Jesus has been mentioned at Inaugurations for a long time (FDR, JFK, Carter, Reagan, Clinton, W)

[theboss]

As my grandfather always said, when in doubt...ask a Jew.

Here is a story from the Jewish News Weekly a few years ago.


http://www.jewishsf.com/content/2-0-/module/displaystory/story_id/15357/edition_id/299/format/html/displaystory.html

Consider the following, all of which have been cited in the Congressional Record:

*During the second Clinton inauguration in 1997, an invocation was given in the name of "Father and God" and ended invoking "the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit."

*Jan. 20, 1993, the prayer for President Clinton and Vice President Al Gore included "in the name of the One who was called Wonderful Counselor, the mighty God, the everlasting Father and the Prince of Peace."

*On Jan. 20, 1989, the prayer for President Bush mentioned "in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit."

*At the first inauguration of President Reagan in 1981, the prayer called on the "Lord of lords and King of kings, even Jesus Christ" to help us "stand proudly as American citizens."

*At the 1977 inauguration of Jimmy Carter, the prayer stated we "build a nation here on Earth that in its manner of life anticipates Thine everlasting kingdom in heaven... in the name of Jesus Christ, Thy Son and our Savior."

*At the 1961 inauguration of John F. Kennedy, two religious leaders recited "In the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost. Amen."

*And in 1937, a minister called on God to "bless abundantly our Chief Magistrate," Franklin Delano Roosevelt, "through Christ, our Lord."

[stopbush]

1. One can hope that we grow up some day and stop with this

childish tradition.

We're better than this.

[theboss]

2. I guess...I'm pretty strict on separation of church and state...

But symbolism or symbolic moments really doesn't bother me.

[stopbush]

3. Perhaps we should make a symbolic bow to witch doctors for

Teddy recovering from his incident today?

BTW - I don't particularly care for religious symbols. Sad that we still need to scrape before such fantasies as if they were realities. I'd have no problem if we acknowledged them as the fantasies they are, but we don't.

[theboss]

4. Whatever. I think Jesus is going to be too busy with the Super Bowl to worry about any of this

Warner clearly has the Jesus edge, but Roethlisberger was sucking up hard.

[stopbush]

5. Ha! Jesus is listening to Obama and getting busy with the

important shit.

[Arugula Latte]

6. It's B.S. on so many levels --

one of them being the assumption that OF COURSE this all-knowing, all-powerful invisible deity is MALE. :eyes:

[anonymous171]

7. I think it's all about the PE's personal preference.

[OPERATIONMINDCRIME]

8. Feigned Outrage As Always.

The invocation is about the PE and the PE's religious faith; not ours. Some people need to get over themselves.

[PurityOfEssence]

9. Way too much God: just a few mentions, but VERY significant ones.

Invocations seem unavoidable, but the creeping theology in Obama's speech is his doing alone.

"This is the source of our confidence: the knowledge that God calls on us to shape an uncertain destiny."

You're not part of that "us". Don't forget it. Yours may get a mention after a list of beliefs in this country, but you are NOT part of the fully vested citizenry. You do not have this knowledge. No greater force compels you on, and hence you just don't belong.

Earlier on, we got this:

"The time has come to reaffirm our enduring spirit; to choose our better history; to carry forward that precious gift, that noble idea, passed on from generation to generation: the God-given promise that all are equal, all are free, and all deserve a chance to pursue their full measure of happiness."

Man is scum. All the goodness that has ever flowed comes from this entity, and individual humans-- ESPECIALLY non-believing ones--had nothing to do with securing safety and fairness in life. There is NO FAIRNESS AND GOODNESS WITHOUT GOD, and don't you forget it.

Although there wasn't that much Godstuff overall, it was at critical and significant junctures, and it ended with a holy reminder that we are united in this belief.

"...and with eyes fixed on the horizon and God's grace upon us, we carried forth that great gift of freedom and delivered it safely to future generations.

Thank you. God bless you.

And God bless the United States of America."

Fine. This is his moment, but if he's going to speak for who we are as a people, then flatly stating that WE all agree that God is a FACT is a bit out of line. If he wants to speak for himself, he can sacrifice a sheep right there for all I care.

The implications are what are dangerous.

Now, for you fuming anti-secularists, answer me this: is MORE God of any good in our government? That's what's coming. There will be more and more of it unless the going is made difficult for them.

All in all, I was expecting slightly worse, and I'm a bit relieved.