Legislative Invocations
June 03, 2005
Though deeply religious, I am opposed to public prayers. Generally, the quickest way to spot a phony baloney is to look for the guy or gal leading the prayer. How soon they forget that I was with them at a party last Saturday night. Anyhow, David Giacalone expressed the point better than I could:
Invocations before public legislative activity seem pointless to me. Individual council members can do all the pre-praying they want to, but I wonder if the Deity wants to be associated with the chicanery, duplicity, grandstanding and unedifying behavior that usually follows the public prayers.
Of course, the Bible also mentions public prayer:
And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men....when thou prayest, enter into thy closet and when thou has shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret....
Matt. 6:5-6 (KJV). So cut the crap: and quit hiding behind prayer. If you're as good a Christian (Muslism, Buddhist, Jew, whatever) as you want us to believe (though many religious works suggest you should keep your good deeds secret), we'll know it by your fruits.