Fellow Atheism Examiner for Atlanta, John Snider, reminded me today that the National Day of Reason is upon us. It falls, not coincidentally, on the same day as does the National Day of Prayer. It is a protest, of sorts, to the unconstitutional National Day of Prayer.
Coming up on its 6th year of being celebrated, the National Day of Reason encourages groups that are opposed to the National Day of Prayer to organize events in their respective areas to show unity against the continued perversion of our government's nature by religious ideology.
Just as important, these groups are doing things in their communities that actually contribute to the overall well-being of our nation, unlike prayer, which is a fruitless time waster. Groups, in the past, have organized activities such as blood drives. I happen to think that it would also be a great coming out day for atheists everywhere.
While there is still no word as to what President Obama will do, if anything, about the National Day of Prayer, many are hoping that he will put and end to it, insofar as it is promoted by the US government.
National Day of Reason falls on the first Thursday of May, each year. This year, it falls on May 7th. So, what will your group do this year to celebrate National Day of Reason? Remember...
Two hands working can do more than a thousand clasped in prayer.
~Anonymous
Comments
Trina: Feel free to believe in no God, that is your misguided right. To say National Day of Prayer is unconstitutional proves you don't understand the document. The founding fathers put 'freedom OF religion' in the constitution which GUARANTEES my rights as a citizen to pursue my faith with freedom. It does not allow people like you to try and stop our practice.
The absurdity of your claim of 'promotion by the government' is laughable.
By the way, I'll be praying for your eyes to be enlightened! ;-)
@Michael, agree with you 110%. You atheists really do need to get a life.
I think that Michael is correct and a lot of people will be praying in the summertime when the action begins. . . . . . If you have a lot of money, you can pay people to pray for you. . . . . . . . Remember what George Washington said," Dear God, make me the first president of the United States and I will free the slaves."
I cannot help but wonder what it was that hardended your heart so much that you would turn away from God in such a way and risk your own soul. The Constitution of the United States was founded on the belief...IN GOD WE TRUST. I agree with Michael that we ALL have the right to believe in God, or not. Why is it that those who choose NOT to believe are the ones who hold the most anger and thrust it at those whose hearts are seeking the TRUTH. I will, again agreeing with Michael, pray for your eyes to be enlightened...but I will pray for even more that the Lord will begin to pull your heart to search for Him...in your search for the truth.
Keep praying for my eyes to be enlightened and I will think logically for you. There is another constitutional right your forgetting the right to protest.
"Gods are fragile things; they may be killed by a whiff of science or a dose of common sense."
Michael, from someone who has studied the constitution extensively, the national day of prayer is not unconstitutional as a violation of your first amendment right to freedom of religion, and in fact, has no such effect, rather it is a violation of the establishment clause in that the recognition of the national day of prayer unconstitutionally endorses religion.
It was the endorsement of religion by governments which our founders found so foul as to leave their home countries and find another in which the government neither endorsed any religion nor interfered with their right to practice.
The only problem conflict which you might have is if YOUR religion requires governmental endorsement in order to practice it. Somehow, I doubt that it does.
I'm for a National Day of Blasphemy. After all, blasphemy is a right that is enshrined in the First Amendment of the Constitution of the United States. Let's pick a day and exercise it.
I'm surprised at some of the ignorance in the letters here.
The unconstitutionality of the "National Day of Prayer" is NOT that a bunch of churches have gotten together and proclaimed it; that would be their right. What IS unconstitutional is that it is proclaimed by recent Presidents and Governors; in spite of the constitutional requirement for them to stay absolutely neutral in matters of religion.
The first President to be asked to proclaim officially a National Day of Prayer was Thomas Jefferson. He strongly declined; writing in response:
as president jefferson repeatedly refused, in writing, to establish a national day of prayer; saying that as president he had civil powers only, and that no government should tell you how you should worship.
When asked to explain the First Amendment, Jefferson said it's purpose "was to establish a wall between church & state".
