Today is the National Day of Prayer, and here in Oklahoma City we will be having various events all across the metro.
Some of these events are harmless private affairs, such as those being held at First Baptist Church of Mustang and Chapel Hill United Methodist Church in OKC. I have no objection whatsoever to these events. If people want to gather together to affirm their faith in their house of worship, and pretend to each other that prayer really makes a positive difference in the world, that neither picks my pocket nor breaks my leg. It’s not as if they are going to cancel their medical coverage in favor of faith-healing, sell all their possessions, or act in any other way as if the Creator of the Universe is really looking out for them.
The Christians-only worship service inside the State Capitol, however, now that is another matter entirely. What part of “No public money or property shall ever be appropriated, applied, donated, or used, directly or indirectly, for the use, benefit, or support of any sect, church, denomination, or system of religion” is so damned hard to understand? Yeah, it’s a bit tricky to parse, but it’s right in the State Constitution, and always has been. State government leaders standing up preach and endorse an exlusively Christian message to the assembled throng does absolutely nothing for the government, but it does support exactly one system of religion.
You probably think I’m exaggerating. There is no way that they would actually put on a government-sponsored worship service smack in the center of an American State Capitol, complete with government officials preaching sermons. Surely, even the Great State of Oklahoma wouldn’t go that far. Well you can see for yourself, in this little guerilla film from last year’s prayer service (thanks to Brian Collins for shooting and editing):
