerous times.

Franklin Graham: in this case not only has the apple rolled very far from the tree, it’s gone rotten.

H4C quote, “As for the National Day of Prayer, it is NOT about freedom of religion–it is about freedom to make a public show of piety.”
That is a brutal and rude judgment on people you cannot possibly know, talk about pious, one would think you are Jesus.

“That is a brutal and rude judgement on people you cannot possibly know.” cknuck
Brutal? Oh please, cknuck.
“Talk about pious, one would think you were Jesus.” cknuck
You never know when HE might reappear…some folks think there will be a 2nd Coming. )
No, H4C…I don’t think you are that special person, just couldn’t resist the comment!

cknuck,
What is your problem? Freedom of religion is NOT at stake; the only thing at stake in a National Day of Prayer is a public display of religiosity. If ever anyone tried to outlaw faith and close down churches, I would join you in fighting such efforts, even though I no longer go to churches. But a National Day of Prayer is just a show. True faith needs no special days or public shows.

I agee with Franklin Graham the Islam is evil. Muslims are the 7th head of the beast to rule Jerusalem, and they trampled Jerusalem for 1260 years as prophesied. Now they want to rule Jerusalem again, and are hell-bent on starting the Battle of Ar Mageddon (which Muslims call the Mother of All Battles). The Euphrates was dry on 9/11 when the first shot was fired.

interpreter,
The fact that you are still alive and actively blaspheming against God is the surest proof that God is infinitely merciful.

For those of you who like to make a spectacle in public of your praying to show how religious and righteous you are I would remind you of Jesus’ admonition about praying in public: “But when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing int he synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. When you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.” Gospel of Matthew 6:5-6
Jesus set the example: “Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed.” Gospel of Mark1:35

Rob the Rev stop trying to rob the people by using the scripture to deceive Jesus was talking top a particular group of people whose heart He judged, now you put yourself in Jesus’ place and judge? Public prayer is not wrong it was the way the people did it that was wrong, if you are a so=called “Rev.” then you should know some simple facts concerning the bible. Public prayer is common in the Old Testament. Solomon prayed at the dedication of the temple (1Kings 8:22-23). Elijah prayed publicly on Mt. Carmel (1Kings 17:36-37). Ezra prayed before “a very great congregation of men and women and children” (Ezra 10:1). If public prayer is not allowed in the New Testament, it is definitely a change in what God allows. However, we continue to see public prayer practiced in the New Testament even after the teaching of Matthew 6:6. Christ prayed publicly before He raised Lazarus from the dead (John 11:41-42) as well as on other occasions. Paul kneeled and prayed with the Ephesians’ elders before he left them (Acts 20:36). And although we receive few clear statements about the order of worship in the early churches, an important piece of information is found in 1Corinthians 14:15-16, which states: The Day of Pentecost is a most public Day of prayer where they not only prayed but spoke in tongues Dare you condemn that biblical occurrence to stand at the sides of other Christian haters? You too H4C or H against C

pagan quote, “You never know when HE might reappear…some folks think there will be a 2nd Coming. )
No, H4C…I don’t think you are that special person, just couldn’t resist the comment!”
Thanks for demonstrating the particular brand of evil you share with H4C and your other cronies that routinely attack Christians and the teachings of Christ. Yes we believe He is coming back and perhaps just perhaps you and your cronies will go from ) to ( have a nice day.

cknuck,
It is telling that you seem to relish the thought of heretics like me getting our comeuppance and condemnation when Jesus returns. Very much like a resentful child who tells the children who have scorned him, “Oh, yeah? Well, when my Dad comes, he’s gonna beat the crap out of all of you for making fun of me.”
I never attack the teachings of Jesus. I reject some scriptural accounts that portray Jesus as saying doctrinal things that I consider contrary to his spiritual teachings. That doesn’t make me an enemy of Christ OR an enemy of the Bible; it makes me an enemy of bibliolatry, which places primary faith in the Bible rather than directly in God. Nor do I routinely attack Christians. I routinely attack hypocrisy and blasphemy.
And I have no qualms about facing God. Do you have any qualms about facing God, given your hair-trigger readiness to condemn those who express beliefs and attitudes about God, Jesus, and the Bible that are very different from yours?