And for the record, the national day of prayer and in god we trust on our bills were both first unconstitutionally imposed during the 1950s McCarthy era, by scared, pandering politicians.
And as President John Kennedy said, " the separation of church & state is absolute; in which no part of the government treats believer, & non-believer, differently."
If folks want to pray, no one is stopping them. But to manipulate our governments to support you in it, is, officially and morally, anti-American.
Matthew 6:6 "When you pray, go to your room and close the door. Pray privately to your Father who is with you. Your Father sees what you do in private. He will reward you."
So... I'm presuming that on this 'National Day of Prayer', all of these christ-cult delusionists are going to go off and lock themselves up in a closet, and babble away to an imaginary invisible, magical, all-powerful, supernatural sky-fairy.
Personally... I am grateful for this. I day that is free from the the 'core values' of christianity... gullibility, self-deception, self-delusion, irrationality, willful ignorance, intellectual dishonesty, lies, hypocrisy, and toxic, drooling stupidity... will be a welcome respite.
Oh... Lauren... you said "The Constitution of the United States was founded on the belief...IN GOD WE TRUST." Well... that's complete nonsense. You will not fond the word 'god' ANYWHERE in the Constitution. Go ahead... look. I'll wait...
(dum-de-dum-de-dum... dum-de-dum-de-dum... dum-de-dum-de-dum... )
Al-righty, then... didn't find it, did you? (I knew you wouldn't.)
Oh, year... that 'In God We Trust' bit? Well, in during the Civil War, both the North and the South were claiming that god was on their side. In the North, a moronic clergyman managed to convince a moronic cabinet member and some moronic legislators that if they put a god-message on come coins, they might manage to impress him such that they would help them out on the battlefield. "In God We Trust' hasn't got a bloody thing to do with the founding of our country or the Constitution. Its first appearance was on a two-cent coin... in 1876.
Lauren... please... EDUCATE yourself. But here's a tip... DO NOT seek to be educated in science or history from religious sources... your christ-cult puppet masters. They LIE. Their stock-in-trade is 'belief'... the ILLUSION of knowledge. And so, they (rightfully) perceive ACTUAL knowledge (along with its faithful companion... reason) to represent a dire, constantly looming, existential threat... and so they will do everything in their power to keep you from being exposed to it.
>>> "There is on earth among all dangers no more dangerous thing than a richly endowed and adroit reason… Reason must be deluded, blinded, and destroyed. Faith must trample underfoot all reason, sense, and understanding, and whatever it sees must be put out of sight and … know nothing but the word of God." ~ Martin Luther (Works Vol. 12) <<<
>>> "Whoever wishes to be a Christian, let him tear out the eyes of his reason." ~ Martin Luther (First Psalm Lectures, Luther's Works, Vol. 11, p.285) <<<
>>> "What harm would it do, if a man told a good strong lie for the sake of the good and for the Christian church… a lie out of necessity, a useful lie, a helpful lie, such lies would not be against God, he would accept them." ~ Martin Luther, in a letter in Max Lenz, ed., Briefwechsel Landgraf Phillips des Grossmuthigen von Hessen mit Bucer, vol. 1. <<<
>>> "The pursuit of knowledge, unless sanctified by a holy mission, is a pagan act and therefore vile." ~ Saint Bernard of Clairvaux (1090-1153), the most influential Christian of his time <<<
A lot of historical errors in these blogs.
Separation of Church and State was established to keep the Government out of Religion, not vice versa.
Attorney Alan Sears put it well when he said: “This nation was founded, settled, and populated by people seeking, first and foremost, the freedom to pray and worship; a government proclamation doesn’t compel anyone to continue that tradition…it merely recognizes a love for God and religious freedom that still pulses in the hearts of most Americans. But when the government simply acknowledges that a religious observance is taking place, and makes it a point to tell everyone in the country they’re invited to join in – and you choose, for reasons of your own, not to participate – and no one shows up at your door to arrest you, or to see that you’re fired, or to summon you to an IRS audit – that’s called “freedom.”
Any government official has the right to participate.
Every President since 1952 has signed a National Day of Prayer proclamation.
