Author Topic: Prayer and Religion in Public Life  (Read 634916 times)

Dos Equis

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Re: Prayer and Religion in Public Life
« Reply #325 on: September 28, 2016, 05:40:58 PM »
The best story of the day that the mainstream media will ignore
By  Todd Starnes  
Published September 28, 2016
FoxNews.com

 
When you dropped your kids off at school today -- you probably saw a bunch of students gathered around the flag pole.

Those kids were part of See You at the Pole - a national prayer gathering.

Some two million young people woke up before sunrise to pray with their classmates. Many of you posted photos on my Facebook page of students praying in your hometowns - from Staten Island, New York to Stinking Creek, Kentucky.

There were first graders and freshmen holding hands on this cool Autumn day to pray for our nation -- to cry out - as the Psalmist said so many centuries ago.

http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2016/09/28/best-story-day-that-mainstream-media-will-ignore.html

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Re: Prayer and Religion in Public Life
« Reply #326 on: September 29, 2016, 04:40:52 AM »
Thank you for this.

Dos Equis

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Re: Prayer and Religion in Public Life
« Reply #327 on: September 29, 2016, 02:03:15 PM »

Dos Equis

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Re: Prayer and Religion in Public Life
« Reply #328 on: May 04, 2017, 01:33:53 PM »
Trump marks National Day of Prayer, signs executive order on religious freedom
Published May 04, 2017
Fox News

President Trump marked the National Day of Prayer by signing an executive order aimed at boosting religious freedom by easing IRS restrictions against political activities by tax-exempt religious organizations, including churches.

Declaring "no one should be censoring sermons," Trump announced the order, which fulfilled a campaign pledge, during a Rose Garden ceremony Thursday attended by religious leaders, activists and Vice President Pence.

“We will not allow people of faith to be targeted, bullied or silenced again and we will never stand for religious discrimination,” Trump said before signing the order, which states it is now administration policy is “to protect and vigorously promote religious liberty.”

EXECUTIVE ORDER: PROMOTING FREE SPEECH AND RELIGIOUS LIBERTY

The ban on political speech from the pulpit is rooted in an amendment introduced in 1954 by then-Democratic Sen. Lyndon Johnson that gave the IRS authority to punish tax-exempt charitable organizations, including churches, for making political endorsements or getting involved in political campaigns.

The order directs the IRS to exercise maximum enforcement discretion to alleviate the burden of the so-called Johnson Amendment.

In addition, it instructs the Treasury Department not to target the tax-exempt status of churches and other institutions if they express support for political candidates.

The order also directs the Department of Justice to ensure religious protections are afforded to individuals and groups, such as Little Sisters of the Poor, a group of nuns who take a vow of poverty in serving the elderly.

In his introductory remarks, Pence said the National Day of Prayer is a time to reaffirm “the vital role people of faith play in American society” and praised the president for marking the day in such a public manner.

Trump campaigned against the ban and pledged in his address to the Republican National Convention that he would “work very hard to repeal that language and to protect free speech for all Americans.”

Trump called up several of the Little Sisters of the Poor members and congratulated them on their landmark victory in the Supreme Court over the issue of the contraceptive mandate included in ObamaCare.

According to Trump, more than 50 religious groups filed lawsuits against the Obama administration for violating their religious liberty.

Before the final order was released, several religious liberty groups expressed support for the administration’s actions.

“The first freedom in the Bill of Rights is religious freedom. America was born on the foundation of religious freedom and it is one of our most cherished liberties. There could be no better day to sign an executive order on religious freedom than the National Day of Prayer,” said Mat Staver, chairman of Liberty Counsel.

Mark Rienzi, counsel for The Becket Fund, said on Twitter he was encouraged by the “promise of the protection” coming from the White House and looked forward to seeing the final language.

The Becket Fund is the public interest law firm which has represented the Little Sisters of the Poor in their fight to be exempted from ObamaCare’s contraceptive mandate.

The executive order drew critics from the left and the right.

"If the … EO on religious liberty ends up being what media outlets are currently reporting, then it'll be woefully inadequate," tweeted Ryan Anderson, a senior research fellow at the conservative Heritage Foundation.

The American Civil Liberties Union argued the executive actions constitute “a broadside to our country’s long-standing commitment to the separation of church and state” that will divide the nation and permit discrimination.

"President Trump’s efforts to promote religious freedom are thinly-veiled efforts to unleash his conservative religious base into the political arena while also using religion to discriminate. It’s a dual dose of pandering to a base and denying reproductive care. We will see Trump in court, again,” said ACLU Executive Director Anthony D. Romero in a statement.

