this is so wrong

[cellio]

The House is currently considering a bill to declare a national day of fasting and prayer to seek help from "Providence" in these times of terror and war.

My representative will certainly be hearing from me about this blatant disregard for the separation of church and state. Much as they would like to make it so, we are not a Christian nation -- just a nation with a Christian majority. This has no place in government.

From the bill:

Whereas all of the various faiths of the people of the United States have recognized, in our religious traditions, the need for fasting and humble supplication before Providence;

"All the various faiths"? I don't think so. For starters, atheism can be a "faith" rather than an absence of faith. And I'm not so sure that all of the eastern religions have this concept.

Whereas humility, fasting, and prayer in times of danger have long been rooted in our essential national convictions and have been a means of producing unity and solidarity among all the diverse people of this Nation as well as procuring the enduring grace and benevolence of God;

Asserting it does not make it so. Show me those roots in our essential national convictions, Mr. Akin (the sponsor).

Thanks to magid for the link.

Comments

[magid.livejournal.com]

Besides all the inherent wrongness in this bill, I keep wondering what they mean by fasting. I know what I mean by fasting (no food or liquid), but I've run into a variety of definitions (no food, but liquids; only fruits and vegetables; no meat; no chocolate...).

This is so in the realm of religious leaders, and so not in the realm of government...
a

[cellio]

Good point. The canonical Christian fast is very different from the canonical (if you'll pardon that word choice :-) ) Jewish fast.

[goljerp]

Not to mention the Canonical Muslim fast of Ramadan... when I first heard about Ramadan being a month-long fast, my thoughts went something like, "... but people can't survive without water that long!" (It's actually a "daytime" fast; people eat before sunrise/after sunset.)