Gay "Bishop's" Prayer

[Pastor Gary]

Gay "Bishop" Gene Robinson's prayer at the inaugural...
• Was not in Jesus' name
• Invoked, apparently, some generic deity ("O God of our many understandings...")
...but contained at least a few sentiments I agree with, as bolded in the text below.

“O God of our many understandings, we pray that you will bless us with tears – tears for a world in which over a billion people exist on less than a dollar a day, where young women in many lands are beaten and raped for wanting an education, and thousands die daily from malnutrition, malaria, and AIDS.

Bless this nation with anger – anger at discrimination, at home and abroad, against refugees and immigrants, women, people of color, gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender people.

Bless us with discomfort at the easy, simplistic answers we’ve preferred to hear from our politicians, instead of the truth about ourselves and our world, which we need to face if we are going to rise to the challenges of the future.

Bless us with patience and the knowledge that none of what ails us will be fixed anytime soon, and the understanding that our new president is a human being, not a messiah.

Bless us with humility, open to understanding that our own needs as a nation must always be balanced with those of the world.

Bless us with freedom from mere tolerance, replacing it with a genuine respect and warm embrace of our differences.

Bless us with compassion and generosity, remembering that every religion’s God judges us by the way we care for the most vulnerable.
And God, we give you thanks for your child, Barack, as he assumes the office of President of the United States.

Give him wisdom beyond his years, inspire him with President Lincoln’s reconciling leadership style, President Kennedy’s ability to enlist our best efforts, and Dr. King’s dream of a nation for all people.

Give him a quiet heart, for our ship of state needs a steady, calm captain.
Give him stirring words; We will need to be inspired and motivated to make the personal and common sacrifices necessary to facing the challenges ahead.

Make him color-blind, reminding him of his own words that under his leadership, there will be neither red nor blue states, but the United States.
Help him remember his own oppression as a minority, drawing on that experience of discrimination, that he might seek to change the lives of those who are still its victims.

Give him strength to find family time and privacy, and help him remember that even though he is president, a father only gets one shot at his daughters’ childhoods.

And please, God, keep him safe. We know we ask too much of our presidents, and we’re asking far too much of this one. We implore you, O good and great God, to keep him safe. Hold him in the palm of your hand, that he might do the work we have called him to do, that he might find joy in this impossible calling, and that in the end, he might lead us as a nation to a place of integrity, prosperity, and peace.
Amen."

[paul]

Gay "Bishop" Gene Robinson's prayer at the inaugural...
• Was not in Jesus' name
• Invoked, apparently, some generic deity ("O God of our many understandings...")
...but contained at least a few sentiments I agree with, as bolded in the text below.

“O God of our many understandings, we pray that you will bless us with tears – tears for a world in which over a billion people exist on less than a dollar a day, where young women in many lands are beaten and raped for wanting an education, and thousands die daily from malnutrition, malaria, and AIDS.

Bless this nation with anger – anger at discrimination, at home and abroad, against refugees and immigrants, women, people of color, gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender people.

Bless us with discomfort at the easy, simplistic answers we’ve preferred to hear from our politicians, instead of the truth about ourselves and our world, which we need to face if we are going to rise to the challenges of the future.

Bless us with patience and the knowledge that none of what ails us will be fixed anytime soon, and the understanding that our new president is a human being, not a messiah.

Bless us with humility, open to understanding that our own needs as a nation must always be balanced with those of the world.

Bless us with freedom from mere tolerance, replacing it with a genuine respect and warm embrace of our differences.

Bless us with compassion and generosity, remembering that every religion’s God judges us by the way we care for the most vulnerable.
And God, we give you thanks for your child, Barack, as he assumes the office of President of the United States.

Give him wisdom beyond his years, inspire him with President Lincoln’s reconciling leadership style, President Kennedy’s ability to enlist our best efforts, and Dr. King’s dream of a nation for all people.

Give him a quiet heart, for our ship of state needs a steady, calm captain.
Give him stirring words; We will need to be inspired and motivated to make the personal and common sacrifices necessary to facing the challenges ahead.