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2017/05/04/trump-marks-national-day-prayer-signs-executive-order-on-religious-freedom.html

Skeletor

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Re: Prayer and Religion in Public Life
« Reply #329 on: May 25, 2017, 04:11:23 PM »

Dos Equis

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Re: Prayer and Religion in Public Life
« Reply #330 on: July 12, 2017, 11:50:21 AM »
Trump's Oval Office Prayer Vigil Sparks Angry Backlash
By David A. Patten   |   Wednesday, 12 Jul 2017

Tuesday's release of photos of a chance encounter between evangelicals and President Donald Trump in the White House, which shows leading evangelicals laying hands on and praying for the president of the United States in the Oval Office, has touched off an angry backlash on Twitter and in the mainstream media.

CNN immediately tied the meeting to reports the administration has become unhinged following the latest allegations of collusion between the Trump campaign and the Russian government, which authorities believe conducted a cyberwar and hacking campaign in a bid to disrupt the November election.

Those in attendance at the Oval Office meeting on Monday, however, reported the president was confident, collected, and in total control of his administration's agenda.

Author and evangelical leader Johnnie Moore posted an image of the group prayer to Twitter on Tuesday evening:

 Johnnie Moore ن @JohnnieM
Such an honor to pray within the Oval Office for @POTUS & @VP .
11 Jul 2017


In the image, Trump is seen with his head bowed and surrounded by faith leaders, some of whom are resting their hands on him, all in an attitude of devout prayer. Moore says the president's visit with faith leaders was not pre-arranged, and included Vice President Mike Pence and top presidential adviser Jared Kushner.

The image immediately sparked an angry backlash, including allegations that Moore is somehow racist for having a better relationship with Trump than with his predecessor.

Others suggest the image symbolizes a dangerous erosion in the separation of church and state.

One particularly emotional post cursed Moore and "the disappearing line between church and state. It's 2017 people; magic is a party trick for kids."

Moore calls the irate remarks "the most vile, vicious things I've ever seen or received in my entire life," adding: "What's so ironic is that the left sees all of us as the ones who are dangerous, who are dividing America. And yet I can tell you when conservatives lose, we lose with dignity, we lose with class. We get back and win the next time around. You know, we learn from our mistakes.

"That's not the case with the left. The left is in this sort of frenetic, emotional moment, they've lost all rationality, they care nothing about objectivity or truth, and they're just lashing out."

Moore tells Newsmax that he and his fellow faith-leaders were in the White House for an all-day meeting on policy that did not happen to involve the president.

"The president got wind that we were there and insisted that we come say hi," he explains.

The tenor of the Oval Office visit, he says, ran counter to the mainstream media narrative splashed on the pages of The Washington Post and The New York Times portraying a White House knocked off balance by allegations over Russian collusion.

"The president was totally in control of the situation." Moore tells Newsmax. "We left with unbelievable confidence we're in exceptional hands, our religious liberties are also in safe hands, and [we] didn't see a crisis in the White House.

"You read CNN," he added, "there was a crisis in every direction. We didn't see it. We saw strong, confident leadership. We left even more convinced that things are great again than we did when we came in."

Moore, a former vice president at Jerry Falwell's Liberty University, is the author of "Defying ISIS: Preserving Christianity in the Place of Its Birth and in Your Own Backyard."

He says the visceral reaction to a simple image of the pastors praying for the president has exposed the stark cultural divisions in America.

"I think it shows how the left has totally lost its mind that they think it's an extraordinary thing for faith leaders to be praying with the president of the United States in the Oval Office," he tells Newsmax.

More said evangelicals "have a wide open door like never before into this administration," and suggested progressives will have to make peace with the fact that the president of the United States openly prays with leading evangelicals.

"This wasn't the first time, it won't be the last time," he says. "And the principle promise that evangelicals have made to the president, the vice president, and the administration is that millions of us will be praying for him every day."

http://www.newsmax.com/Politics/donald-trump-johnnie-moore-oval-office-prayer/2017/07/12/id/801248/

Skeletor

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Re: Prayer and Religion in Public Life
« Reply #331 on: July 27, 2017, 02:01:29 PM »
Kentucky told to pay attorney fees in same-sex marriage case

FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — A federal judge has ordered Kentucky taxpayers to pay more than $220,000 in legal fees because a county clerk refused to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples in 2015.

