Matthew 6:5-6—And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.
6: But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly”
The prayers they offered yesterday are even more useless than normal. The religious right is simply posturing and openly making asses of themselves—dragging America out as laughing stocks of the world.
TheCommonAtheist 
You are a Christian nation 😀. Just find a Church Jim
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I would be happy to introduce Kikuyu to my Christian friends. Although I can already see the rebuttals brewing.
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Many churchs can be found in my state – at least that’s what it says on the sign out front.
What you find inside (however) …well, I’ll leave ‘that’ to your ***imagination***
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I would like to see these Christians cry oppression when the Muslim kids start rolling out their prayer rugs.
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This would be interesting to watch
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True Christians™😀
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As an ardent non-follower of the News, what did I miss?
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Everything my friend.
Trump is the second coming
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what was the occasion?
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Trump rally at an evangelical church where he promised to put prayer back in schools. The benediction was nauseating. A must see prayer
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https://jimoeba.wordpress.com/2020/01/03/prayer-in-schools/comment-page-1/#comment-23867 Mary posted this link. Let me know if you have trouble with it
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Hilarious! That there are people that believe this garbage is even more so.
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It would be a good time for them all to think this prayer in schools thing through to the next level. Another Christians “oops” of unintended consequences is on the horizon. Wouldn’t you just love a chance to stroke Trumps arm while you pray for him?
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And the oldest warning/predication of this was Barry Goldwater, circa 1964. There may have been others. I understand a political stance based upon religious beliefs and scripture. I be flummoxed by a religion based upon political/power/wealth ideology. Seems backwards. But that’s what we got. I suppose it has always been that way.
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Using our natural yearnings and connections to play the masses. I think we can do better, but most of the world thinks they’ve “arrived” by simply believing in something calculated to restrain them into self slavery.
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This is what Goldwater said…
“Mark my word, if and when these preachers get control of the [Republican] party, and they’re sure trying to do so, it’s going to be a terrible damn problem. Frankly, these people frighten me. Politics and governing demand compromise. But these Christians believe they are acting in the name of God, so they can’t and won’t compromise. I know, I’ve tried to deal with them.”
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And he was a Republican
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Obedience is no comparison to ethical living. MAGA? For who?Certainly not justice for all.
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Indeed. I would say ‘spot on, Senator.’
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I read the Right Wing Watch (https://www.rightwingwatch.org/) run by The People for the American Way which keeps an eye on how some of these religions (along with other craziness) have linked themselves to Trump so this kind of thing doesn’t surprise me. Nor does that very scary video clip that Mary provided surprise me. The religious sects that the GOP has inked itself to are downright frightening. The last batch of Republican presidential candidates were appearing on stages with preachers who openly called for the execution of homosexuals and transgender people, women’s health care providers, the imprisonment or execution of nonbelievers… It was frightening. I saw video of Ted Cruz on a stage, grinning and gorming and shaking hands with a pastor who, the week before, had called for the execution of gay men and there was Teddy boy trying to get money from this guy and his congregation.
They babble about surrounding Trump with “prayer warriors” who will protect him from evil spells being cast by demonic Democrats. Some of these loonies literally believe that Hillary and Obama are possessed by baby eating demons. I ran across one rabid Trump backer podcaster who claims he has ‘direct access’ to the oval office, who was interviewing someone who claimed he had evidence that the Democrats were using NASA to ship kidnapped children to hidden camps on Mars.
Trump and his cronies aren’t just surrounded by grifters and con artists and scammers. A lot of the people he and his staff are talking to are legitimately, totally, batsh*t crazy.
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It’s amazing what comes out of their mouths when they feel politically supported and connected. Trump may not be the source, but he certainly has enabled/emboldened the crazies to be themselves. Imagine what they are like in their private meetings, since this (as you described) is what we see in the open air?
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Good entry and good stuff, Jim. It obviously elicited some excellent responses and feedback from your readers.
Thanks, hope you enjoyed the holidays with the fam, etc.!
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Thank you and all the best as well. Always enjoy your comments.
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Boy, howdy, Jim. You nailed it.
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It was quite a production. All that prayer prep and cameras just right, lighting, smile everybody, smile. The Pharisees are alive and well, disgusting.
Boy howdy, Jim—are we getting that old? Hahaha
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Trump and his evangelical swarm want prayer back in schools? Prayer for what? That another American kid doesn’t walk in with an automatic weapon and shoot them?
Oh, the unbounded hypocrisy of it all.
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Makes for easier targets I suppose. They will then cry oppression when the Muslim kids roll out their prayer rugs five times a day. And what if there is a Muslim or Wiccan teacher? This whole ordeal is a staging for votes from the crazy section.
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Jim, here is the perfect show of Republican politics here in Wild Wild West Texas from the Dallas Morning News. Headline reads: Republicans praise gun laws they say thwarted church shooter; Democrats again call for gun control
https://www.dallasnews.com/news/politics/2019/12/30/republicans-praise-gun-laws-they-say-thwarted-church-shooter-democrats-again-call-for-gun-control/
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This may not open…sometimes The Guardian doesn’t, but Nan on Nan’s Notebook posted it yesterday.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/jan/03/trump-florida-evangelical-rally-king-jesus
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Robert Heinlein wrote:
“Almost any sect, cult, or religion will legislate its creed into law if it acquires the political power to do so.”
