I will be careful not to be especially Christian in my prayer…

Just another day in the office?

O Cosmic Thingy which is greater than the sum of ourselves, (so mind-blowingly great that you couldn’t possibly imagine just how great in a million years–no, really!) let us all learn to get along. Give us lots of money so we can buy whatever we want. Make us perfect in health so we can take all manner of health risks. Remind us daily that we can do whatever we please (short of being violent to another person, animal or plant) because you have made us to desire that which we can imagine and we know you wouldn’t have us desire something that’s bad for us, would you?

In the name of the Thingy which has no name and many names, if it’s OK with the pantheists to mention there being but one Thingy, amen.

I prefer the term Vague Ambiguous Deity Concept, Antique, but I see you working.

This is offensive to me.

How can a bishop try to be anything other than what he is?

I am an Army chaplain. I refuse to pray other than in my own tradition. I am endorsed by my bishop to represent him on active duty. If people do not want to hear a prayer offered by a Christian, then either replace me or get over it.

Of course, I always make it clear to people that I am praying in my own tradition and that I invite others to join me – but I refuse to compromise on this issue.

That Vickie Gene is so willing to lay down his spiritual heritage tells me alot about how much he values it and his responsibility to represent it in public.

Shameful. Absolutely shameful.

-Jim+

Was he ‘invited’ by Obama or did TEC/Integrity cook up this ‘inaugural event’ to showcase their shining showpiece?

Oh puleeze….just wake me up in four years?

Oh, yes, he was invited by Obama.

It’s probably better that he not try to say anything Christian. He’d mess it up.

“I will be careful not to be especially Christian in my prayer…”

This will require “care” on his part? Do tell.

As Curly Howard was “careful” not to be especially high-brow when delivering a “Nyuk, nyuk, nyuk.”

I can see Archie Bunker in his easy chair with a blank stare as the cigar falls from his mouth… as Edith ascends the pulpit…

And actually, from Edith, you’d get a very sweet and loving, Christian message, though…she wouldn’t be able to tell you why…..

“I will be careful not to be especially Christian in my prayer”

That’s the SOP at University commencements as well – the “chaplains” almost universally give a speech that mentions in passing a “Creator Spirit” or something that sounds like a fake Native American concept (i.e non-Christian Indians don’t actually worship what liberal whites think they worship). I’ve seen chaplains removed for mentioning Jesus Christ at a commencement. It’s the liberal way.

Agreed, Katherine. Were he to mention Christ, it would be an interfaith prayer, wouldn’t it?

Kozaburo, I would LOVE to have someone fire me for practising my faith as a chaplain. Hope they have good lawyers, because they will need them.

-Jim+

If a conservative traditional bishop such as +Cox, +Schofield, +Iker, etc… had said this they would be brought up on charges and defrocked by the HOB & KJS!

To Whitestone’s question, I’ll pose another: When Gene was interviewed on the heels of the Warren announcement, didn’t he whine about not being chosen? I vaguely recall that he did.

So the Obama team have cooked up a “pre-inauguration” event that Bishop Robinson can preside over, in order to keep their GLBT voters happy.

It’s not the main inauguration, he won’t be sharing the podium with Rick Warren, and the President Elect and Vice President Elect will only be dropping in to say a few carefully chosen platitudes – but it keeps Gene happy, it keeps the GLBTs happy, and we get to make jokes about it.

One thing I have always said about Mr. Obama, he knows practical politics inside-out, upside-down, and back to front. I just can’t wait to see what Gene’s actual speech/invocation/vaguely-prayer-type-but-not-in-an-offensively-religious-way-thingy will be

I admit it, I was curious as to who else would be appearing at this shindig, so I Googled and it appears that the Lincoln Memorial function is being held on the 18th, two days before the actual inauguration, and there will be a lot of singing and dancing and actors reading out bits of historical texts:

“Musical performers scheduled for the event include Beyonce, Mary J. Blige, Bono, Garth Brooks, Sheryl Crow, Renee Fleming, Josh Groban, Herbie Hancock, Heather Headley, John Legend, Jennifer Nettles, John Mellencamp, Usher Raymond IV, Shakira, Bruce Springsteen, James Taylor, will.i.am, and Stevie Wonder. Among those reading historical passages will be Jamie Foxx, Martin Luther King III, Queen Latifah and Denzel Washington. The Rt. Reverend V. Gene Robinson will give the invocation. Rob Mathes will be the music director and arranger for the backing band, which will support all of the artists. Additional performers will be announced as they are confirmed.”

