King James I of England gave these instructions to those who organized the Virginia Colony in 1606: "We, greatly commending, and graciously accepting of, their Desires for the Furtherance of so noble a Work, which may, by the Providence of Almighty God, hereafter tend to the Glory of his Divine Majesty, in propagating of Christian Religion to such People, as yet live in Darkness and miserable Ignorance of the true Knowledge and Worship of God…Lastly and chiefly the way to prosper and achieve good success is to make yourselves all of one mind for the good of your country and your own, and to serve and fear God the Giver of all Goodness, for every plantation which our Heavenly Father hath not planted shall be rooted out." I had to read those words twice in order to grasp the richness of this quote.
At every presidential inauguration since George Washington, a prayer has been given. In January 2005, an atheist claimed that a prayer at the inauguration would violate the Constitution by forcing him to accept unwanted religious beliefs.
This year, the Freedom from Religion group has filed a lawsuit trying to stop the U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice from using the phrase, "so help me God," in the presidential oath of office, because it is deemed "religious".
Lastly, gay rights advocates oppose President-Elect Barack Obama's choice of Pastor Rick Warren to deliver the inauguration prayer due to Warren's support of California's Proposition 8, which banned gay marriage. This article I read the other day stated that many groups have also opposed Warren offering the prayer in the name of Jesus. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion and right to freedom of speech. While I respect the views of even those in opposition to mine, my opinion holds strong.
Here it is.
Our country was built on a foundation of faith. The reason our country has prospered for so long is because glory and honor has been given to God in conjunction with a desperate pleading for His hand of mercy to cover our land. This is not my opinion, but rather it is fact.
To the athiest who felt that by watching the prayer at the inauguration this would force him to accept unwanted religious beliefs, my response is: Praise the Lord! If this athiest holds such a weak position in defiance to Christianity that by merely hearing a prayer he felt he would be compelled to accept our beliefs I am overjoyed. I have a feeling, however, that he is being used by the Enemy and so I would say to him, instead of raising a commotion, close your eyes and plug your ears if you cannot tolerate a prayer to God.
To the Freedom from Religion group, the oath "So help me God," is used in government venues all over America. I know I, for one, even if I was not a religious person would gladly appeal to any and all higher powers if I was accepting the role of President of a country.
To gay marriage advocates, I find it ironic that they seem to wholeheartedly associate themselves with the word "tolerance," when in reality it seems they are the least tolerant of most people. Tolerance used to mean treating one with respect despite a differing of opinion. Apparently somewhere along the way, tolerance lost its original meaning and, according to gay rights advocates, the word should be used interchangeably with the word acceptance.
When Rick Warren stands behind the podium on January 20, I am sure the last thing on his mind will be an attack on those whose lifestyle he does not agree with. Warren himself said he will simply offer the only kind of prayer he knows how to pray. I hope he will offer the prayer in the name of Jesus. He is the One on whom our country was founded and the One who has sustained us thus far. I fear greatly for our nation the day we become intolerant of the name Jesus, so help us God.
2 comments:
When I did my speech on how public schools won't teach creation in the science classroom, it was interesting to look over a time line to see how far our nation has grown away from God. Its sad when your told at work that you can't even wish people a merry christmas anymore. Also, I like your point, and I agree that the people who push tolerance are usually the least tolerant!
I really enjoyed this blog. There are so many moving points that stand out. To look back over the course of time and see what this nation has come to fills my heart with a deep remorse. The fact that the main people out there preaching tolerance are truly the ones who don't know what the meaning of that word is. I heard my grand mother say once that "Whats good for the goose is also good for the gander" Respect and acceptance are a two way street and folks often drift away from that. It always amuses me to hear the view points of these type of people because they demonize us for holding on to our choice of life style. But all in all the end is coming soon and I have no doubt in my mind about that.
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