National Day of Prayer

I just looked it up and yes, the National Day of prayer is a day where all faiths suppose to come together and pray in their own way. But the National Day of Prayer Task Force,that the OP is complaining about,is a non-governmental organization created by the National Prayer Committee to help coordinate events for evangelical Christians on the National Day of Prayer. Based in Colorado Springs, Colorado, they work out of facilities from Focus on the Family, a conservative Christian organization. Shirley Dobson (wife of prominent evangelical and Focus on the Family founder, James Dobson) is currently at the head of the Task Force. The Task Force's charter is not tolerant of all religions since it does not allow members of all religions to participate equally. The Task force's website says in their FAQ section: "Americans of all faiths are encouraged to participate in the [National Day of Prayer] according to their own traditions. However, the [National Day of Prayer] Task Force [only] provides promotional materials and sponsors several events in keeping with the Judeo-Christian tradition". The application for volunteer coordinators with the Task Force lists the following as a primary qualification, "Commitment to Christ. A volunteer must be an evangelical Christian who has a personal relationship with Christ. I acknowledge that I am working for the Lord Jesus Christ and the furthering of His Work on earth and agree to perform my work with the highest standard of Christian faith."[1] According to wikipedia. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Day_of_Prayer Everybody has the right to observe that day as they wish and if they want to have a group that gets together and pray in only their faith, they have the right to do so.

The problem with letting the Christians have it, as is, is that it violates the Constitution. Since it is a "National" day, meaning honored by the government, whether officially or not, it has to include prayer - not just Christian prayer. Supporting only one religious form of prayer violates the rights of all Americans that are not of that religion, which by the way, includes atheists. However, your point about Muslims is right on the money. This is why government is not allowed to support any one religion. Can you see the fight that is brewing? Personally, I think religion should be kept amongst those of like mindedness and there should be no "National" day of anything religious.

Thanks for taking the time to clarify this, Riptide! Given that it is a private enterprise/organization, then yes, they have the right to exclude whomever they choose. But given that, I think they should change their title to "National Judeo-Christian Prayer Day". I know - long and wordy, but it gets to the point right away and isn't miss-leading. The way it is currently title lends to thinking that all are welcomed by them, which of course, is not the case.

The only problem here is, the fundies take the Bible literally. Even when they are given pages and pages of scientific facts, or any other thing that isn't in the Bible, they call Satans' lies and throw it away (both literally and figuratively. They are not willing to research anything themselves and just follow their leaders blindly.

Yes, unity that goes against the plagues of the world is a really good way of putting it. I really enjoyed reading the post.

I know there are many Christians who think that Buddhist's lessons were good ones too. Of course, these type are seen as the "liberal" Christians according to the fundies. A lot of Christians are even angry with what the fundies are doing to their own religion. Thanks for the response!

Thanks for the post. You see me as complaining an whining about "fundies", but that is not the point. Do you know the extent of what those fundies really plan on doing if they ever get into more positions of power within the government? I am trying to educate people in order for them to do their own research into the amount of power they already have. I mean, they have "secret" meetings (which the transcripts were able to be leaked into the media by an infiltrator) in a place in Colorado called Glen Eyrie, which is a castle in the Rocky Mountains. What was in those transcripts of the meeting was NOT good for homosexuals. But more importantly, not for any who do not fit into their definition of a Christian. I know not ALL Christians are like this, but it's that percentage of fundies who everybody, Christian and alike who need to keep an eye on.