Basically, it looks like a big free concert, but if it keeps the Simple Country Bishop happy, who am I to mock and jeer?

That Renée Fleming cares to appear in this SCANDAL truly lowers my esteem for her considerably, to say the least!!! The same applies to Martin Luther King’s grandson.

Otherwise, all this proves Mr. VGR is a complete TRAITOR in ALL events to his “faith”, his “calling”, his “office” and his supposed Saviour – whom he has blasphemed repeatedly and is continuing to do just as much as a cow gives milk!!! He’s almost certainly among the damned (likely he has also blasphemed the Holy Ghost!!) and one will wish to see how he’ll respond come the Last Judgement at that instant before he’s thrown into the Lake of Fire!!…

Sounds like Gene should just break out Zelazny’s Agnostic’s Prayer:

Insofar as I may be heard by anything, which may or may not care what I say, I ask, if it matters, that you be forgiven for anything you may have done or failed to do which requires forgiveness. Conversely, if not forgiveness but something else may be required to insure any possible benefit for which you may be eligible after the destruction of your body, I ask that this, whatever it may be, be granted or withheld, as the case may be, in such a manner as to insure your receiving said benefit. I ask this in my capacity as your elected intermediary between yourself and that which may not be yourself, but which may have an interest in the matter of your receiving as much as it is possible for you to receive of this thing, and which may in some way be influenced by this ceremony. Amen.

I affirm you Fr. McNeely,

Last November 11th we watched the Canadian national Remembrance Day services from Ottawa. When it came time for the Chaplain’s prayer, I expected the usual generic stuff but instead it was a faithful prayer, and the chaplain ended it by saying “I invite you all to pray according to your faith, as I pray in the name of my Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.” It was awesome; it was inspirational.

Excellent contributions, while we’re at it, from Fr. McNeely, Zach Frey and Fuinseoig, all of which I support! [Sorry yours truly missed it in his earlier post here...]

would LOVE to have someone fire me for practising my faith as a chaplain. Hope they have good lawyers, because they will need them.

Unfortunately, at least in the Commonwealth of Virginia, the courts have sided with the secularists…

That’s okay, Sasha. Given that Bishop Robinson has carefully neglected to mention anything about the actual event and is just bigging up his participation, you can’t really be blamed for getting the wrong end of the stick. I don’t think Ms. Fleming knows much about Bishop Robinson one way or the other

I imagine he’ll be on at the very start, while people are still arriving in and the stagehands are setting up; after he says the few words of Carefully Generic Blandness, then the real entertainment will begin.

I wonder if he’ll wear the rainbow shoes? This seems like a perfect event to break them out for again

What can I add to what has been said except…Father, In Jesus name, I ask You to forgive me, for letting my corner of the world, get this unlike, what You intended it to be. Help me not to grow weary!

Now, aren’t we all full well seeing abundant evidence that Mr. Obama fully intends to steer the ship of state hard aport? Hope the helm doesn’t answer!

. . . Josh Groban, . . darn! That’s too bad. He just went down in a notch or two in my CD collection.

When I first read of this (headlines from another blog) I thought it was a joke. Alas, no.

Obama caved in to pressure from Gay activists on this. But notice that the press release came from Vicky Gene’s office in New Hampshire, not from the Obama people.

I wonder what Rick Warren will do now?

It is ever important to know where one’s line is drawn.

No, it’s in California, NOT Virginia, where the “secularist” Commies have won!! [Is DavePawlak one of the "Piskie" stoolies?]

Indeed, I rejoice that in Virginia the breakaway Christians have won so far – may they win all the way!!! The “Piskie” Antichrists have killed Christianity in their “denomination” all right – EOUSA is now truly a Satanic Synagogue!!!!

It could be worse.

He could be praying to Obama.

How can a bishop try to be anything other than what he is?

Fr. McNeely, this bishop is being precisely what he is. Let’s not forget that he has said he has nothing to do with Rick Warren’s god.

Chris: I used the sentence that has jumped out at most of the folks here as my quote of the day, and one of my readers just pointed out that AP has changed the article without any indication that it has been changed. They’ve eliminated both the items you highlight in red. Nothing like burying the evidence, eh?

So a big lefty gathering to appease the hardcore lefties that supported Obama. I agree, Obama is a master politician.

