Preying Prayers

I don't use this word lightly. This pastor really was stupid. But he's not someone to make fun of, because the hate-mongering he used to prep the crowd for McCain is terrifying indeed.

Earlier today, before McCain arrived at the rally, a pastor gave an opening prayer, astounding in it's mixture of religion and politics, lack of basic understanding of other faiths, lack of basic understanding of Christian theology, and level of hate.

The pastor, Arnold Conrad, "prayed":

There are millions of people around this world praying to their god — whether it’s Hindu, Buddha, Allah — that his [McCain’s] opponent wins, for a variety of reasons

Well, actually, Hindu is a person who follows Hinduism. It's not the name of a god. Buddha is not a god, except in folk Buddhism practices where he's elevated to that level. Allah is the Arabic word for "God". Arab Christians use this word when they pray. You know, something like our use of the word "god" which we took from the head of the Germanic pagan pantheon so we'd have a word in English.

Don't get me wrong. I believe there is a place for saying, "My god is different from your god." If I'm looking to nuances in theology, I can say at some point that my God as a Quaker is different from the God of a Baptist. He's still the same God, of course, but because we perceive him in different ways, in very nuanced different ways, he is different. While acknowledging this difference, I in no way question the salvation of the other, and I affirm that our two Gods are, in truth, the same entity. But a Christian who focuses more on the wrath of God will have a slightly different God than I do, for we all create God in our own image.

As to "they" praying that Obama wins- well, there are some good reasons they are praying that Obama wins. Part of that would be that they don't want to be bombed anymore. There's also good reasons that they are praying to different gods than the Muslim-Judeo-Christian God- namely, because they don't believe in that god, so it would be difficult for them to knowingly pray to him.

And what if the non-Christians do pray for "the other guy"? Since when did that mean God wouldn't listen to them? If they are more in line with the values of the Kingdom than the so-called followers of Jesus, why wouldn't Jesus listen to their prayers instead? Or do we have a God so foolish that he says, "I know you guys aren't praying for what I want to happen. But since you claim my name, I'm going to subvert my entire process and the future of the planet, just because you signed up on a dotted line."? God hears all prayers. He cares about the Kingdom, and not just the Church. And he offers the Grace to extend a listening ear and answering hand, even while we were yet sinners.

Then Pastor Congrad goes on to pray:

And Lord, I pray that you would guard your own reputation because they’re going to think that their god is bigger than you if that happens. So I pray that you will step forward and honor your own name in all that happens between now and Election Day.

Talk about your shock and awe. Now this pastor is trying to create a dichotomy between peoples. He's a divider, not a uniter. That's not the Spirit of Jesus Christ. He's preying on the fears of The Other that have risen in America since 9/11. If the rest of the world likes Obama, well, he must be bad, just as John McCain said. This will certainly not enhance America's reputation in the world.

I'm not a big fan of pretending to pray when you're actually preaching. Contrary to his written comments to CNN, this was in no way a heart-felt prayer. This was preaching (to the converted). This was pretending that you're having a conversation with the Almighty, when really you're trying to sway other humans in the room. It is an insult to God to do this, to pretend, to act in one way. It is hypocrisy. Which makes me wonder, where were the people listening to this prayer and willing to stand up and yell out, "Blasphemy!"? The Age of Martyrs it appears is long past. We no longer have Christians in the U.S. willing to stand up for Christ and speak Truth.

For what kind of God is it that needs us to defend his honor? Rest assured, his reputation will in no way be besmiched if Obama wins, or even if McCain wins. God's reputation will be intact. Pastor Conrad's God seems to be the one of Star Trek V: Search for God. It is arguably the worst Star Trek movie ever made, but it has its moments. Principle among these is the end, wherein they find God, and he is happy, for he can use their starship to finally return to his children throughout the galaxy. In one of the most memorable lines ever uttered in Trek lore, Captain Kirk says, "Excuse me. Excuse me. I have a question. What does God need with a starship? Really. I want to know. What does God need with a starship?"

