National Day of Prayer

[SarahM]

THe U.S. National Day of Prayer is coming up and I have been grappling (is that a word?) with the idea of the U.S. having a national a day of prayer and Christians supporting it.

My concerns are as follows:

The day is promoted as a day of all faiths to pray; in doing so, are we not only encouraging moralism among the heathen, but a blurring of gospel? Also, the Christian radio station, I was listening to said, "Prayer is America's only hope." I do no understand this statement. Our hope is in Jesus Christ, not in prayer. I agree prayer is important and believers in Christ are told to pray without ceasing, but unless I have the righteousness of Christ, my prayers are an abomination to God (James 5:16; Prov. 15:8, 29). Am I correct or off in my thinking?

 

[Andres]

you're on the right track! Just remember, separation of church and state is a good thing.

 

[DMcFadden]

That's OK. I'm a little turned off to it for other reasons:

ABC News' Luis Martinez reports:

The Army has disinvited Christian evangelist Franklin Graham from speaking at the Pentagon’s National Day of Prayer service on May 6 because of his past controversial comments about Islam. In 2001, the son of the evangelist Billy Graham described Islam as evil and said last year that he found it to be “a very violent religion.”

Army spokesman Col. Tom Collins confirmed today, that at the Army’s request, the Pentagon Chaplain’s Office had contacted Graham to withdraw the invitation extended to him to be the main speaker at the Pentagon’s observance of the National Day of Prayer.

Speaking of Graham’s past comments, Collins said, “Army leadership became aware of the issue and immediately recognized it was problematic. ” He added, “This Army honors all faiths and tries to inculcate our soldiers and work force with an appreciation of all faiths and his past comments just were not appropriate for this venue. ”

In a statement, Graham said he regretted the Army’s decision and that he would continue to pray for the troops to "give them guidance, wisdom and protection as they serve this great country."

How the Army got involved was a convoluted process because they did not extend the invite to Graham in the first place. That was done by the Pentagon’s Chaplain’s Office, but the Army is responsible for that office in its capacity as “executive agent.” When Graham’s past comments came to light, the pressure grew on the Army to decide whether it would let Graham still speak at the event.

The Muslim American advocacy organization, The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) hailed the Army’s decision.

“We applaud this decision as a victory for common sense and good judgment,” said CAIR National Executive Director Nihad Awad. "Promoting one's own religious beliefs is something to be defended and encouraged, but other faiths should not be attacked or misrepresented in the process."

An Army statement today said the Pentagon’s National Day of Prayer event would still continue as scheduled.

The annual observance of a National Day of Prayer was established by Congress in 1952, but just last week a federal court ruled the National Day of Prayer was unconstitutional because it amounts to a call for religious action violating the separation of church and state. The Justice Department filed a notice today that it will challenge the ruling.

 

[SolaSaint]

For Christians the National Day of Prayer should be everyday. But I understand the the nation coming together in prayer and I do agree with the concern of the OP about blurring the gospel message. I don't understand faiths coming together who serve different gods though, seems a little odd that if any faith affirmed they have the truth, then why would they blend with other false religions in prayer? Were the first years of this observance only a Christian assembly, or did it start with a blending of faiths?

 

[Jack K]

The National Day of Prayer seems to be practiced by many merely as an attempt to hold onto religious tradition and to feel vaguely spiritual. Wherever this is the case, I don't feel very good about it. Retaining religious tradition is too easily a substitute for true faith, and thus dangerous.

 

[py3ak]

THe U.S. National Day of Prayer is coming up and I have been grappling (is that a word?) with the idea of the U.S. having a national a day of prayer and Christians supporting it.

My concerns are as follows:

The day is promoted as a day of all faiths to pray; in doing so, are we not only encouraging moralism among the heathen, but a blurring of gospel? Also, the Christian radio station, I was listening to said, "Prayer is America's only hope." I do no understand this statement. Our hope is in Jesus Christ, not in prayer. I agree prayer is important and believers in Christ are told to pray without ceasing, but unless I have the righteousness of Christ, my prayers are an abomination to God (James 5:16; Prov. 15:8, 29). Am I correct or off in my thinking?

I think your concerns are exactly on target. While we don't wish to encourage irreligion, and while governmental acknowledgement that religion exists and has a claim to public recognition is not a bad thing, the way it is practised in a pluralistic society is inevitably misleading, if not blasphemous.

 

[White Knight]

"As you may have heard, the Freedom From Religion Foundation filed suit a number of months ago contending that the National Day of Prayer is unconstitutional. On April 15th, U.S. District Court Judge Barbara Crabb decided in their favor, claiming that this observance violates the "establishment clause" of the First Amendment." Mrs. James Dobson

I received an email from a friend and thought this quote from it might help.

 

[TimV]

All those prayers would cancel out each other even if they would be answered! Pray for what? As a traditional Christian conservative I'd be praying for the opposite of liberals and FOX NEWS type dipsies.

 

[SarahM]

For Christians the National Day of Prayer should be everyday. But I understand the the nation coming together in prayer and I do agree with the concern of the OP about blurring the gospel message. I don't understand faiths coming together who serve different gods though, seems a little odd that if any faith affirmed they have the truth, then why would they blend with other false religions in prayer? Were the first years of this observance only a Christian assembly, or did it start with a blending of faiths?

What I have read, it has always been a blending of faiths. The NDP website gives a time line of how it began and eventually became law.

 

[Tripel]

I don't have a problem with it. I appreciate that our country (to some degree) recognizes a dependence on God. Is a National Day of Prayer necessary? Certainly not, but it's also not a bad idea. I view it similarly to our currency--is it necessary to have "In God We Trust" printed? No, but I don't have a problem with it either, even though the concept of "God" means different things to different people.

If you want to ignore the National Day of Prayer, that's completely appropriate. But if you want to participate, that's appropriate too. Participation is in no way an act of "blurring the gospel". I appreciate that my church makes a special effort on this day to pray for our country.

 

[SarahM]

I don't have a problem with it. I appreciate that our country (to some degree) recognizes a dependence on God. Is a National Day of Prayer necessary? Certainly not, but it's also not a bad idea. I view it similarly to our currency--is it necessary to have "In God We Trust" printed? No, but I don't have a problem with it either, even though the concept of "God" means different things to different people.

If you want to ignore the National Day of Prayer, that's completely appropriate. But if you want to participate, that's appropriate too. Participation is in no way an act of "blurring the gospel". I appreciate that my church makes a special effort on this day to pray for our country.

I understand Daniel, but my 'beef' is with this whole idea of Christians encouraging all faiths to just "pray" as if that will be beneficial. I think if it remained at the church level then I would not have a problem because we are told in Scripture to pray.

 

[Tripel]

my 'beef' is with this whole idea of Christians encouraging all faiths to just "pray" as if that will be beneficial.

To which Christians are you referring?

 

[TimV]

I understand Daniel, but my 'beef' is with this whole idea of Christians encouraging all faiths to just "pray" as if that will be beneficial. I think if it remained at the church level then I would not have a problem because we are told in Scripture to pray.

I agree, especially as it's not even restricted to Christians. It's pure Nationalism. They might as well call out "Great is Diana of the Ephesians".

 

[SarahM]

[/QUOTE]To which Christians are you referring?[/QUOTE]

I am referring to those who claim to be followers of Christ and either lead the NDP and/or promote the national events. I think their motivation and heart behind this is good, but I am afraid the zeal in promoting religious freedom will hurt the exclusivity of the gospel.