National Day of Prayer

The National Day of Prayer official website have made is clear that this day only applies to those members of this nation who are christian. I find this appalling. Even at our nations inception there were many Americans who were not christian. Our constitution was written with this in mind.

I figure there are two way to protest against this stupidity. One can either not pray at all. Or, one can chose a non-christian way to pray.

Here are some way that I am considering:

• Meditate. Sit still and think your prayer over and over or just have a soliloquy with the great entity about what you are praying for.
• Walk a labyrinth. Think about your prayer as you walk it. No labyrinth nearby? Walk in a spiral pattern in your back yard or living room.
• Chant. Chant sounds or what you are praying for.
• Burn incense. As it burns think about or state out loud what you are praying for.
• Light a candle. State your prayers either out loud or silently as you light it and let it burn away.
• Sing. Sing about what you are praying for to your favorite tune. You can also put you favorite music on and sing along to that as long as it contains the message you want to pray for.
• Dance. As you move your body think or state out loud what you are praying for.
• Write your prayer on a piece of paper and then either store it in a jar, burn it, bury it, cast it into a body of water or shred it and let the pieces of paper blow in the wind. Whatever feels right.

I think I'll chose to light candles and I will be praying for peace, prosperity and tolerance. I will also pray that christians who feel superior to all other religions and religious paths will learn humility and tolerance.

Comments

[Reid]

It is upsetting when people are only trying to please God and they are Excluded. It frustrates me more than most things... thank you for posting this my friend.

It is funny how Christians are supposadly synonomous with "followers of Jesus" yet I don't see any of Jesus' teachings as being exclusionary or on supperiority.

What upsets me most is when people say they speak for the God of all things, but what they say is not anything like the characteristics of God.

[judy]

Dear Penny,
This is the problem with including every thing into Christainity, it reduces Jesus down to a good teacher at best. The problem is, all poeple don't have eyes to see and eyes to hear the measage Jesus taught.

The combination of different forms of belief or practice is a New Age belief, and an effort to create an one world religion based on the idea that all religions are one, at their basic core and teach the oneness of all things. In this system the exclusive claims of Christainity are denied.

I am not with a the National day of Prayer, through Reid and your web site I did give it a look over. I prayed that day, but I pray everyday. I think it is a good idea to pray for our leaders (even if you don't like them)

I pray you can see the dangers in a mix and match religion.

Judy

[Penny]

Reid - I'm glad you got my point.

Judy - you miss my point. The point is to pray in a way that is specifacally NOT christian. As far as I am concerned christianity can stay in it's current form. I simply want to point out how narrow minded and exclusionary certain flavors of it are.

[Anne]

Interesting -- I missed this.

Of course, even on the Internet, I really am always the last to know . . .

Sometime in the next few days -- probably Wednesday -- I'll get a post up on a movement among the Baptists to reeducate themselves about both the true roots of their faith (which include, oddly enough, an aversion to institutionalized religion and rejection of intermediaries) and the actual meaning of the First Amendment, vs. the License for Idiocy it has become in common parlance.

Not a Baptist, btw, just find the entire thing refreshing.

[judy]

Dear Penny,

I understand that the name "National day of Prayer" is deceptive. They should of named it "Chirstian Day of Prayer" and not said anything about being Excludive.

What I don't understand is....
How in the world will your protest help?
Pray, but don't pray like a Christain...?

Who do you say we should pray or chant or humm to?
To the Goddess of the Laundry?
Will she make us clean?

I ask these things because I fell into the kind of trap.

Judy