The great American philosopher, Eric Hoffer wrote:
“The impression somehow prevails that the true believer, particularly the religious individual, is a humble person. The truth is the surrendering and humbling of the self breed pride and arrogance. The true believer is apt to see himself as one of the chosen, the salt of the earth, the light of the world, a prince disguised in meekness, who is destined to inherit the earth and the kingdom of heaven too. He who is not of his faith is evil; he who will not listen will perish.”
That is why they, the religious true believers of any faith are capable of such great evil, and why such people can murder innocents in the most brutal manner simply because they do not believe correctly. In fact today, when I see the words and actions of these supposed Conservative Christians, [this is what becomes evident.] all from Padre Steve’s blog.
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That quote by Hoffer is a gem—and so true. I’ve been trying somehow to combine faith and pride as a singularly for some time now. This nails it!
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This was an attempt I made a while back, but failed to hit the Hoffer Bullseye. https://jimoeba.wordpress.com/2019/04/07/faith-or-pride-why-not-both/
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I thought this was very good.
Here are some quotes if the link works correctly that might be of interest to you.
https://www.azquotes.com/quotes/topics/pride-and-arrogance.html
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I meant your post was very good
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I like this quote by Mooji— In the land of “I know,” there is always competitiveness, jealousy, pretence, pride and arrogance. It is an aggressive realm – the realm of the ego. I say refuse citizenship.
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Here is a good quote too, Jim
In the land of “I know,” there is always competitiveness, jealousy, pretence, pride and arrogance. It is an aggressive realm – the realm of the ego. I say refuse citizenship. In the land of “I dont know,” the inhabitants move without conflict and are naturally quiet, happy and peaceful. The wise stay here.
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Love it.
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The Crazy Christian Con Men (and ladies!) have little time left in order to realize how Trump has used them and exposed them as the fanatical hypocrites and grifters they really are; con men out for power and money, nothing else. They are now virtually bare-ass for all the country – and the world – to see as the complete phonies they are, along with their ridiculous snake oil mythology they’ve been selling to the less fortunate for the last 2000 years. They stand next to the Comrade and make believe he’s the virtuous one and everyone else are the minions of the Evil One. History has myriad examples of the Christians ponying up with anyone and everyone in power in order to seize and maintain power. Unfortunately for Less-Than-Holy-Rollers it’s been some time since they’ve held sway here in the US and so they must try and strike while the Antichrist is in office and exploit him for whatever power they can try and extort.
With any luck, Americans will finally catch on to the hypocrisy and totally unscrupulous nature of religion & power and how their specious faith brings nothing to the equation of solving our country’s – or our planet’s – problems, today or any other day. Amen!
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This is worth repeating rapar—“ History has myriad examples of the Christians ponying up with anyone and everyone in power in order to seize and maintain power. Many, many clerics endorsed Hitler as doing gods work. On the side of power for the sake of the same.
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most Christians have no idea what is in their bible. But they are certainly desperate for the external validation they get when they are loud hypocrites.
Cultists who want to pretend that they are special. Nothing more.
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The kind of faux humility that Jesus promotes in verses like that is much worse than praying out in the open so that others may see. “Look at me, I pray and fast in secret so the god will surely care more about my prayers than those OTHER people’s.” It is just a way to get high on a sense of self righteousness, which is much more dangerous than getting a kick out of looking good in front of others every now and then. And in a group, people compete in a contest of this kind of faux humility, I have seen so much of that before among Christians. Besides, in many other places Jesus demands that his followers be busybodies that never stop trumpeting Christianity.
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Quote: “dragging America out as laughing stocks of the world. ” I wouldn’t waste much time over that, “America” has had plenty of practice making itself the hated and laughingstock of the world. The A-holes standing with Trump are experts at practicing self delusion. They stood with Johnson, the stood with Nixon, they stood with Reagan, they stood with Bush while the blood of innocents world wide flowed and that tap has never been turned off. Thanks to America the Middle East and parts of Africa have been transformed into rivers of blood. “Our thoughts and prayers are with our drones and our mercenary boots on the ground… amen.”
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Did you happen to see the prayer? Trump grinning while the chimps were stroking him and praying? It looked like baboons picking the ticks off their alpha—and he was just a grinnin’
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Oh, hey, priceless comment… that image of the baboons picking ticks… But where is this all going? Time to watch “V for Vendetta” again…
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I read V is for vendetta. Read quite a few in the series. Pretty cool.
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Were you trying to make me puke, Jim? “Thank God” I hadn’t had my lunch yet… 😜
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Haha. You’re welcome. Isn’t that something? Wow!
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Of course he smiled! They were “praising god” for HIM! Anytime someone strokes his ego, he can’t help himself. He just “glows” … I’m sure his inner thoughts were something like this … “Yes! They recognize my great qualities … and that I can do anything … and how bigly smart I am … and … and … “
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I was thinking that he was thinking this is really unbelievable how gullibly stupid these people are. They fall for anything with the right words attached to it. I’m no Christian, Hell, but here I am, god of the land. Really, suckers, all of them.
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“When I was a kid I used to pray every night for a new bicycle. Then I realised that the Lord doesn’t work that way so I stole one and asked Him to forgive me.” ~Emo Philips
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I have a lot to say about third party forgiveness without the consent of the offended, but I think you already know that one.
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Sure. But pragmatists realize that asking for forgiveness is more expedient than asking for permission. And expressing remorse (especially when it invokes appeals to deities) facilitates your chances of getting an early parole — does it not?
In any case, your post on ostentatious prayer presented me with the perfect opportunity to share one of my favorite jokes and I took full advantage of it — mea culpa! 🙂
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Nice work Ron, as usual. It was funny, and realistic
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