Pastor Dennis Campbell says Jews shouldn’t be offended by his Senate prayer

Ha! The founding fathers were very much aware of how horribly religion treated people – and they were aware that not all people at the founding were Christians and delibrately left specific Christian rhetoric out of it. Sunday laws that were left over from the puritans were controversial because it too closely resembled state-sanctioned religion that didn’t take into account the Jewish faith and “heathens/pagans.”

And as sickening as it sounds – Baptists like Campbell really do believe that there is some special bond between Christians and Jews that gives Christians special treatment & power. Any complaints against his Jesus rhetoric will befuddle him. It’s just a matter of time before they whip out Jews for Jesus as proof that Jews don’t mind him praying like that.

And yes – ALL prayer needs to leave the Senate floor. This self-righteous praying in public should be embarrassing for any self-respecting Christian… But they also believe that prayers have magic powers to convert . Mind control works best when people know that you are praying for them. These prayers by Baptists/evangelicals are more than just about showing how holy they are – they are almost always linked to round-a-bout proselytizing – and have NO place on the Senate floor.

Get rid of ALL Senate prayer already! Let them pray in private, with humility, between themselves and their god.

Jake McMillan was incorrect when he said, “When we are talking about religious equality we all know that when our founders referred to the term ‘religion’ they were referring to Christian denominations.” In 1790, President George Washington wrote the following words to the members of the Hebrew Congregation in Newport, RI:

“The Citizens of the United States of America have a right to applaud themselves for having given to mankind examples of an enlarged and liberal policy: a policy worthy of imitation. All possess alike liberty of conscience and immunities of citizenship It is now no more that toleration is spoken of, as if it was by the indulgence of one class of people, that another enjoyed the exercise of their inherent natural rights. For happily the Government of the United States, which gives to bigotry no sanction, to persecution no assistance requires only that they who live under its protection should demean themselves as good citizens, in giving it on all occasions their effectual support.

…. May the Children of the Stock of Abraham, who dwell in this land, continue to merit and enjoy the good will of the other Inhabitants; while every one shall sit in safety under his own vine and figtree, and there shall be none to make him afraid. May the father of all mercies scatter light and not darkness in our paths, and make us all in our several vocations useful here, and in his own due time and way everlastingly happy.”

Michael Feldberg, Ph.D.
Acting Executive Director
George Washington Institute for Religious Freedom (www.gwirf.org)

As for “taking out” Bonoff – from their point of view she has demonstrated that her heart has been hardened to Jesus’ message of salvation. She probably has made it pretty clear that she’s not going to join the Jews for Jesus club anytime soon. She might not even support the common Baptist obsession with preparing Israel for Jesus’ return before the baby boomers die off.

If she demonstrated that she is not going to play MN nice with them about Jesus talk on the Senate floor – of course they have to “eradicate her name.” She’s clearly standing in the way of their End Times wet dream.

O wait! Part of the End Times wet dreams says that Christians like Campbell, et al., will be persecuted for their beliefs! No matter what the outcome – they will have proof that they are right.

The American Taliban keep eroding the separation of church and state and they won’t be satisfied until all laws and regulations are pre-approved by The Family.

Praise Jebus, God hates religious freedom, Amen.

And according to Dean et all, the rest of us do not get object to prayers from those who have “The Truth” (tm pending). Guess the concept of freedom of religion in the first amendment is just not applicable for us heathens.

Dean, McMillan and Campbell were quite condescending to anyone who objected to Campbell’s “prayer”. Remember these guys say they are for “liberty”. Too bad their actions show that they are against it in terms of religion.

Seems like they have the attitude if you don’t like it you can just convert to Christianity and solve your problem… not exactly the American Way.

An invocation praying for wisdom is a tradition that winks at the Wall of Separation. A prayer of worship is a state endorsement of a specific religion, and as a violation of the First Amendment has no place in American government or politics.

It is the relentless abuse of the holy wink that necessitates the disestablishment of religion from our secular government. Theocracy and democracy are incompatible, we cannot have it both ways. Minor, nondenominational transgressions can have their indulgences, but orders from the Holy See – or any other foreign government or religious authority – cannot, as a matter of sovereignty, be tolerated.

