Sep 30, 2009

Having grown up in a house with serious financial turmoil, I understand “desperate”.

Yet, this is going a bit far.

Are these people actually praying to Obama?  Either way, in my opinion, a line has been crossed that should have been left alone.

One could argue that this is a satirical farce and is meant to make fun of the process of faith and prayer, but I don’t think so.  The Gamaliel Foundation’s mission is “to assist local community leaders to create, maintain and expand independent, grassroots, and powerful faith-based community organizations so that ordinary people can impact the political, social, economic, and environmental decisions that affect their lives;”

On the surface, that sounds good to me – aligning our governance with our morals and values.  I’m sure that scares others.  The question is faith in what?  The Gamaliel Foundation seems adamantly ecumenical in its charter and in this instance I believe they have made a mockery of faith in their attempt at inclusion.  Using a Christian liturgy makes this only more so.

Dare I quote Christian scripture warning against this kind of thing? Yeah, I dare.

Isaiah warns us of putting our ultimate trust in people rather than God:

Stop trusting in man,
who has but a breath in his nostrils.
Of what account is he?

Isaiah 2:22, NIV

What gives me more pause is the description of the consequences of this form of hubris:

The arrogance of man will be brought low
and the pride of men humbled;
the LORD alone will be exalted in that day,

and the idols will totally disappear.

Men will flee to caves in the rocks
and to holes in the ground
from dread of the LORD
and the splendor of his majesty,
when he rises to shake the earth.

In that day men will throw away
to the rodents and bats
their idols of silver and idols of gold,
which they made to worship.

They will flee to caverns in the rocks
and to the overhanging crags
from dread of the LORD
and the splendor of his majesty,
when he rises to shake the earth.

Isaiah 2:17-21, NIV

Heaven help us then…

If you’d like to watch more of this event in context, see the “official” version of it below.  While it does outline more of what they believe in regarding healthcare reform, it isn’t materially different than the above video.  Somehow I don’t think their views are what the founding fathers meant in the “Life” part of, “Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness”.