Let Us Talk of Many Things: Does God Want Prayers Before the Senate?
Posted by Adam Graham in : church-state relationsI’ve pretty much let much of this controversy over Bill Sali and the Hindu prayer go by. Julie posted her piece after a few days of silence and I think some reflection was in order as well.
As I come at this, I see a number of issues all tangled up. These issues range from the theological (do we all worship the same God?) to the cultural (Is Multi-culturalism correct?), as well as the various public maneuverings surrounding these posts across numerous blogs. I’m going to break this up due to the sheer magnitude of the issues.
The Hindu Prayer
You can listen to my initial reaction to the Hindu prayer. I was not as outraged by it as either Congressman Sali or Reverend Fischer. I viewed the Hindu prayer as a smaller problem than the nature of the daily prayers in the Senate.
Every day, men rise and pray Christian prayers to a Senate chamber that is nearly empty unless for a big debate. Following the invocation of the great and mighty Lord, the King of Heaven and Earth, members of Congress proceed to bring about such monstrosities. They cheat for their own interests, they rob their fellow citizens blind in order to build monuments to themselves. More than 30 voted to continue the practice of partial birth abortion that no less a liberal that Pat Moynihan declared it to be infanticide.
We go through the motions, but we are not sincere before God. The Founders knew that without God, their efforts were meaningless. Our members of Congress are some of the least God-fearing of any we’ve had, which is why they can hear these prayers and then behave so corruptly.
This mass corruption of our elected officials, the bloodiness of our land, and the hypocrisy of our prayers, I can’t help but imagine that they stand out to God. In the book of Isaiah, Chapter 1, Verses 10-18 God delivers a message to Israel:
Hear the word of the LORD, ye rulers of Sodom; give ear unto the law of our God, ye people of Gomorrah:
“To what purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices unto Me?” saith the LORD. “I am full of the burnt offerings of rams and the fat of fed beasts; and I delight not in the blood of bullocks, or of lambs or of hegoats. When you come to appear before Me, who hath required this from your hand, to tread My courts?
“Bring no more vain oblations; incense is an abomination unto Me. The new moons and Sabbaths, the calling of assemblies, I cannot endure. It is iniquity, even the solemn meeting. Your new moons and your appointed feasts My soul hateth; they are a trouble unto Me, I am weary of bearing them. And when ye spread forth your hands, I will hide Mine eyes from you; yea, when ye make many prayers, I will not hear; your hands are full of blood. “
The piety of their words is shown to be a lie by the way our Congress deals with the American people. The fact is that the chaplain could be praying to Millie Vanilli and most of the Senators wouldn’t know the difference. God has become to them little more than “the Lord thy prop.” Church attendance for most members is a show event meant to please man rather than worship God.
Until we change the character of our leaders, the religion of the person saying the prayer is a secondary issue. I imagine that the God who spoke to Isaiah would tell the Senate and House to put away vain prayers and empty repetitions, and that he was tired of them and couldn’t stand them anymore. He would then make the same offer he made to the people of Judah:
Wash you, make you clean, put away the evil of your doings from before Mine eyes. Cease to do evil, learn to do well. Seek judgment, relieve the oppressed; judge the fatherless, plead for the widow. “Come now, and let us reason together,” saith the LORD. “Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.
To me, the root of the problem is a corruption and insincerity that rises as a foul stench from one end of the Continent to the other. Though they say they pray to God, the god most of Congress serves is power.
I have immense respect for Congressman Sali and Reverend Fischer, but this was one issue where we saw differently. I didn’t intend to chime in on this issue. But this has become about far more than a single prayer, rather the debate around this issue is about the future of our country. So, I am compelled to speak.
Continued in Part Two
Comment by Jay S.
Good post, Adam. It seems to me that our country was not founded on freedom of religion as long it’s Christian. Freedom of religion, period.
As far as prayer by hypocrites, I find it useful in any question of faith to go directly to the words of our Savior first. Matt. 6 particularly vs. 5-7 pretty much settles it for me. In my adulthood I’ve become increasingly uncomfortable with how our society uses prayer.
I believe that God has a plan for all of us and while He may excuse our selfish suggestions, the input is unnecessary.
Just some things to think about.
Comment by Adam Graham
I think there’s a place for public prayer as Christ did it several times. Matthew 6:5-7 is about our motivations.
I think God wants to hear from us. The Bible is full of commandments to pray.
Comment by BillH
I agree Adam, and I liked your comments. The issues of praying in the Congress, multiculturalism, and the religious beliefs of the Founders seem to me more opportunities for arguments and partisan cat fights right now than for a base to discuss what is truth. If you jump into the fray in the middle, you lose no matter what side you’re on. Blaming everything on “theocratic Christian white men” and the “evil George Bush and Bill Sali” has no value, if you aren’t willing to discuss the deep issues. What is true? Are all cultures equal? What do we mean by separation of Church and State? Not to mention, what do we want this country to look like and why? Those are the concepts that got many of us involved in political discussion and religious “seeking” in the first place. It’s a shame when the discourse doesn’t rise above name calling and bumpersticker slogans. We’ll keep trying though, eh!
Comment by Jay S.
I don’t know – “But thou, when thou prayest, enter thy closet and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.” – seems pretty straight forward to me. The point I get from it is that we should be known as Christians more for our actions than for our words, which are easy.
I know God wants to hear from us but more and more I think He would rather we ask for guidance, wisdom and acceptance of His will instead of asking him to heal or otherwise intervene in someone else’s life. In short, prayer should be introspective, in my opinion. If His plan includes an athlete breaking a leg in a football game, who are we to ask him different over the p.a. before the game?
Comment by Adam Graham
Bill, thanks for the comment. I wanted to do this in a thoughtful manner. Jay, I’ll respond to you tonight.
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[...] Continued from Part One [...]