U.S. District Judge David Bunning on Friday ordered the state to pay $222,695 in fees to the attorneys of two same-sex couples and others who sued Rowan County Clerk Kim Davis for refusing to give them marriage licenses. He also awarded $2,008.08 in other costs. Bunning said the county and Davis herself did not have to pay.

https://apnews.com/1409cfff0f8146e8a494b73c62f9a5b4

Dos Equis

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Re: Prayer and Religion in Public Life
« Reply #332 on: July 31, 2017, 05:16:19 PM »
Bible Studies Underway at White House
By Mark Swanson   |   Monday, 31 Jul 2017

About a dozen members of President Donald Trump's cabinet gather each week for Bible study at the White House, CBN News reports.

Tom Price, Betsy DeVos, Rick Perry, Mike Pompeo, Jeff Sessions and Sonny Perdue are among the cabinet members who take part, CBN reports.

"These are godly individuals that God has risen to a position of prominence in our culture," Ralph Drollinger of Capitol Ministries told CBN. "It's the best Bible study that I've ever taught in my life. They are so teachable; they're so noble; they're so learned."

Trump gets a copy of Drollinger's teachings for the week, and Vice President Mike Pence has vowed to attend as time permits, CBN reported.

"I just praise God for them," Drollinger told CBN. "And I praise God for Mike Pence, who I think with Donald Trump chose great people to lead our nation."

http://www.newsmax.com/Politics/trump-white-house-bible-study/2017/07/31/id/804841/

Dos Equis

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Re: Prayer and Religion in Public Life
« Reply #333 on: September 01, 2017, 03:23:16 PM »

Trump declares national day of prayer, following Abbott's lead in Texas

Written by
Todd J. Gillman, Washington Bureau

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump declared a national day of prayer on Sunday as the Gulf Coast reels from Hurricane Harvey, following the lead of Texas, where on Thursday, Gov. Greg Abbott declared Sunday a day of prayer.

"We invite all Americans to join us as we continue to pray for those who have lost family members and friends, and for those who are suffering from this great crisis," the president said in the Oval Office, where he met and prayed with pastors from around the country.

Robert Jeffress, senior pastor at First Baptist Church in Dallas, was among the clergy who prayed with Trump in the Oval Office on Friday.


Dr. Robert Jeffress ✔ @robertjeffress
Honored to lead prayer as @POTUS declares Sunday a Day of Prayer for #Harvey victims. Grateful for @POTUS who believes in power of prayer.
8:31 AM - Sep 1, 2017
 40 40 Replies   104 104 Retweets   281 281 likes

"From the beginning of our nation, Americans have joined together in prayer during times of great need to ask for God's blessing and God's guidance. When we look across Texas and Louisiana, we see the American spirit of service embodied by countless men and women," Trump said in the Oval Office, flanked by religious leaders.

"Families have given food and shelter to those in need. Houses of worship have organized efforts to clean up communities and repair damaged homes. People have never seen anything quite like this. Individuals of every background are striving for the same goal: to aid and comfort people facing devastating losses."

https://www.dallasnews.com/news/politics/2017/09/01/trump-declares-national-day-prayer-following-abbotts-lead-texas

Agnostic007

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Re: Prayer and Religion in Public Life
« Reply #334 on: September 27, 2017, 10:23:08 PM »
If Trump declaring a national day of prayer doesn't turn your stomach, you're likely not going to heaven

Dos Equis

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Re: Prayer and Religion in Public Life
« Reply #335 on: October 03, 2017, 12:46:27 PM »
If Trump declaring a national day of prayer doesn't turn your stomach, you're likely not going to heaven

Guess I ain't going.   :)

Agnostic007

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Re: Prayer and Religion in Public Life
« Reply #336 on: October 03, 2017, 06:05:20 PM »
Guess I ain't going.   :)

odds are against it...

Dos Equis

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Re: Prayer and Religion in Public Life
« Reply #337 on: October 03, 2017, 06:07:34 PM »
odds are against it...

Well duh.  I am a bad boy.  Trouble is my middle name. 

