In staging (would any other verb be as apt?) a distinctly evangelical Christian prayer rally in Houston, Rick Perry has probably boosted his chances of gaining the GOP presidential nomination. But has he done the nation or his faith any good? Almost certainly not.
God's record of response to public prayers is no better than chance. The record of political leaders who wrap themselves in the Lord's mantle is even worse. Rick Perry himself responded to a terrible drought in the state he governs by declaring three days of prayer for rain. Three months later the drought has gotten so bad that at least one Texas town is preparing to recycle urine into drinking water.
As a political tactic, though, public piety can work wonders. In Shakespeare's Richard III, the eponymous scheming hunchback turns public opinion around by appearing on a balcony to pray between a pair of bishops -- "two props of virtue for a Christian prince." A few murders later, the hunchback is crowned king.
I don't know if Rick Perry reads Shakespeare, but according to the Texas Observer, he too has been proclaimed "the one" by a pair of preachers:
[T]he Lord's messengers arrived in the form of two Texas pastors, Tom Schlueter of Arlington and Bob Long of San Marcos, who called on Perry in the governor's office inside the state Capitol. ... The pastors told Perry of God's grand plan for Texas. A chain of powerful prophecies had proclaimed that Texas was "The Prophet State," anointed by God to lead the United States into revival and Godly government. And the governor would have a special role... At the end of their meeting, Perry asked the two pastors to pray over him. As the pastors would later recount, the Lord spoke prophetically as Schlueter laid his hands on Perry, their heads bowed before a painting of the Battle of the Alamo.
I'm not a praying man myself, but I'm the first to say that the power of prayer should never be underestimated. Not that there is the slightest reason to believe that any supernatural power responds to it. Yes, you can find studies that claim to have found positive effects from intercessory prayer, but you can also find studies that claim no effect or even negative effects. They all share the same basic flaws -- no one can know what prayers are being said for whom, or isolate the effects (if any) that result.
Fortunately, you don't have to rely on science. A little logic applied to theology should suffice. You cannot believe that there is an all-powerful, all-knowing deity who has a plan for everything, and also believe that your prayer will make a difference. Either it's already in the plan, or to grant it would make things worse. Moreover, you cannot really believe that God is good if He sits back and waits to see if those who are suffering plead for help or are fortunate enough to have others supplicate for them. That's not a God, that's a megalomaniacal tyrant.
Yet prayer clearly affects the lives of people who engage in it. As I said, I'm not a praying man, but I accept that it can inspire, relax, encourage, and uplift the person who prays. Neuroscientist Andrew Newberg has done studies that seem to confirm the physiological benefits of deeply meditative prayer.
There is a dark side to prayer, however. It can be used to bind people in unity, to channel their passions, and to focus their hatreds. That might be useful if, for example, you're the leader of a tribe about to lead your people in a battle against an enemy tribe. But it's pure poison in a civil, pluralistic society.
The purpose of Rick Perry's prayer rally is not to cure the nation's ills, it is to build an American Volksgemeinschaft -- a community of believers in a reactionary myth of America's history and the Christian religion. The promoters of this myth scorn constitutional law, separation of church and state, science, minority rights, and most of all the principle of tolerance. They strive for the one thing that the Founding Fathers fought most against: the establishment of religion at the core of government.
Yet, in doing so, Rick Perry and his pals also go against the very words of Jesus, as reported by the Bible (and recalled to me by my friend Edgar Pearlstein):
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. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet ... Matthew 6:5-6 (KJV)
So, there you have it: When Governor Rick Perry leads a prayer rally, he is not only violating the U.S. Constitution, he is breaking faith with Christianity. And yet, they say, he may be rewarded with the Republican presidential nomination. God help us.
Follow Clay Farris Naff on Twitter: www.twitter.com/claynaff
Michael Brenner: Rick Perry: Home on the Range
pay AC bills and used it to balance the State Budget. it was 109 in Dallas today. 14 people
have died in Dallas alone.with no end to it yet.