Make him color-blind, reminding him of his own words that under his leadership, there will be neither red nor blue states, but the United States.
Help him remember his own oppression as a minority, drawing on that experience of discrimination, that he might seek to change the lives of those who are still its victims.

Give him strength to find family time and privacy, and help him remember that even though he is president, a father only gets one shot at his daughters’ childhoods.

And please, God, keep him safe. We know we ask too much of our presidents, and we’re asking far too much of this one. We implore you, O good and great God, to keep him safe. Hold him in the palm of your hand, that he might do the work we have called him to do, that he might find joy in this impossible calling, and that in the end, he might lead us as a nation to a place of integrity, prosperity, and peace.
Amen."

I can agree on those areas also with no problem.

[free]

No problem with those points but did God really hear him since he practices a lifestyle of homosexuality?

[bibleguy]

That's just the point. The statements themselves seem to be ones that we can agree upon, but it is the intent -- the spirit -- of the statements that are unacceptable. The devil used scripture to tempt Jesus, and the words were true, though misused.

Take, for instance, Ms. Robinson's line, "Bless us with freedom from mere tolerance, replacing it with a genuine respect and warm embrace of our differences." Sounds good, doesn't it? But he being a homosexual, is asking God that we not only "tolerate" his (and others') abominable behavior, but also respect and legitimize it.

Therefore, I cannot agree with the statements in his prayer, because what I would mean, if I were to say them and the original intent of them are NOT in agreement.

[Pastor Gary]

Therefore, I cannot agree with the statements in his prayer, because what I would mean, if I were to say them and the original intent of them are NOT in agreement.

The portions I made bold... as stand-alone, independent statements, I agree with. Not because he said them, but because they are truth.

[Gerald Creasy]

....he might lead us as a nation to a place of integrity, prosperity, and peace.

Oh, geeee. You mean just what we had for decades which led us into a post Christian Nation and made Jesus into "He died for your bank account" Savior. (As Rod Parsley says...we need to go pick out our Lexus)


I'd rather he lead us to the place where he teaches us the best. Whether it be prosperity, or we're fighting the cockroaches for the food.

But that's not "Happy clappy" Christianity, is it?

[Pastor Gary]

....he might lead us as a nation to a place of integrity, prosperity, and peace.

Oh, geeee. You mean just what we had for decades which led us into a post Christian Nation and made Jesus into "He died for your bank account" Savior. (As Rod Parsley says...we need to go pick out our Lexus)


I'd rather he lead us to the place where he teaches us the best. Whether it be prosperity, or we're fighting the cockroaches for the food.

But that's not "Happy clappy" Christianity, is it?

Don't throw the baby out with the bathwater, Gerald; prosperity is not a dirty word, just because some religionists have distorted it.

I would love for America to be "a place of integrity," to be blessed with prosperity -- entrusted with plenty so we can plentifully bless others, and to be a people of peace.

[bibleguy]

Therefore, I cannot agree with the statements in his prayer, because what I would mean, if I were to say them and the original intent of them are NOT in agreement.

The portions I made bold... as stand-alone, independent statements, I agree with. Not because he said them, but because they are truth.

Gotcha. I thought so, and can appreciate your point and share it, too. Still, we can agree with truth regardless of the source, but I would be slow to Amen them when the speaker's intent is contrary to it.

However, some of the statements highlighted are hard to swallow:

"...remembering that every religion’s God judges us by the way we care for the most vulnerable..." 1) I don't know the judgement standards of every religion's god. 2) Why would I care what other gods think?

"...tears for a world in which over a billion people exist on less than a dollar a day..." When I was in India, I realized something about this propaganda: they can exist on a dollar a day. Electronics or vehicles and some other modern comforts cost about the same as here (we bought the saints there a printer for a little over $100 USD) but as far as sustenance and necessities, they make it on very little. We can't imagine such a low cost of living, but I came away from India much less apt to be influenced by a statement that means very little when I live in a completely different world. Similarly, the same house in southern California versus in Oklahoma would have a price tag many, many times higher.