Dos Equis

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Re: Prayer and Religion in Public Life
« Reply #338 on: December 21, 2017, 04:27:28 PM »
'Thank you God for our courageous president': Trump gets Ben Carson to lead extraordinary prayer before cabinet meeting (even though he once mocked his religion)
HUD Secretary Ben Carson led a prayer during President Trump's meeting with his cabinet
Carson thanked God for 'the president and for cabinet members who are courageous'
Expressed thanks for 'unity' in Congress
Mentioned economic expansion and destructive debt
He spoke as $1.5 trillion tax cut made its way through the House
During the campaign Trump said he 'just don't know' about Carson's Seventh Day Adventism
He also called him 'lower energy' and brought up 'pathological temper' comment
By Geoff Earle, Deputy U.s. Political Editor For Dailymail.com

PUBLISHED: 20 December 2017

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5199533/Ben-Carson-leads-extraordinary-prayer-cabinet-meeting.html#ixzz51we0abFW

Agnostic007

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Re: Prayer and Religion in Public Life
« Reply #339 on: December 21, 2017, 09:27:12 PM »
'Thank you God for our courageous president': Trump gets Ben Carson to lead extraordinary prayer before cabinet meeting (even though he once mocked his religion)
HUD Secretary Ben Carson led a prayer during President Trump's meeting with his cabinet
Carson thanked God for 'the president and for cabinet members who are courageous'
Expressed thanks for 'unity' in Congress
Mentioned economic expansion and destructive debt
He spoke as $1.5 trillion tax cut made its way through the House
During the campaign Trump said he 'just don't know' about Carson's Seventh Day Adventism
He also called him 'lower energy' and brought up 'pathological temper' comment
By Geoff Earle, Deputy U.s. Political Editor For Dailymail.com

PUBLISHED: 20 December 2017

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5199533/Ben-Carson-leads-extraordinary-prayer-cabinet-meeting.html#ixzz51we0abFW

Yeah, God had a hand in any of this... the gullibility level is astonishing

Dos Equis

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Re: Prayer and Religion in Public Life
« Reply #340 on: December 22, 2017, 10:06:03 AM »
Yeah, God had a hand in any of this... the gullibility level is astonishing

God saved us from Hillary Clinton.   :)

Agnostic007

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Re: Prayer and Religion in Public Life
« Reply #341 on: December 22, 2017, 11:43:52 AM »
God saved us from Hillary Clinton.   :)

I knew you loved Trump, didn't realize you consider him God

Dos Equis

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Re: Prayer and Religion in Public Life
« Reply #342 on: December 22, 2017, 11:56:31 AM »
I knew you loved Trump, didn't realize you consider him God

How could you know something that isn't true?  I was a Never Trumper.  Not anymore. 

But Hillary Clinton?  We would have gone to hell in a hand basket if that corrupt liar was POTUS.  Not sure the country and the world could stand a third Obama term. 

God Bless America.   :)

Skeletor

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Re: Prayer and Religion in Public Life
« Reply #343 on: January 24, 2018, 05:00:39 PM »
Texas judge interrupts jury, says God told him defendant is not guilty

A state district judge in Comal County said God told him to intervene in jury deliberations to sway jurors to return a not guilty verdict in the trial of a Buda woman accused of trafficking a teen girl for sex.

Judge Jack Robison apologized to jurors for the interruption, but defended his actions by telling them “when God tells me I gotta do something, I gotta do it,” according to the Herald-Zeitung in New Braunfels.

The jury went against the judge’s wishes, finding Gloria Romero-Perez guilty of continuous trafficking of a person and later sentenced her to 25 years in prison. They found her not guilty of a separate charge of sale or purchase of a child.

http://www.statesman.com/news/crime--law/texas-judge-interrupts-jury-says-god-told-him-defendant-not-guilty/ZRdGbT7xPu7lc6kMMPeWKL/

Dos Equis

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Re: Prayer and Religion in Public Life
« Reply #344 on: January 26, 2018, 03:29:17 PM »
Texas judge interrupts jury, says God told him defendant is not guilty

A state district judge in Comal County said God told him to intervene in jury deliberations to sway jurors to return a not guilty verdict in the trial of a Buda woman accused of trafficking a teen girl for sex.

Judge Jack Robison apologized to jurors for the interruption, but defended his actions by telling them “when God tells me I gotta do something, I gotta do it,” according to the Herald-Zeitung in New Braunfels.

The jury went against the judge’s wishes, finding Gloria Romero-Perez guilty of continuous trafficking of a person and later sentenced her to 25 years in prison. They found her not guilty of a separate charge of sale or purchase of a child.

http://www.statesman.com/news/crime--law/texas-judge-interrupts-jury-says-god-told-him-defendant-not-guilty/ZRdGbT7xPu7lc6kMMPeWKL/

Completely inappropriate if true.  He shouldn't be a judge if he's doing stuff like this. 

Dos Equis

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Re: Prayer and Religion in Public Life
« Reply #345 on: January 29, 2018, 02:48:41 PM »
Atheist orgs ‘intimidate’ Trump’s Cabinet over Bible study — see Ben Carson’s defiant response
Jan 27, 2018

Ben Carson, secretary of Housing and Urban Development, this week defiantly responded to two atheist organizations who he said are trying to “intimidate” him and other senior-level government officials for participating in a Bible study.

