There is a National Day of Prayer event happening at Page Park on Thursday, May 7 from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. For more information, see this link.*******
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There is a National Day of Prayer event happening at Page Park on Thursday, May 7 from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. For more information, see this link.
6 comments:
Many of these criticisms come from groups that have everything upside down. Nothing prevents Jews, Muslims, etc. from creating their own national prayer committees to contribute to this historic, national observance. The National Day of Prayer was proclaimed in 1775 by Gen. George Washington to encourage all religions to promote fasting and prayer in their own ways. There have been 134 national calls for prayer, humiliation, fasting and thanksgiving by the President (1789 to 2008. Since President Reagan’s 1988 proclamation establishing the first Thursday in May as annual date for the National Day of Prayer established into law by President Truman in 1952 , Christian groups eagerly created national and local prayer committees. Today there are tens of thousands of Christian-oriented events on the 1st Thursday of every May. Jews, however, do not respond in the same way. Virtually no synagogues participate. My research has revealed little to no events in the newspapers or Internet advertising events sponsored by other faiths as well. Instead other faiths demand penetration into Christian groups or else, incredibly, an end of the National Day of Prayer completely.
The National Day of Prayer Task Force has chosen to conduct events that reflect its Judeo-Christian perspective on prayer. All Americans are free to exercise their First Amendment rights to organize events that observe the National Day of Prayer in a manner that reflects their religious perspective. While we don’t put those of different religious perspectives on our platform, we don’t exclude them from attending. Other faiths would not necessarily be comfortable on how we pray to our God and we would not be comfortable with how they pray. It’s not a question of Christians not respecting people of other faith. Other religions pray to different god(s) than Christians. We can still live in harmony without praying together.
Millions of Americans now participate in the National Day of Prayer each year (1st Thursday in May). Last May 1st, tens of thousands of prayer gatherings were held, covering every state. “Day of Prayer” declarations were made from the President of the United States and all 50 governors. Prayer observances were held in 110 federal prisons, YMCAs, national monuments, Indian reservations, military bases, stadiums, nursing homes, airliners crossing our nation, schools, town halls, in the Senate and Congressional chambers of many state capitols, and overseas in Afghanistan and Iraq. In addition to these public activities, people gathered to pray in their homes, churches, and other private places. We are seeing a similar posting of events for this year. In your state there are many events.
PrayerFlight, the group of Ohio private pilots, has once again enlisted the support of private pilots in every state to fly “50 Capitols”; flying and praying over their respective state capitols.
Couldn't the event be a bigger success if it was expanded beyond Christians?
To the 2:08 poster:
If this isn't a "Christians Only, Please" event, why is every one of the sponsoring groups Christian? See the lefthand sidebar on their website:
http://www.ndptf.org/press_room/index.cfm
Of course non-Christian groups have the right to organize their own Day of Prayer, but please stop with the hypocrisy. Just call your event what it really is, and be done with it. It's your hypocrisy that's making the event divisive.
George Washington was a deist, not a Christian, and he would be disgusted at what his name is being linked to.
We live in a state that represents what the First Amendment stands for. The Puritans came here because they were not allowed to worship in their own country. Subsequently, the Constitution was signed into law. However imperfect you think the 1st Amendment might be, one of the things that has made this Nation great is the acceptance of the “melting pot” and tolerance of all religions. I am a Catholic and there are many things that I believe are not perfect with this religion. However, I remain a Catholic. Jew, Gentile, Muslim or Buddhist, you are free to worship to your God as you see fit. That does not give you the right however to force your beliefs on me and label me as a hypocrite, bigot or intolerant if I disagree with you. Just as I have no right to force my beliefs on you.
You have the right to be offended by my right to call you a hypocrite. That's freedom. Freedom isn't always sweetness and light.
By the way, the first thing the Puritans did when they came to this land of religious freedom is start hanging Quakers. Google "Mary Dyer".
Guess no one will answer my question...
"Couldn't the event be a bigger success if it was expanded beyond Christians?"
I mean to most Christians, despite what you believe there is only one God.
Islam and Judaism worship that God.
To most Christians wouldn't that mean different people of different faiths were just praying to the same place anyway?
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