Definitely strikes a chord, yes.
He has brainworm.
In fact the whole of Mathew 6 1-8 is a lovely rebuke of what evangelicalism has become.
1“Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven.
2 “So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full.
3 But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret.
4Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.
5 “And 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 others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full.
6 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.
7 And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words.
8 Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.
When I coached in public school, the captains would get all of the girls together, go behind he bleachers and pray that no one got hurt etc. I kept my distance from their prayer circle and it was never an issue.
I wonder, if you were to read the bible to some of these religious types without telling them where it was from, if they would recognize it, or if they would call it some sort of pinko commie trash.
Because without these prayers, God would pick out a girl to injure. Mysterious ways indeed.
It was to protect the football players. God personally protected them from harm … except when he didn’t.
Jesus made me fumble.
Hasn’t that happened with some readings of the Declaration of Independence on NPR?
Some people do that to the occasional Republican school official or politician and post the interactions online with predictable results.
And, no, they really don’t know what’s in the Bible. The thing is like a million pages long. You expect them to read it?
Yes, the last few years, NPR tweeted out the Declaration of Independence line by line and it caused the heads of the more intellectually challenged wingnuts to asplode
Yup:
National Public Radio marked the Fourth of July by tweeting the entire Declaration of Independence, but it seems some Twitter users didn’t recognize what they were reading. SOURCE
Doesn’t the “ don’t make a big deal about praying in public” think kind of make church seem hypocritical? Just by being there you’re “showing off.”
Real life.
Then he tries to deny it.
No more than going to temple, which Jesus did himself. There is value in coming together with others to pray, as “where two or three are gathered in my name, I am in their midst.”
Jesus seems to be talking about big showy prayers, not just praying at the same time as other people in a private place for such prayers.
That said, it arguably could apply to some types of prayers we see in church, just like he applied it to how Pharisees might pray in the synagogue. I do sometimes wonder about the more flashy stuff. But I also know that Jesus cited motivation as being important.
“During those troublesome times, I suggested that it would be a lot more fun if we both hopped on one foot.”
We got a religion for you.
Don’t forget about Coca-Cola’s multi-lingual rendition of America the Beautiful and the wingnuts freaking out about the song being sung in anything other than English.
Their response would either be stubborn silence or a remark about how “the Devil can quote Scripture for his purpose”, which is a stunning comeback though not actually in the Bible.
I seem to recall Biblical injunctions about ultra-wealthy types not being able to enter the kingdom of heaven, but that hasn’t deterred followers of Joel Osteen and other successful preachers, especially when they promise you can be rich too, with the right prayers and donations.
Based on the Roe v. Wade leaked draft, does anybody doubt how this Court is going to rule? Even if Roberts acts as the voice of reason it’s still 5-4 in favor of the coach. All in all, it’s just another brick (removed from) the wall.
In other news, Nehemiah Scudder is said to be considering a run for President in 2024.