{"id":3861,"date":"2016-05-06T12:30:17","date_gmt":"2016-05-06T17:30:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/skepticink.com\/backgroundprobability\/?p=3861"},"modified":"2016-05-06T14:07:50","modified_gmt":"2016-05-06T19:07:50","slug":"national-day-prayer-recap","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/skepticink.com\/backgroundprobability\/2016\/05\/06\/national-day-prayer-recap\/","title":{"rendered":"Interfaith Day of Reflection Recap"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Yesterday was the National Day of Prayer,\u00a0which is (unofficially) an\u00a0annual\u00a0celebration of trolling true believers on the internet.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">The best thing about <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/NationalDayofPrayer?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#NationalDayofPrayer<\/a> is that poverty, hunger and war, are now a thing of the past.  Thanks, prayers, you did it.<\/p>\n<p>&mdash; A_T (@Atheist_Tweeter) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Atheist_Tweeter\/status\/728323955451269122?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">May 5, 2016<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>https:\/\/twitter.com\/BettyBowers\/status\/728300128851873792<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Happy <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/NationalDayofPrayer?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#NationalDayofPrayer<\/a>! Your prayers will be ignored in the order they&#39;re received. <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/NothingFailsLikePrayer?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#NothingFailsLikePrayer<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; God (@almightygod) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/almightygod\/status\/728263957501202432?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">May 5, 2016<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>Not everyone was so lighthearted. Some secular organizations were quite stern and straightforward in their messaging.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">It&#39;s time to end the <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/NationalDayofPrayer?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#NationalDayofPrayer<\/a>. That sort of exclusionary divisiveness has no place in our government. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/md4gWAVMCB\">pic.twitter.com\/md4gWAVMCB<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; American Atheists (@AmericanAtheist) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/AmericanAtheist\/status\/728297274585980928?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">May 5, 2016<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Today is the <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/NationalDayofPrayer?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#NationalDayofPrayer<\/a>. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/MxEEmu9PFk\">pic.twitter.com\/MxEEmu9PFk<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; FFRF (@FFRF) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/FFRF\/status\/728241026234613760?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">May 5, 2016<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Blog: <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/NationalDayofPrayer?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#NationalDayofPrayer<\/a> is inherently sectarian. It doesn&#39;t represent all Americans. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/Tj1ITmT3oJ\">https:\/\/t.co\/Tj1ITmT3oJ<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/jrsD85z1lF\">pic.twitter.com\/jrsD85z1lF<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Americans United (@americansunited) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/americansunited\/status\/728251940908445696?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">May 5, 2016<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>My own atheist group took a somewhat different tack, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/OklahomaAtheists\/photos\/a.232211880201632.52501.228811973874956\/1009926845763461\/?type=3\">attending an interfaith event<\/a> at a local Baptist Church.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_3862\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-3862\" style=\"width: 500px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/skepticink.com\/backgroundprobability\/files\/2016\/05\/20160505_201058-1.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-3862\" src=\"https:\/\/skepticink.com\/backgroundprobability\/files\/2016\/05\/20160505_201058-1-1024x898.jpg\" alt=\"20160505_201058-1\" width=\"500\" height=\"438\" srcset=\"https:\/\/skepticink.com\/backgroundprobability\/files\/2016\/05\/20160505_201058-1-1024x898.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/skepticink.com\/backgroundprobability\/files\/2016\/05\/20160505_201058-1-300x263.jpg 300w, https:\/\/skepticink.com\/backgroundprobability\/files\/2016\/05\/20160505_201058-1-768x673.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-3862\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Oklahoma Atheists&#8217; Outreach Chair drops some old school secularism on the gathered assembly (click to embiggen)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>I must admit certain misgivings about stepping foot in a church, but these were quickly alleviated as I got to visit with a few old friends, including half of the plaintiffs from our\u00a0state&#8217;s\u00a0infamous <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Prescott_v._Oklahoma_Capitol_Preservation_Commission\" target=\"_blank\">Ten Commandments case<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>The event itself was structured in a way which I consider worthy of emulation and repetition. The attendees were divided into several small groups, each of which had several people designated to represent for their respective faith communities. In my particular small group we had a Hindu fellow, a Jewish woman, a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cairoklahoma.com\/profile?id=5082d017b79921175300001c\">Muslim activist<\/a>, a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.aclu.org\/blog\/speak-freely\/im-christian-minister-and-heres-why-i-opposed-oklahomas-official-ten-commandments\">Christian minister<\/a>, an outspoken atheist (not me), and a Unitarian Universalist who seemed uniquely unfazed by the amount of religious diversity in the room. Each of the designated participants took turns explaining a bit about their faith (or lack thereof) with particular emphasis on misconceptions widely held by those outside the community.<\/p>\n<p>The small group breakout session was followed by the annual bell-ringing ceremony, in which representatives of a dozen faith communities each took turns reading a passage of vital importance to them, typically along the lines of ecumenism. Our own representative chose a salient passage from James Madison&#8217;s <a href=\"http:\/\/press-pubs.uchicago.edu\/founders\/documents\/amendI_religions43.html\">Memorial and Remonstrance Against Religious Assessments<\/a>:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>What influence in fact have ecclesiastical establishments had on Civil Society? In some instances they have been seen to erect a spiritual tyranny on the ruins of the Civil authority; in many instances they have been seen upholding the thrones of political tyranny: in no instance have they been seen the guardians of the liberties of the people. Rulers who wished to subvert the public liberty, may have found an established Clergy convenient auxiliaries. A just Government instituted to secure &amp; perpetuate it needs them not.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Of all the readings, this one\u00a0most directly addressed why an interfaith group had gathered together on a particular day\u2014one well known for vulgar displays of exclusivist\u00a0religious\u00a0majoritarianism\u2014in order to push back with openness, tolerance, and religious pluralism. At no point were any prayers uttered aloud.<\/p>\n<p>As is traditional in posts about the National Day of Prayer, I&#8217;m going to give the last word to Jesus of Nazareth, who had some particularly pointed words for those who love to engage in virtue signaling by praying in public:<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone\" src=\"https:\/\/scontent-dfw1-1.xx.fbcdn.net\/v\/t1.0-9\/532691_435252243161002_446060500_n.jpg?oh=bd3f86ee1818d7df2a91a685f553e5e9&amp;oe=579DFA84\" width=\"750\" height=\"574\" \/><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Yesterday was the National Day of Prayer,\u00a0which is (unofficially) an\u00a0annual\u00a0celebration of trolling true believers on the internet. The best thing&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":23,"featured_media":3862,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[44,11],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3861","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-atheism","category-movement"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/skepticink.com\/backgroundprobability\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3861","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/skepticink.com\/backgroundprobability\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/skepticink.com\/backgroundprobability\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/skepticink.com\/backgroundprobability\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/23"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/skepticink.com\/backgroundprobability\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3861"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/skepticink.com\/backgroundprobability\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3861\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/skepticink.com\/backgroundprobability\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3862"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/skepticink.com\/backgroundprobability\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3861"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/skepticink.com\/backgroundprobability\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3861"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/skepticink.com\/backgroundprobability\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3861"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}