David,

Thanks. Here’s The Living Church story:

http://www.livingchurch.org/news/news-updates/2009/1/12/bishop-robinson-plans-not-especially-christian-prayer-for-inaugural-event

FW Ken,

Valid point! Silly me to expect people with mitres and shepherds crooks to behave like Christians…

Guilty as charged…

-Jim+

JanJan, I agree — wake me up in four years!

Thanks, Chris. I’ve also put both the Living Church article and the NY Times item on my site, just for multiple sources, since the AP believes in sanitizing its interview subjects.

Thanks, Fuinseoig!! I sure hope that Mme. Fleming is NOT helping out with her share in this ABOMINATION without being paid a very HEFTY fee!!!! [She's supposed to be straight, married and with children...] Otherwise, I will truly look down on her not a little…

[A friend of mine who was just as good a classical singer in her day as Mme. Fleming nowadays is, the daughter of a Lutheran minister who had his head and theology right, would not do such a thing just like that - she truly abominates what's happening in today's "liberal church circles" almost as much as me - and it's she who helped in my waking up to this time of Antichrist 17 years ago!!!...]

Great “prayer,” Zach. The sad thing is it’s not too different in fact from the actual liberal “Christian” prayer, except theirs is couched in more Christian-sounding terms.

Rick Warren doesn’t need to do anything, Alice. He’s going to give the invocation at the actual inauguration. I hope he’ll use something like the line quoted by Michael D above, “I invite you all to pray according to your faith, as I pray in the name of my Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.” Franklin Graham used something similar at the first Bush inauguration.

I don’t look at this thing Sunday as anything other than a party. Gene should be embarrassed to be there with Mr. Lincoln — but he gets to be there with all the way cool bands and all the lefties swooning. He has no higher aspirations, one gathers.

Too bad Mahalia Jackson is no longer with us. I would love to see the organizers of an event such as this ask her to sing something “not especially Christian.”

Things fall apart.
The center cannot hold.

That’s my reaction to all this silliness.

Cheers!

[Is DavePawlak one of the "Piskie" stoolies?]

Good heavens, no! Catholic, traditional, and conservative.

Here’s from the Creative Minority Report:

Chaplains for the State of Virginia are being denied their right to pray in Jesus’ name. Six chaplains were fired for continuing to pray in Jesus’ name. Earlier this year in Virginia, Rev. Hashmel Turner, a city councilman in Fredericksburg, was told by the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that his prayers during city council meetings that ended in Jesus’ name will continue to be banned.

VickyGene said: ““While that is a holy and sacred text to me[Except for the stupid and bigoted parts - Ed], it is not for many Americans,” Robinson said.”

Actually, if he wanted to be correct (and I’m sure that he doesn’t) he should have said “…it is not for SOME Americans…” Even more precise would have been “…a FEW Americans…” Poll after poll shows the overwhelming majority of Americans view the Bible as the Word of God.

OK, Mr. Pawlak, so you’re talking about something else (and then you win on what you’re talking about)! Still, at least Virginia has refused to take away the 12 dissident Anglican congregations’ churches and hand them back to the Devil’s Synagogue (which California has half-done already and likely will do all the way!).

[I can empathise with the Doukhobors about destroying property instead of letting it fall into enemy hands - it's using the Devil's own tactics against himself... However, I'd like it even better if the congregations could steal and hide all they could from such affected places to bring back later (as Russian dissidents did when the Commies, for example, destroyed the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour in Moskvá {Moscow} - the items came back when the building was rebuilt in the 1990s...).]

Chris, you got it. I’m about to post on this, and I’m wondering how the hell do I satirize or comment on this?

I think these people honestly don’t know how silly they look. And that makes them go beyond satire. Amazing.

‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind…You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ ‘On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.’

I can empathise with the Doukhobors about destroying property instead of letting it fall into enemy hands – it’s using the Devil’s own tactics against himself…

I like their protest tactic of taking their clothes off…enough to scare anyone into compliance…

Rarely in life does God offer us such an opportunity to give him the praise, honor and glory. This was the quintessential moment for the bishop to speak about Christianity. How can one be a true professing Christian, knowing the key to salvation is through Jesus Christ and not then take the opportunity to give words that can lead to the salvation of those who would hear them?

Do you understand what I am saying, how…how can you have an understanding of salvation and refuse to share that. We are called to share the good news with everyone. You can do that without being offensive but we don’t worry about offending people by sharing the truth.