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Does prayer get in the way of progress?
The S&P downgraded America’s credit rating, the country remains engaged in two wars, millions are unemployed and approval ratings for Congress are at historic lows. It was against this backdrop that Texas Governor Rick Perry held The Response, a prayer event in which he prayed for the economy, among other areas of “darkness” in America. In a critique of the revival, Frank Bruni wrote in his New York Times column that when it comes to fixing out country’s problems, “faith and prayer just won’t cut it. In fact, they’ll get in the way.” Is Bruni right?
God save America?
In a world obsessed with materialism, greed and political power, God has become a commodity - a brand - and every one wants to exploit God for their own personal gains
Rick Perry and the scandal of prayer
There is no magic friend. There is only us. We are not perfect, we are not all-powerful, we are not infallible; but we are all we have.
Prayer is for the petitioner
The Hebrew verb for praying, l ’hitpalel, is reflexive. It means to judge yourself. That is not accidental. When we Jews pray, we ask not for divine intervention -- as nice as that would be! -- but for wisdom and inspiration.
A history of spiritual petitions
Since the founding of the U.S., America’s leaders have called for days of prayer and thanksgiving.
Washington, Lincoln’s prayers for America
Far from considering that prayer would “get in the way,” Washington considered it “the way” to help grow a prosperous new country.
Prayer without work
The fact that some people recommend prayer seems to be a very sensible thing to do, especially as the economic disaster was not a result of supernatural powers but a combination of human greed and stupidity.
Prayer and magical thinking
How do we know the difference between magical thinking and real prayer?
Gov. Rick Perry and Frank Bruni are co-dependent
Rick Perry and his allies mobilize not only around faith, but around the felt feeling of millions that their faith is seen as unimportant or even backward. Frank Bruni’s approach to faith and prayer fuels that fire and provides ammunition to precisely those people about whom Bruni claims to be concerned.
Reason vs. religion? The same old false choice
Loving God with all one’s mind means never abandoning reason, never jettisoning science. It also means never getting sidetracked with false choices in the pursuit of a just society.
How prayer ‘works’
You may have heard of people being “so heavenly minded they’re of no earthly good.” The problem with that notion is, as one of my seminary professors sagely pointed out, very few people are like that.
Why Christians pray
The prayers of the people of Texas were for individuals in America to voluntarily turn their hearts to God and their personal behavior to the good.
Human solutions for human problems
Our secular government must be governed by secular principles.
The Babel about prayer
The crucial point is the most obvious one: prayer can and does mean different things in different contexts. Whether it is a help or hindrance depends not just on reaching a verdict regarding the vertical dimensions of prayer as communion with God but also on appreciating the horizontal dynamics of prayer as a communion of people.
Reason vs. religion? The same old false choice
Loving God with all one’s mind means never abandoning reason, never jettisoning science. It also means never getting sidetracked with false choices in the pursuit of a just society.
Human solutions for human problems
Our secular government must be governed by secular principles.
A private prayer
Prayer at its best is about an inward movement toward aligning our best intentions with what we understand to be G-d’s will.
Maimonides prescribed prayer and action
Prayer is good. Prayer with action is better. To say it will “get in the way” misunderstands prayer and misunderstands those who pray.
The Response and the power of faithful prayer
Yes, we believe in divine intervention but we also believe that we have a responsibility to utilize every opportunity the American system of government offers its citizens, particularly the robust political rights.
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