[RamboPreacher]

so does a bit of poison mixed in the clean water make it not poisonous anymore?

[Pastor Gary]

so does a bit of poison mixed in the clean water make it not poisonous anymore?

That's a discussion starter, isn't it?

Let's say someone says, "It is minus 20 degrees in Honolulu today and the sky is blue."

Does the first first factual error negate the truth of the last phrase?
(I think I debated these kind of things in a logic class a few decades ago...)

[RamboPreacher]

so does a bit of poison mixed in the clean water make it not poisonous anymore?

That's a discussion starter, isn't it?

Let's say someone says, "It is minus 20 degrees in Honolulu today and the sky is blue."

Does the first first factual error negate the truth of the last phrase?
(I think I debated these kind of things in a logic class a few decades ago...)

discussion starter - yes, dialectics? no. not really.

the two parts of the initial statement are not meant to be separately and conclusive of each other, but rather the mixture. Not meant to be a fallacy but a contemplative logic.

Throwing out the baby with the bathwater is a point to be taken, if the mixture is at a macroscopic level that allows the separation of the individuals. the poison and water example are more than a mixture, as a compound, so to speak. they individuals are not (easily) separated.

in the context of the initial post of the prayer, there are many things to consider. who the prayer is intended to serve, to whom the prayer is directed, whether the prayer is phenomenological, or practical in logic, whether the "good" and the "bad" can, in fact be separated.

While we may try to separate them for our own construct in application to our own paradigm or meme, the subject is subjective, not objective.

for me - the parts are a part of the whole; I did not make the prayer, so should be taken in full. the compound, as it were, of the prayer. rather than the mixture of the prayer. it maybe easy to pick it apart, since our symbolic recognition is serial when working in text, rather than an aural/oral media.

I believe that is out of the scope of the presentation itself. a whole compound of poison and water. not a baby and dirty bathwater.

but then, that's just my opinion.

[bibleguy]

Both Mormons and JWs "believe" in Jesus. They read the Bible. There is some truth in what they say about Him. Yet, when you look at their complete belief about Jesus, it is a warped, unbiblical picture of who He was/is.

When they come to your door, and you inform them that you are a believer in Jesus, they are quick to inform you that they are too. Then they begin by stressing the points they know they share in common with Evangelical Christians. Their version of Christ remains warped, they just gloss over the differences to gain your trust and get you to believe that the differences are slight, while they are theologically miles apart.

We wouldn't encourage someone to attend a kingdom hall or a mormon ward, even though they occassionally make some true statements, would we?

So, "a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump."

[Full Quiver]

Both Mormons and JWs "believe" in Jesus. They read the Bible. There is some truth in what they say about Him. Yet, when you look at their complete belief about Jesus, it is a warped, unbiblical picture of who He was/is.

Couldn't this be said about most of us?

[bibleguy]

“The sacrifice of the wicked [is] an abomination to the LORD: but the prayer of the upright [is] his delight.” (Proverbs 15:8)

“The sacrifice of the wicked [is] abomination: how much more, [when] he bringeth it with a wicked mind?” (Proverbs 21:27)

“He that turneth away his ear from hearing the law, even his prayer [shall be] abomination.” (Proverbs 28:9)

“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.” (Isaiah 1:15)

“Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye devour widows’ houses, and for a pretence make long prayer: therefore ye shall receive the greater damnation.” (Matthew 23:14)

“When once the master of the house is risen up, and hath shut to the door, and ye begin to stand without, and to knock at the door, saying, Lord, Lord, open unto us; and he shall answer and say unto you, I know you not whence ye are: Then shall ye begin to say, We have eaten and drunk in thy presence, and thou hast taught in our streets. But he shall say, I tell you, I know you not whence ye are; depart from me, all [ye] workers of iniquity. There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when ye shall see Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, and all the prophets, in the kingdom of God, and you [yourselves] thrust out.” (Luke 13:25-28)