Texas Governor Rick Perry is rumored to be the next fundamentalist zealot who will throw his hat into the ring for the GOP nomination for president. This is the same man who is hosting The Response in August, the big conservative Christian prayer service.
In reporting on this story, Salon's Justin Elliott has highlighted some statements Perry made to his evangelical supporters as buildup to this event. At one point, Perry is quoted as stating,
I guess I've never really understood the prayer thing. Prayers apparently serve as a mechanism to call special attention to issues an all-knowing God already is aware of. If he's already aware of the problem, why hasn't he done anything about it? Why must he be asked?
It sounds like an ego thing to me! Here is the heavenly father looking down on his creation and noticing great misery and suffering. Instead of doing something to alleviate it, he sits there idly twiddling his thumbs UNTIL someone asks him specifically to intercede. "Oh, so you want MY help?" he beams, basking in such pointed attention. "Well, I'd be more than happy to use MY magic powers to solve your problem for you."
Imagine a parent acting in this way. You look out your front window to see a vicious dog attacking your 8 year old daughter. Do you run outside immediately to try to thwart the attack? Heck no, you go back to the couch to watch reruns of Oprah! You decide that you won't move a muscle to help your suffering progeny UNTIL they scream out your name and swear that you are the greatest mommy or daddy on the planet. Then and only then will you consider going outside to shoo away the attacking dog.
The quality parent would immediately go outside to do whatever possible to avert the impending calamity. They wouldn't wait to be asked. As the classic Nike ad goes, they would JUST DO IT. So, why would the so-called creator of all that exists need a formal invitation to get involved?
Why does he appear asleep at the wheel?
In reporting on this story, Salon's Justin Elliott has highlighted some statements Perry made to his evangelical supporters as buildup to this event. At one point, Perry is quoted as stating,
And I think it's time for us to just hand it over to God and say, "God, You’re going to have to fix this."Here's my question: If God exists and views the state of America in the same twisted way that Perry does, why would he need to be asked to fix things? Since this God is all-knowing and all-powerful, couldn't he simply do what needs to be done on his own?
I guess I've never really understood the prayer thing. Prayers apparently serve as a mechanism to call special attention to issues an all-knowing God already is aware of. If he's already aware of the problem, why hasn't he done anything about it? Why must he be asked?
It sounds like an ego thing to me! Here is the heavenly father looking down on his creation and noticing great misery and suffering. Instead of doing something to alleviate it, he sits there idly twiddling his thumbs UNTIL someone asks him specifically to intercede. "Oh, so you want MY help?" he beams, basking in such pointed attention. "Well, I'd be more than happy to use MY magic powers to solve your problem for you."
Imagine a parent acting in this way. You look out your front window to see a vicious dog attacking your 8 year old daughter. Do you run outside immediately to try to thwart the attack? Heck no, you go back to the couch to watch reruns of Oprah! You decide that you won't move a muscle to help your suffering progeny UNTIL they scream out your name and swear that you are the greatest mommy or daddy on the planet. Then and only then will you consider going outside to shoo away the attacking dog.
The quality parent would immediately go outside to do whatever possible to avert the impending calamity. They wouldn't wait to be asked. As the classic Nike ad goes, they would JUST DO IT. So, why would the so-called creator of all that exists need a formal invitation to get involved?
Why does he appear asleep at the wheel?
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