A Prayerful Word
Following both the events of 9/11 and Hurricane Katrina, I was besieged by forwarded e-mails assuring me that all this was the result of our failure to permit prayer in schools. Putting aside the fact that students pray in schools all the time, both publicly before and after class, and privately during tests and before meals, I have to wonder at the reasoning.Perhaps I’m harping on this subject, but I’m still stuck on the idea that we are supposed to view the Biblical record as inerrant. Every word is distilled truth.
So, shouldn’t we be praying in private anyway, whether prayer is “allowed” in school or not? Jesus said we should pray in secret where our Father, who is in secret, will hear us. He even took it further and told us not to pray in public the way the hypocrites do, who want everyone to know how pious they are, but to pray where even our left hand will not know what our right hand is doing. Those who pray in public have their reward on earth, but those who pray in secret find favor with God. The Lord’s Prayer came as a result of the disciples begging Jesus to tell them what he was doing when He went off to pray by himself. Jesus himself always chose to pray on his own, even to the point of leaving the apostles behind in the Garden of Gethsemane.
What kind of God rains down disaster and death on the righteous and the unrighteous alike, for abiding by His commands? The Old Testament God demonstrated a lot of wrath when he was disobeyed, but He tended to be pleasant toward those who were obedient to His word.
I need to get over this. It is clear to the fundamentalist that the Bible is revealed truth only when it agrees with the mindset of those who wish to use it in furtherance of their political and social aims. For instance, the several conflicting versions of Creation are all perfect, since none of them speak of evolution, but the admonition to feed those who are hungry, clothe those who are naked, heal the sick and visit those in prison isn’t quite so clear. The few references to homosexuality in the Old Testament are sacred text, but the story of the Good Samaritan, which warns us to avoid prejudice (as indeed does the story of Jonah) isn’t quite so compelling.
Perhaps I’ll borrow my bumper sticker from a less exalted author, but a sound one nonetheless: “God Bless Us, EVERYone.”
Note: In the daily paper, a letter writer posed the question: Why is the Christian right so hell-bent on getting the 10 Commandments posted everywhere? Surely, as Christians, they would prefer the Beatitudes, which praise the peacemakers and offer encouragement to the oppressed. This is, after all, the distilled essence of the Christian Gospel. A silly question, but I was glad someone asked.
posted by Lenore Wilson @ 6:13 PM
4 Comments:
I concur- correlating lack of formal school prayer to natural disaster - is absurd.
You tell it like it is. A lot of people who say they are
"born again Christians" seem to have stopped reading any part of the bible except the old testament.
When Jesus said to render unto Caesar the things that are Ceasar's and unto God the things that are God's I think he meant more than separarion of Church and State. He was telling us that his mission on earth was to show us how to live in harmony with God. When He said "ask and it shall be given to you, seek and you shall find" I think He was telling us that through prayer and meditation we can find out way on the straight and narrow path that only a few find. He does not promise us that if we pray enough we can win the lottery or hit the winning home run in a game for these things belong to Caesar. Love, mercy, forgiveness, kindness and other actions that help our neighbors are the things that belong to God. If God had meant for us to adhere strickly to the Old Testament, there would be no reason for Him to have sacrificed his Son.
In looking at what is going on around the world .. the wars … the natural disasters … the acts of terrorism … sometimes I fall into despair about … “why does God let this shit happen”. Here is a short quote that addresses this issue. I don’t agree with all said … but you may find that the main point is worth considering.
In an interview by Paul Bradshaw with Rick Warren, author of "The Purpose Driven Life," Rick Warren said:
---- begin quote ----
"People ask me, what is the purpose of life? And I respond, In a nutshell, life is preparation for eternity.
We were made to last forever, and God wants us to be with Him in Heaven. One day my heart is going to stop, and that will be the end of my body - but not the end of me. I may live 60 to 100 years on earth, but I am going to spend trillion of years in eternity.
This is the warm-up act, the dress rehearsal. God wants us to practice on earth what we will do forever in eternity. We were made by God and for God, and until you figure that out, life isn't going to make sense.
Life is a series of problems: Either you are in one now, you're just coming out of one or you're getting ready to go into another one. The reason for this is that God is more interested in your character than your comfort. God is more interested in making your life holy than He is in making your life happy.
We can be reasonably happy here on earth, but that's not the goal of life.
The goal is to grow in character, in Christ-likeness.
No matter how good things are in your life, there is always something bad that needs to be worked on.
And no matter how bad things are in your life, there is always something good you can thank God for.
---- end of quote ----
Now ... add to this ... God expresses her/his love through everything that exists ... and through you and I. Our job is to remember that and to live by the values taught in all of Earth's religions ... for the essence of each relegion is the same.
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