The limit does not exist!
Yesterday this story about our esteemed governor leading a prayer for rain on the capitol steps was making the rounds in national news, and I sent Dan a note asking whether I was a bad (un-rain-wanting, God-disavowing) person for snickering a little as I read the article. For one, it evoked images of rain dances in old country-western movies, and for another, such a move seems a little… desperate?
(As I type that, I’m reminded of a line from Rilla of Ingleside when Susan is sad about Kitchener dying, and her cousin (or aunt or whoever) says something along the lines of how Susan had always said she had complete faith in God and Kitchener, and now there was only God left, and Susan snaps out of her melancholy to retort, “Sophia Crawford, you may be an idiot, but you needn’t be an irreverent idiot.”)
And it’s not that I haven’t sent up some prayers for rain myself, but I am not a publicly-elected official, nor did I find the need to make a public announcement about it. We are still living in a country that allegedly separates church and state. If Sonny Perdue chooses to ask for some divine help in the midst of our “epic drought”, I’ve no problem with that, provided he does it in the privacy of his own home and in the meantime does everything he can to find a human solution to the problem. After all, God does help those who help themselves.
But anyway, the reason I began this post… this afternoon I was chatting with Dan again as I was checking the weather forecast for the next few days. There may be rain on the horizon, so I typed, “EEEEEEE, we might have thunderstorms tonight!!! Sonny’s praying worked!”
And he responded, “Thank G-d we have religious people in places of power.”
I have to admit it. I laughed. Of course, Dan is a self-avowed Libertarian, which we all know is really just a Republican masquerading as…. something not evil, but I’m sure he meant it as a joke and not as a testament to the awesomeness (TM Mean Girls) of George W. Bush.
ha!
lische
14 Nov 07 at 6:59 pm
leading prayer… AT the CAPITOL… the ultimate non-abiding of separation of church and state?!?!?!
aalia
14 Nov 07 at 10:15 pm
Does Georgia actually have anything in its constitution enshrining SoCaS? I mean, so long as Sonny does it on state property….
Oops. Answered my own question.
Dan
15 Nov 07 at 8:00 am
“Masquerading as something not evil”?
I’m hurt.
You know I’m totally about the evil.
Dan
15 Nov 07 at 8:02 am
Just look at it this way: He and a bunch of superstitious homosapiens gathered on a stairwell to summon a God and ask that God for rain. It rained in Atlanta last night. Now, just imagine if he and these people didn’t have a prayer fest and didn’t congregate at the capital. It still would of rained in Atlanta last night. Im reminded of this little quote of wisdom:
“Could somebody please explain to me why it is that if you believe Elvis is still alive, you belong in an asylum; whereas if you believe Jesus is still alive, you belong in our halls of power?”
(Lawrence Boyce, Comment is Free, Guardian)
Its true. This is our tax dollars hard at work.
Ben
15 Nov 07 at 5:24 pm
LOL – I have to admit, I thought it was kind of weird when I heard about this news story, too.
I have no problem with public prayer of any kind from any one of any religion – but I think it’s a bit odd to make it *so* public when it wasn’t necessary. Prayers work just fine in private… Makes me wonder what the motive is behind it. To appear holy?
The Bible says something about this – something about not being so obvious …
{looking for online Bible….}
Ok, I’m back. Yes, it says:
“When you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.”
-Matthew 6:5-6
Tee
15 Nov 07 at 10:56 pm
The Sonny Perdue rain prayer was an utter embarrassment, pure and simple. Who ARE these people and how on earth did they get elected?
If all you did was snicker when you heard about this, you’re a better person than I am. That sounds to me like a very mild and charitable reaction.
Oh, how I hate living in The South sometimes. I have to remind myself that we have a nice, temperate climate, and Southern cookin’ which almost makes up for living in a sea of conservative evangelicals. Almost.
kate
15 Nov 07 at 10:57 pm
In response to Kate:
Temperature in Smyrna GA right now: 30 degrees
Temperature in Janesville WI right now: 22 degrees
There’s a joke in here about conservative evangelicals raising the temperature with all their hot air. But I’m too cold to find it.
Dan
16 Nov 07 at 7:52 am
Hey, no whining when you moved up there by choice. Also, did I mention two days ago it was 74 degrees here?
huda
16 Nov 07 at 9:52 am