What’s going on?

Two atheist organizations — The Freedom From Religion Foundation and Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington — are suing Carson and his department for failing to waive fees associated with Freedom of Information Act requests.

Special: James Altucher: Do not buy Bitcoin until you see this
FFRF and CREW filed FOIA requests to determine if a weekly Bible study conducted by members of President Donald Trump’s Cabinet have used government resources for their weekly gathering. The organizations also wanted to know if any staffers had been “coerced into organizing or even participating in the religious event,” according to CBN News.

Among those who attend the study are: Carson, Attorney General Jeff Sessions, Energy Secretary Rick Perry, Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, Agriculture Secretary Sunny Perdue and CIA Director Mike Pompeo.

Associated with FOIA requests are standard fees for processing if the information requested is neither in the public’s interest nor related to an agency’s operations. HUD charged FFRF and CREW a fee for their FOIA requests and refused to waive it.

That led the groups to sue Carson and HUD this week. They are alleging HUD is denying them fee waivers “where disclosure of the requested documents is likely to cast the agency or HUD Secretary Ben Carson in a negative light,” according to Newsmax.

How did Carson respond?

He said in a Facebook post:

First of all, taxpayer funds are not used to support the ministry, and secondly, no staff are involved in the Bible study. More importantly, I refuse to be intimidated by anti-religious groups into relinquishing my spirituality or religious beliefs. One of the principles of our nation‘s founding is freedom of religion.

I will not stop being a Christian while in service to this country, in fact, it is my faith that helps me serve the nation even better.

The relentless attacks on the spirituality of our nation must be resisted. We are not like everyone else, which is precisely the reason that we rose so rapidly from obscurity to become the most powerful and free nation in history.
Carson went on to explain that three foundational American principles are under attack, citing patriotism, morality and spirituality.

“We the people must decide who we are and what we stand for,” Carson said, adding that if America doesn’t, the nation could become unrecognizable.

https://www.theblaze.com/news/2018/01/27/atheist-orgs-intimidate-trumps-cabinet-over-bible-study-see-ben-carsons-defiant-response

Agnostic007

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Re: Prayer and Religion in Public Life
« Reply #346 on: February 02, 2018, 10:45:50 PM »
prayer and 50 cents will get you a cup of coffee

Agnostic007

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Re: Prayer and Religion in Public Life
« Reply #347 on: February 02, 2018, 10:47:33 PM »
It's because these downtrodden atheists are just like others (read- libtards) of their kind.  They look for the "offensive" everywhere but in a mirror.

To hell with them and their pussified mentality.

wonder why MOS didn't respond to this... hmmmm

The Scott

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Re: Prayer and Religion in Public Life
« Reply #348 on: February 03, 2018, 06:15:48 AM »
wonder why MOS didn't respond to this... hmmmm

Why would you wonder about his lack of a response?  My question was directed at my fellow atheists who are more assholists.  These are the idiots that can't look at the letter "T" without whining like a vampire that it's a Cross and should therefor be banned from the Alphabet.

As for your statement that "prayer and 50 cents will get you a cup of coffee"?  Who really gives a fuck?  I mean, really now.  How lame is that "statement". How about something with more vim and vigor? 

"Prayer and $75,000 will get you a 2018 Corvette".   

Reads just as dumb, does it not?  Of course it does.  I don't mind that you're an atheist, but me?  I am an Atheist.   I am the worst nightmare for atheists that are just as, if not more, self-centered buttwipes as Jim and Tammy Baker ever were.  I'll tell you this, be glad, be very gland that I am not in charge of any heaven or hell. Why?  Because fucktards that belittle the faith of good people such as MoS or Butterbean would never pass go, never collect $200 and not get out of Hell for a very long time.

Muslimes would spend eternity there with the aforementioned idiots, the Bakers.  If faith is genuine, people live it in public and in private.  If not, they simply lie it. And that goes for atheists.  So many of "us" are shit-for-brains self-centered, jerks.  None of us knows for certain what awaits us as the final breath leaves our body. 

For many atheists, that last breath is more a fart. 

Dos Equis

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Re: Prayer and Religion in Public Life
« Reply #349 on: February 05, 2018, 02:39:38 PM »
prayer and 50 cents will get you a cup of coffee

Why do you post on this board?  Is it have a serious discussion or just to mock religion and religious people?