cknuck, you have totally convinced yourself that I (and others) are, as you put it “evil”. That would be your problem, as people who don’t agree with you aren’t “evil”. Not going to worry about your opinion of me…I’ve better things to do.
As for the 2nd coming, something else I don’t worry about. It is hard to be scared of something I don’t believe in. If indeed there was one…fine…I’ll worry about it then. (of course, if I am so “evil” guess I might be in deep stuff, huh?) I choose not to live in fear of ticking off a divine being. Life if too short and too precious and I have a lot to live for…which gets better everyday.
Jesus had some good advise…but so did many other prophets.
My feelings toward you don’t include thinking you are “evil”, but that you are a man trying to live as best he can with his beliefs. Do I agree with you…obviously not. Is that a problem for me, nope.
Have a good one, cknuck.

H4C I can understand why you would focus on my judgment day comment and not address the fact that public prayer is indeed biblical and your attempt to use Jesus’ words to broad-brush all Christians that participate in public prayer. None of you have leg to stand on when trying to condemn public prayer or N.D,of P. either biblically or historically being George Washington (remember that guy) our first president declared a N.D.ofP. and fasting. Congress prayed for hours and church was held in the House of Reps. So I can understand the readiness to divert the argument with my comment to pagan, completely understandable.

cknuck,
The only thing I am criticizing is the false notion that opposition to government endorsement of a day of prayer represents an attack on freedom of religion. This is nonsense. Why do you need an endorsement of religion from a government that you seem to distrust? If Christians want to gather on one side of a street to sing hymns and Muslims gather on the other side of the street to recite verses from the Koran, the only concern of government is whether the crowds and noise are in violation of local ordinances. How could anyone interpret lack of governmental endorsement of religion as a threat to freedom of religion?

The Christian persecution hysteria crowd is by and large the same outfit that believes Obama is a radical Muslim/socialist/undocumented alien/agent of Satan, but they want his seal of approval for state-sponsored religion? If your religion really needs privilege under law to shore up its legitimacy, it’s time to stick a fork in it and take it off the barbie. It’s done. It’s also amusing that the preachers railing against Islam are at the forefront of sponsorship of this Day of Cheap Posturing. Their agenda and understanding of religious faith is no different whatsoever than the Taliban. Scriptural differences aside, they should get along famously with the guys running around Swat Valley and Helmand Province.

H4C liar liar pants on fire, its not about the government endorsing religion it’s about prayer for the nation, which has been a regular practice of the U.S.A. Prayer has never hurt the U.S. it has inspired the country to greatness. Kenneth pull your head out of your butt the Taliban? That comparison is just silly why don’t you go and live under the Taliban so you can learn to make more accurate comparisons and stop slandering folk.

cknuck, HOW has prayer inspired the country to greatness? You think that prayer has made us who we are? No reason, IMO, for there to be a National Day of Prayer….because folks who are so inclined can pray anytime they want.

Framklin Graham is right about Islam being evil. Muslims are the 7th head of the beast to trample Jerusalem, and they did it for 1260 years as prophesied. Now they want to rule Jerusalem again, and are hell-bent on starting the Battle of Ar Mageddon (which Muslims call the Mother of All Battles). The Euphrates was dry on 9/11 when the first shot was fired. And it was still dry when we invaded Afghanistan (the second shot). It behooves us to have a national day of prayer to pray for our nation and our troops.

No, cknuck, it is EXACTLY about government endorsing religion. Otherwise, there is no story at all. You want to pray in the streets? Go right ahead–you don’t need any governmental endorsement for that. But an officially declared “National Day of Prayer”? That DOES mean governmental endorsement. If all you care about is praying in public, why do you need an officially declared day for it? Just go ahead and do it. Do it every day, on every street corner. You don’t need an officially declared day for it.
As for whether prayer has done any good for America, yes, I’m sure it has. And I am equally sure it has also harmed America. For what affects America is not prayer itself but the words and deeds of those who pray AND of those who don’t pray. Some of those who pray have been heroes who have contributed to that which is great in America… and others have been scum who have contributed to that which is shameful in America.

H4C perhaps you have convenient memory losses but many presidents with much more wisdom than you have declared NDoP Washington even added fasting. Unless you are an atheist that is not endorsing religion it’s asking for one day of prayer. You reveal your contempt for any God but yourself when you rail against one day of prayer like you do H, not national day of Baptist, Pentecostal, Catholic but prayer. You contempt is blinding you.

