I am So glad for my God!

[centennialdawg]

But, as this one writer puts it, why should atheists care?

"If an atheist does not believe in God, what difference does it make how many prayers a christian prays or how many days of prayer are observed? I am thankful that as a Christian, I can pray every day to MY GOD, Who is real!" (Eugene Parker, Gray, Tennessee) SUCH A WONDERFUL QUESTION! I saw this in the online edition of the Kingsport Times News just a few minutes ago.

Woud someone who does not believe in the power and love of my God, please explain to me the reasoning behind an atheist's disdain over prayer since they do not believe in God or any other diety?

[R13]

Atheists couldn't care less if a Christian prays, I don't care the least bit. It's when it's made a national day, an endorsement, or an endorsement in schools...that's unconstitutional and that's what any non-believer is against.


With that said, I've ALWAYS thought praying was useless. I think it's a way for people to feel good about their self, without actually doing anything.

[cosmo99]

The White House

Office of the Press Secretary
For Immediate Release
April 30, 2010
Presidential Proclamation--National Day of Prayer

A PROCLAMATION

Throughout our history, whether in times of great joy and thanksgiving, or in times of great challenge and uncertainty, Americans have turned to prayer. In prayer, we have expressed gratitude and humility, sought guidance and forgiveness, and received inspiration and assistance, both in good times and in bad.

On this day, let us give thanks for the many blessings God has bestowed upon our Nation. Let us rejoice for the blessing of freedom both to believe and to live our beliefs, and for the many other freedoms and opportunities that bring us together as one Nation. Let us ask for wisdom, compassion, and discernment of justice as we address the great challenges of our time.

We are blessed to live in a Nation that counts freedom of conscience and free exercise of religion among its most fundamental principles, thereby ensuring that all people of goodwill may hold and practice their beliefs according to the dictates of their consciences. Prayer has been a sustaining way for many Americans of diverse faiths to express their most cherished beliefs, and thus we have long deemed it fitting and proper to publicly recognize the importance of prayer on this day across the Nation.

Let us remember in our thoughts and prayers those suffering from natural disasters in Haiti, Chile, and elsewhere, and the people from those countries and from around the world who have worked tirelessly and selflessly to render aid. Let us pray for the families of the West Virginia miners, and the people of Poland who so recently and unexpectedly lost many of their beloved leaders. Let us pray for the safety and success of those who have left home to serve in our Armed Forces, putting their lives at risk in order to make the world a safer place. As we remember them, let us not forget their families and the substantial sacrifices that they make every day. Let us remember the unsung heroes who struggle to build their communities, raise their families, and help their neighbors, for they are the wellspring of our greatness. Finally, let us remember in our thoughts and prayers those people everywhere who join us in the aspiration for a world that is just, peaceful, free, and respectful of the dignity of every human being.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and laws of the United States of America, do hereby proclaim May 6, 2010, as a National Day of Prayer. I call upon the citizens of our Nation to pray, or otherwise give thanks, in accordance with their own faiths and consciences, for our many freedoms and blessings, and I invite all people of faith to join me in asking for God's continued guidance, grace, and protection as we meet the challenges before us.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this thirtieth day of April, in the year of our Lord two thousand ten, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-fourth.

BARACK OBAMA

Presidential Proclamation--National Day of Prayer | The White House

[CoeburnCane]

See--right there's good. He didn't abolish the National Day of Prayer (as many right-wingers would have you believe), but yet he didn't single out Christianity as our nation's sole religion (as left-wingers worry about and evangelicals on the right want desperately).

That's the way it should be. This country wasn't founded on Christianity, it was founded on religious freedom. VERY key difference that people forget about in the midst of all the political/religious rhetoric that gets tossed about far too much.

[centennialdawg]

I will continue to pray to my God, r13. You can continue on your way. BTW, every time you spend even one little penny, look at what is inscribed on it...."IN GOD WE TRUST".

[R13]

And that's your right, I have no problem with it. The "in God we trust" thing is fairly new anyway, everyone was pissing their pants over the cold war in the 50's, got scared and slapped it on there. Only reason it's allowed to stay is because it doesn't specify a particular God, just a God.

I'm convinced though, that if there is a God which there could be, that it's probably not the Christian God.

[Biggin]

See--right there's good. He didn't abolish the National Day of Prayer (as many right-wingers would have you believe), but yet he didn't single out Christianity as our nation's sole religion (as left-wingers worry about and evangelicals on the right want desperately).

That's the way it should be. This country wasn't founded on Christianity, it was founded on religious freedom. VERY key difference that people forget about in the midst of all the political/religious rhetoric that gets tossed about far too much.

CC knows what's up.

I hate that argument, that the country was founded on Christian principles when all evidence is that the founding fathers were totally against a state-sponsored religion. Thomas Jefferson was the pioneer of the Separation of Church and State.

I have no problems with Christians or any religious people praying, none whatsoever. What or how they worship is none of my business. But when you start sponsoring prayer in schools, letting religious doctrine dictate law, and using religion to further political agendas, thats when the non-religious have problems.

It also irks me when people just assume the word "God" means the Christian definition of God. Like the money. Our money does not say In Jesus We Trust, it says God, which could be the deity in any number of religions.