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AFA Follies
Jul. 11th, 2007 04:18 pm...found in my in box this afternoon: (comments in italics)
Hindu to open Senate with prayer
Send an email to your senator now, expressing your disappointment in the Senate decision to invite a Hindu to open the session with prayer.
Dear Michael,
Please read this news report from OneNewsNow.com.
On Thursday, a Hindu chaplain from Reno, Nevada, by the name of Rajan Zed is scheduled to deliver the opening prayer in the U.S. Senate. Zed tells the Las Vegas Sun that in his prayer he will likely include references to ancient Hindu scriptures, including Rig Veda, Upanishards, and Bhagavard-Gita. Historians believe it will be the first Hindu prayer ever read at the Senate since it was formed in 1789.
WallBuilders president David Barton is questioning why the U.S. government is seeking the invocation of a non-monotheistic god. Barton points out that since Hindus worship multiple gods, the prayer will be completely outside the American paradigm, flying in the face of the American motto "One Nation Under God."
"WallBuilders"? That's a telling name. What is this "American paradigm" he speaks of? I do not recognize it. The motto, aside from not being prescriptive, does not say "One Nation Under One God".
TAKE ACTION – Call your Senators at 202-224-3121
"In Hindu, you have not one God, but many, many, many, many, many gods," the Christian historian explains. "And certainly that was never in the minds of those who did the Constitution, did the Declaration [of Independence] when they talked about Creator -- that's not one that fits here because we don't know which creator we're talking about within the Hindu religion."
what a small mind, that he cannot sort this out. Isn't there one of the Hindu pantheon that is "the creator"?
TAKE ACTION – Click here to send your E-mail today!
Barton says given the fact that Hindus are a tiny constituency of the American public, he questions the motivation of Senate leaders. "This is not a religion that has produced great things in the world," he observes. "You look at India, you look at Nepal -- there's persecution going in both of those countries that is gendered by the religious belief that is present there, and Hindu dominates in both of those countries."
Nope. No great things. None at all. And the Hindus are never the subject of persecution. Nope. Not at all.
And while Barton acknowledges there is not constitutional problem with a Hindu prayer in the Senate, he wonders about the political side of it. "One definitely wonders about the pragmatic side of it," he says. "What is the message, and why is the message needed? And will it actually communicate anything other than engender with folks like me a lot of questions?"
Barton says he knows of at least seven cases where Christians have lost their bid to express their own faith in a public prayer.
What does he really mean? Do we have citations, or it this just anecdotal MSU?
Zed is reportedly the first Hindu to deliver opening prayers in an American state legislature, having done so in both the Nevada State Assembly and Nevada State Senate earlier this year. He has stated that Thursday's prayer will be "universal in approach," despite being drawn from Hindu religious texts.
Take Action
Send an email to your senator now, expressing your disappointment in the Senate decision to invite a Hindu to open the session with prayer.
...or, if you feel as I do, contact your senators and tell them that this is a wonderful development.
Hindu to open Senate with prayer
Send an email to your senator now, expressing your disappointment in the Senate decision to invite a Hindu to open the session with prayer.
Dear Michael,
Please read this news report from OneNewsNow.com.
On Thursday, a Hindu chaplain from Reno, Nevada, by the name of Rajan Zed is scheduled to deliver the opening prayer in the U.S. Senate. Zed tells the Las Vegas Sun that in his prayer he will likely include references to ancient Hindu scriptures, including Rig Veda, Upanishards, and Bhagavard-Gita. Historians believe it will be the first Hindu prayer ever read at the Senate since it was formed in 1789.
WallBuilders president David Barton is questioning why the U.S. government is seeking the invocation of a non-monotheistic god. Barton points out that since Hindus worship multiple gods, the prayer will be completely outside the American paradigm, flying in the face of the American motto "One Nation Under God."
"WallBuilders"? That's a telling name. What is this "American paradigm" he speaks of? I do not recognize it. The motto, aside from not being prescriptive, does not say "One Nation Under One God".
TAKE ACTION – Call your Senators at 202-224-3121
"In Hindu, you have not one God, but many, many, many, many, many gods," the Christian historian explains. "And certainly that was never in the minds of those who did the Constitution, did the Declaration [of Independence] when they talked about Creator -- that's not one that fits here because we don't know which creator we're talking about within the Hindu religion."
what a small mind, that he cannot sort this out. Isn't there one of the Hindu pantheon that is "the creator"?
TAKE ACTION – Click here to send your E-mail today!
Barton says given the fact that Hindus are a tiny constituency of the American public, he questions the motivation of Senate leaders. "This is not a religion that has produced great things in the world," he observes. "You look at India, you look at Nepal -- there's persecution going in both of those countries that is gendered by the religious belief that is present there, and Hindu dominates in both of those countries."
Nope. No great things. None at all. And the Hindus are never the subject of persecution. Nope. Not at all.
And while Barton acknowledges there is not constitutional problem with a Hindu prayer in the Senate, he wonders about the political side of it. "One definitely wonders about the pragmatic side of it," he says. "What is the message, and why is the message needed? And will it actually communicate anything other than engender with folks like me a lot of questions?"
Barton says he knows of at least seven cases where Christians have lost their bid to express their own faith in a public prayer.
What does he really mean? Do we have citations, or it this just anecdotal MSU?
Zed is reportedly the first Hindu to deliver opening prayers in an American state legislature, having done so in both the Nevada State Assembly and Nevada State Senate earlier this year. He has stated that Thursday's prayer will be "universal in approach," despite being drawn from Hindu religious texts.
Take Action
Send an email to your senator now, expressing your disappointment in the Senate decision to invite a Hindu to open the session with prayer.
...or, if you feel as I do, contact your senators and tell them that this is a wonderful development.