The answer, of course, is that God, if he truly is God, doesn't need a starship in the slightest. His plans will go forward, with or without us. The theologically correct answer is that he allows us to participate in his plans, for he knows we will experience greater delight by doing so, and that is what we were created for- to experience Joy in him.

Pastor Conrad, God's reputation won't be hurt by who wins the Presidency. Do you know what will hurt God's reputation? Prayers like this. And only because people will get confused, thinking that God and his followers happen to be on the same page. Pastor Conrad, I think you may be right. My God is not the same as your god.

President Palin? (No, the other one.)

Today, in the ongoing Troopergate investigation, it was revealed that Governor Palin's husband, Todd, repeatedly tried to get government officials to fire his former brother-in-law. The problem is, Governor Palin didn't know a thing about this.

I'm fine with a spouse being involved in governing with the governing spouse. I thought it was very cool that Hillary was so involved in President Clinton's government. But there was no doubt who was in charge- the one elected President. I'm glad if Todd is involved with Palin's work. But it raises other rather disturbing issues.

The Religious Right is far more comfortable with Todd being involved with Sarah than they were with Hillary being involved with Bill. This is just blatant sexism. There is this belief that it's just fine if the man who wasn't elected is involved with government, but not if the woman who wasn't elected. Remember all the screams of rage that the Religious Right had at the thought of a woman (Hillary) having actually work to do when Bill was President.

This also raises the question of how well Sarah Palin governs. Todd is involved- great. But Todd is involved, and Sarah doesn't know what Todd is doing?!? That is the clear testimony he gave today. (I'm assuming he's not lying.) That means that her husband is going around doing things in government, and the Governor has no knowledge of it! Let us leave aside the question of what kind of marriage this is. What kind of Governor is this? How can we trust her to be Vice-President if she has that weak of understanding and control as Governor?

But it gets far worse than this. For, if McCain were elected, we all know there is a great chance that he would die in office, of old age. If we elected McCain, we are also almost assuredly electing a President Palin. And many are disturbed with this notion, because we have no idea who the real Palin is- we've known her for five weeks, with few interviews or opportunities to get to know her. But now, it would appear that precedent would suggest that a Vice-President or President Sarah Palin would also involve substantial work by a First Gentleman Todd. And his behind-the-scenes work would evidently be rather unknown by a President Sarah Palin.

If she's going to be elected, and if she might be President, and he will be working in government without the knowledge of the sitting President, we, the public, have a right to know about this guy we wouldn't be electing but would be running the nation. Which brings us to a rather urgent question. Who is Todd Palin? And when do we start vetting him?

'Eid al Fitur?

Today is one of the high holy days of Islam, 'Eid al Fitur. After thirty days of fasting from food and drink, Muslims around the world celebrate with three days of feasting. But you wouldn't know it if you were in the U.S. government.

I have no problem with Congress taking the day off for Rosh Hashana, the Jewish New Year. Well, that's not true. I have a great deal of difficulty with Congress stopping what it's doing in the middle of an economic crisis, just to celebrate a holiday. I don't care if it's Christmas or Easter- if it's an emergency, you keep on working.

But let's bypass all that. Let's say that Congress is doing its job when it doesn't do what we sent it to do, but takes extra vacations. Why, pray tell, was there no mention of the rather major holiday that a minority of Congress celebrates? Today was 'Eid al Fitur, the second most important holiday in the Islamic calendar, the equivalent of Easter if you're Western, or Christmas if you're of the Orthodox Church. Sure, only two congressmen are Muslim, as opposed to over thirty who are Jewish. But since we're obviously not looking at percentage of members in the holidays that Congress chooses to honor, why in the world did they ignore a major holiday celebrated by over a billion people around the world? Perhaps because they only pay attention to the percentages of their constituents. Understood. The most recent demographics for the U.S. put the number of Muslims as the second largest religion in the U.S., ahead of the Mormons and the Jews. Some disagree with these figures, and say that the number of Muslims is only the same as the number of Jews. Which leads me back to the question.

What prevented Congress from stating that they were taking a holiday to honor not only Rosh Hashana, but also 'Eid al Fitur, which happened this time to fall on the same two days? What message were they hoping to send by this glaring omission?