I disagree, cknuck. I am not an atheist, and my sense of God is NOT a sense that I am God; to sense the presence of God within me is not the same as thinking that I am God.
As for the officially recognized day of prayer, it IS an endorsement of religion — not a specific religion, but of religion in general. If a specific day is officially recognized as being for prayer nationwide, the clear implication is that the federal government recognizes the existence of God, and not just any kind of god but the kind of god to whom people can and should pray in supplication, gratitude, or praise. To me, that sounds as if the government has officially stated that God exists and that the people of America should pray to God. And that, in turn, sounds like “establishment of religion.” NOT establishment of a particular religion, but establishment of religion, in general. And in the exact wording of the first amendment, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion…” Note: it is not merely that Congress may not establish a specific religion as the nation’s official religion; it is religion in general that may not be established.”
Technically, the amendment prohibits Congress from making laws in this area but does not explicitly prohibit a president from declaring a day dedicated to prayer. I just wonder why people who believe in and pray to an external god care at all about whether Congress OR the president makes a religious statement. Why do you need prayer officially recognized in ANY form from ANYONE in government?

If you are not an atheist then you are somewhat of a Buddhist with your god being in you limited by your mind. Anyway the founding fathers were wiser than you and they prayed in all of the time and yes it united the country because those that didn’t believe not only were accepted they prospered and were friends. Church was held in government buildings prayer was held in government building so it is obvious they did not believe as you. So you can technically twist their words and divide the county with your intolerance or you can be accepting like they intended. Congress has always prayed until people like you interjected and forced them to stop. It is obvious the intent of the constitution was not to make it illegal to pray the founders would be outraged. You cannot be a follower of Christ and separate God from any human dynamic H4C, these acts are dark and demonic and not the works of Christ they are the very opposing force Christ warned us of.

H4C quote, “I just wonder why people who believe in and pray to an external god care at all about whether Congress OR the president makes a religious statement. Why do you need prayer officially recognized in ANY form from ANYONE in government?’
H, it is written “Don’t forsake the fellowship” If you read the bible with spiritfilled eyes you would note that we were created to worship God and fellowship together.

cknuck,
NO ONE is suggesting outlawing prayer, whether public OR private. The objection is to an official governmental approval or endorsement of a national day of prayer.
No one “forced” Congress to stop praying — because Congress has never stopped praying! There is a still a congressional chaplain and there is still an opening prayer for Congress. In my view, this is unfortunate, not least because Congress has become a vile carnival of hypocrisy, demagogy, cupidity and stupidity, and the sight of all those morons and poseurs praying — and evidently not benefiting one iota from any guidance that God might see fit to provide — is at once disgusting and hilarious.

H4C some of the blanket judgments you make you would have to have the wisdom of Solomon or the insight of God to put upon the groups would have the misfortune to be cursed by you. You cannot possibly know the spiritual conditions of all of the hearts you have judged.

cknuck,
I don’t condemn people; I condemn stupidity and hypocrisy. Isn’t that is consistent with the old Christian adage, “Hate the sin, love the sinner”? When people say and do things that are moronic or hateful, I condemn those words and acts. Someone whose acts reveal hypocrisy is a hypocrite. Someone whose words are lies is a liar. Someone who kills is a killer. You are correct, that I do not know their spiritual state. I cannot imagine that hypocrites, liars, killers, and such are in a healthful spiritual state, but that is not my business. It is enough to look at the fruit by which they are known.

you say you don’t condemn people but perhaps you have forgot your words. “Congress has become a vile carnival of hypocrisy, demagogy, cupidity and stupidity, and the sight of all those morons and poseurs praying — and evidently not benefiting one iota from any guidance that God might see fit to provide — is at once disgusting and hilarious.”
Seeing as congress is made up of people whose positions vary that is a whole lot of indiviauals condemned by you with various condemnations. Hopefully you can point out my error.

Congress, as a collective body, has become a cesspool. Undoubtedly, that reflects the fact that many legislators are hypocrites, liars, and morons–for if there were just a few such creatures, Congress would not look as petty and ineffectual as it does. Undoubtedly, too, there are some individual legislators who are admirable–for if there were many, again, Congress would look better than it does.
Again, if a politician’s words and deeds bespeak hypocrisy, corruption, or cheap demagogy, I will refer to them by the words that describe these, the fruits by which they are known. I don’t think that is being judgmental, but obviously you do. And that’s okay.