What did our Founding Fathers have to say about religion?
“Question with boldness even the existence of a god.” – Thomas Jefferson (letter to Peter Carr, 10 August 1787):
“All natural institutions of churches, whether Jewish, Christian, or Turkish, appear to me no other than human inventions, set up to terrify and enslave mankind, and monopolize power and profit.” Thomas Paine, The Age of Reason;
“Religion and government will both exist in greater purity, the less they are mixed together”, John Madison.
“Lighthouses are more helpful than Churches”, Benjamin Franklin.

It’s time that we take prayer of any type out of Legislatures, Congress and the Courts. While we’re at it, eliminate the swearing in on Bibles for any public office. Those customs, while quaint, are no more valid today than slavery or denying women the right to vote.

These laws and customs arose during puritan times. The founders were mostly deists and had no use for the religions of their day. They were men of the Enlightenment, when reason and education began to turn over the superstitions that had resulted in the persecution and death of millions. Jefferson, Madison, Adams, Washington, Franklin and most of the rest of the Framers would be appalled that in this day and age, these customs have survived.

The one question I always have for these so called “Christians” so terribly offended that the state isn’t sanctioning their religion over others is, “which branch of Christianity would you have us observe or give preference to in government?” Catholics aren’t going to be happy about the Baptists beliefs or dogma and vice versa, Lutherans aren’t going to be happy to follow the Mormons beliefs, etc.

So, Christians, it’s time to get over yourselves. If you want to believe in something, please go right ahead. Just don’t force the rest of us to participate. Pray at home. Pray in your churches. Pray in your cars. Pray in your office. Pray in a closet. The rest of us don’t care, just leave us out of it.

Would some courageous attorney out there file a suit against the State of Minnesota to eliminate these prayers as Hawaii has already done? Please! Then the Legislature can focus on the work of ALL the people. We elected them to work for us, not to be our religious guides or examples. We’ve all seen how well that usually works out.

They just want to go back to a simpler time long ago, when people rode to church on dinosaurs.

Campbell offends me in every way possible, and I am not even a Jew! Sheesh.

I find Terri Bonhoffs comments about prayers being interfaith highly offensive. America is a Christian country as Israel is a Jewish nation. If Christian symbols or prayers offend her, she should move to Israel, where the Bible commands Jews to live. We are less than 2% of the population in the US and should not be dictating to the overwhelming majority on how to run their nation.

David Ben Moshe

We may share the same name but do not share your lack of knowlwdge in yoyr “FAITH”. The Holy Scriptures are a collection of writting given by G-D to his chosen people. Once you realize that fact you will come to the realization that ALL religions exact Judism are nothing more that Bastard religion growing out of the ANTI Semitic movement that began with the first “CHURCH”.

Fortunately, David we can disagree in a respectful way. While Israel was founded on religious grounds, America was not. The US Constitution protects individual rights including religion as well as protecting the minority from the whims of the majority. The Constitution does not grant recognition or privilege to the religious majority. The founders recognized the strife caused by religious governments including some of the original colonies and included protections against state sanction religion. My parents and grandparents came to America to escape the tyranny of state sanctioned religion in Russia. If they hadn’t they would have been swept up in the Holocaust. I grew up in a time when there was school prayer and I was forced to learn Christian prayers and Christmas songs. When I refused I was bullied and called “Dirty Jew.” Fortunately the Supreme Court ruled that organized school prayer violated the establishment clause.
The real point Senator Bonoff made that there was a tradition of non–denominational prayer and that was rudely violated. Pastor Campbell doe not get to tell me what does or does not offend me as a Jew. It is not “their nation ” it is our nation!

I DIDN’T READ ANY OF THE POST COMMENTS ECT.
JUST THE TITLE

A PRAYER IS A PRAYER IF YOU DON’T LIKE IT SAY ONE FOR YOUR SELF

MY FAVORITE PRAYER IS
GOD IS GOOD GOD IS GREAT THANK YOU FOR THE PAINT

ITS KINDA FUNNY BUT I NEVER SEEN FRED FLINTONE GO TO CHURCH
LIGHTEN UP FOLKS

Ha. Well, thanks for weighing in anyway, Ray.

[...] the first time this year a nonsectarian prayer has been uttered by a chaplain at the Capitol. (Dean even reacted to that dustup on his radio show; he hosted the offending minister, Pastor Dennis Campbell. Referring to State [...]