Matthew 6:5-6
“And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites. For they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.
Matthew 6:1-34
“Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them, for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven. “Thus, when you give to the needy, sound no trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may be praised by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you. “And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites. For they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. ...
I saw Rev. Al and I was going to post this poignant revelation myself. So glad you're back and so, so glad you posted this truth. I, too, hope you are doing well and that you are also blessed.
I also look forward to your important contributions to these discussions, especially in these deceitful and dangerous times we're in.
Keep up the good work.
In one of your responses below you wrote:
If the Bible were written today, would God be a CEO with a corporate jet and a fat annual bonus? Would anyone believe that?
Sadly I think that those who see themselves as elite due to their positions or money would easily believe that....those out of touch with the reality most of us live, that is, politicians and those with money who see those without as "less than".
He was terrified of loud storms, believing that the Water Gods were out to get him personally.
Therefore, if Gov. Perry wants some action from the all-powerful Water Gods, he should not pray to them. He should do whatever it takes to tick them off! Blaspheme them, challenge them, mock them! Walk out of the bathroom with the faucet on, and dare the Water Gods to do anything about it!
Get the Water Gods to blow up at the State of Texas. It just might work.
Is there any other kind?
The simple observation on my part is that not only do these Fundies get non-results from these kinds of 'prayers,' when they pray 'against' someone, it usually *backfires.* There's so many people and peoples on their 'hit lists' that they claim *credit* when bad things happen to people they don't like, but in fact, oftentimes they even lie about that: like when they claim they invoked their God's wrath on New Orleans against a Gay Pride event, not only did the storm miss the day, but of course largely spared nothing the French quarter they were *targeting,* (it's the high ground, of course, which is why the first town was *put there,* But also where the actual event had happened before.)
They do this, though. It's not 'good stuff.' It's 'bad stuff,' however clueless. Actually, if you don't mind me putting on a bit of a shamanic mantle, claiming to command the weather just tends to piss 'it' off, and that tends to get messy for anyone in the way.
And apart from how I may see it when I'm not using Doppler radar and satellite imagery, any meteorologist will tell you it's all connected. And that whole system's under enormous pressure and readjustment right now. For at this point, very scientifically-verifiable reasons.
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And neither I nor the weather have any desire to see people suffer, frankly, if Texas has to drink some pee for a while, maybe it'll cure some of the denialism and revisionism and general inversions of the reality of what we as a nation are dealing with, that they've proclaimed themselves the home of.
As for the spirits, I'll ask nicely anyway, once I can figure out what the Hel is going on with this pattern anyway. I like to think I have *friends* in the higher troposphere, but as For Perry and his ilk: he doesn't even *want* rain. He wants power.
I thought Dubya was chosen by God? Oh wait, no, that was Palin. Or was it Bachman? Anyway, I'm still trying to figure out why God is so concerned with politicians and professional athletes. Doesn't he care at all about the little people??
I'm not worried about myself, tho. I know he won't help me out because I just don't go for the whole "bow down" and "submit" stuff.
Oh, well.
Mind you, to recognize that Scriptures are just stories written by people reflecting their times and cultures does not automatically lead to atheism. It just leads to a more rational view of the world we live in.
Thanks for commenting,
Clay
For the most part I supposed I label myself agnostic. The simple fact is: I do not know.
However, I can live my life in peace, abide by the same general 'rules' - don't kill, don't lie, don't cheat, etc. - care about my fellow man and all life on this planet while continually keeping an open mind.
In the Buddhist sense, my cup is always empty. :)
Having said that, as an Evangelical Christian, I can assure you and everybody that exploiting the name of Jesus for crass and unholy political gain is beyond shameful. Rick Perry (and Michele Bachmann, for that matter) are the Pharisees of our day. Authentic Evangelicals should be deeply offended. 'Nuff said for now.
Whatever you think of 'prayer,' it ain't good.