The President of the United States has called for a National Day of Prayer every year since 1975. (Including the Democrats).
There have been 134 national calls for prayer, humiliation, fasting and thanksgiving by the President of the United States (1789-2008).
There have been 56 Presidential Proclamations for a “National Day of Prayer” (1952-2008).
33 of the 44 U.S. Presidents have signed proclamations for National Prayer. Four of the Presidents who did not sign a proclamation died while serving in office:
• John Quincy Adams (1825-29) (F) – Spoke of Prayer and Christ often
• Andrew Jackson (1829-37) (D)– Openly refused to sign a proclamation for prayer
• Martin Van Buren (1837-41) (D)
• William Henry Harrison (1841-41) (W) – Died in Office
• John Knox Polk (1845-49) (D) Mexican-American War
• Zachary Taylor (1849-50) (W) – Died in Office
• Millard Fillmore (1850-53) (W) 10
• Franklin Pierce (1853-57) (D) 10
• James Abram Garfield (1881-81) (R) – Assassinated
• William Howard Taft (1909-13) (R)
• Warren Gamaliel Harding (1921-23) (R) – Died in Office
No one wants to stop your right to prayer. And if the President wants to pray he/she can. What is not up for question is the fact that the US Government should not back one church or the other or mine or yours or any.
Go ahead and pray for my soul - I don't care. I could use some help with some fence posts if you want to really put your hands together to make them work though.
I suspect if there were a president who was born again into an Islamic faith your might be enlightened as it were - That the US Government should not impose upon its citizens a particular faith, or that they should EVEN have a faith... There is no freedom without the freedom to disent.
Those Who Do Not Believe and live in America are Living in the Wrong Country. So do the Rest of Us a Favor, MOVE from this Great Country Which Has Proudly Given You That Right to Open Your Mouth. Try It Elsewhere and see what becomes of your Future. Believing in something Higher then yourself shows Why America is What It Is. You have become Spoiled with all your Rights and Information, Don't worry, God Forgives You for being, ........, Don't push or get mad, Just Do Good.
By the way, Abraham Lincoln might of been Dissipointed in our President who has decided not to attend the ceremony this year for his own Personal, Neutral reasons, but would be Proud that this Great Country has given him that right. Mr. Obama, dont compare yourself, you are your own.
Bob - your quote from Attorney Alan Sears was well taken. However, he must have received his history lessons in church. He stated: "This nation was founded, settled, and populated by people seeking, first and foremost, the freedom to pray and worship". I checked with the best source I could think of that would describe our problems with England, The Declaration of Independence. I found no reference to the supposed desire to pray and worship. There is a list of "abuses and usurpations" as they are called within the document including: refusing representation in the Legislature, refusing the right to establish judiciary powers, making the judges dependent on his [the King's] will, affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil Power, imposing taxes on us without our consent, and it goes on and on. The typical things you might expect from a group of people who feel victimized by the tyranny of a King so far away. But nowhere does it express any desire to pray or to worship. I would guess if that were a point of contention, it would have been listed among the "facts submitted to a candid world".
After reading this document I find that the founding fathers did state that they sought the protection of divine providence. This fact makes the secularity of the Constitution even more strident. While no one claims the Founding Fathers were all atheists (some were, some weren't), it is fact that the Constitution espouses secularity. Keeping government out of religion? Yes! Keeping Religion out of government? Absolutely! That's called separation. It is more remarkable that they should seek guidance and protection from a higher power and yet refrain from implanting this personal belief in the very document created to form the fabric of our Country.
Makes one think twice before supporting politicians who can't help but try to sneak in their idea that people need an invitation to pray. I don't need one. I can't imagine a better Christian than me needing an invite. I should say here that "any" Christian is a "better" Christian than me.
It really is not the governments place to invite anyone to pray. Per the Establishment Clause (Bill of Rights): Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof. So pray often, and to whoever and in whatever way, so as it does not infringe on the workings of our wonderful Country.
Get rid of the National Day of Prayer.
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