Wayne Slater the Republican hater, writing for the Dallas Morning News, wrote: “Gov. Rick Perry’s invitation to his 49 fellow governors to join him later this summer for a day of Christian prayer and fasting for “our troubled country” has sparked a lively debate. On one hand, shouldn’t leaders be allowed, even encouraged, to rise above partisan affairs to invoke the deeper qualities of faith in our society? But shouldn’t they also be careful not to diminish spiritual faith as just another tool of politics?”
“Katie Sherrod, an independent writer and progressive Episcopalian activist from Fort Worth, called the event “a cynical use of prayer and fasting as political theater” to advance Perry’s political ambitions,” Slater reported.
Liberal Katie Sherrod is simply asserting something which comes from her left-wing political belief, as she cannot know the heart of Governor Perry. The sad fact is that a significant number of the now mostly-left-leaning mainline Church leaders would agree with her. Many find no problem making an assertion about the faith of another without evidence; they are every bit as bad as the fanatical fundamentalist who thinks everyone else is less moral.
But to answer Slater’s headline question: “Is Rick Perry’s day of Christian prayer about religion or politics?” The two are inextricably intertwined. For those of us who are Christians by grace and faith, our political and secular decisions should be informed by that faith. If we think our country is in bad shape, we have an obligation to join in movements of prayer – otherwise our faith is a bit suspect is it not?
After finishing the Declaration of Independence on July 3rd, most all of the American founders stopped their meeting and crossed the road to Christ Church and prayed. FDR lead a very long religious prayer with the nation via radio upon the D-Day invasion. And the list of examples is almost infinite. This may bother some but it is the history and culture of our country and should be respected, even by humanist liberals.
Robert Pratt is host of the top-rated Pratt on Texas radio program which can be heard at www.PrattonTexas.com Listen via your iPhone or Droid device with our RadioPup app.
© 2011 Pratt on Texas
