A ROW has broken out in Minnesota after the Rev Dennis Campbell, of Granite City Baptist Church in St Cloud, invoked the name of Jesus Christ three times and made other overt references to Christianity while delivering a state Senate prayer this week.
This prompted Democrat Terri Bonoff to request that all future Senate prayers be “non-denominational”.
Said Bonoff, who is Jewish:
Bonoff objects to Jesus being invoked in Minnesota Senate prayers
I’m a very religious woman and believe deeply in God. We honor God in public and our political discourse, and that’s proper. But in doing a non-denominational prayer we are honoring him without violating the separation of church and state.
But Republican Senate Majority Leader Amy Koch is having none of it. She said the Senate invites leaders from numerous Christian and non-Christian faith traditions to pray, and notifies them that senators come from a diverse background.
I’m not going to get into the process of sort of editing prayer.
Several Jewish senators, all Democrats, are backing Bonoff’s request but she’s also meeting resistance from other Republicans. The GOP gained control of the Senate after November’s election.
Sen. David Brown, R-Becker, said of visiting chaplains:
I believe we don’t have a right to censor their prayers.
The prayer that outraged Bonoff was delivered on Monday by Campbell, who later defended his words.
There’s nobody that loves the Jews any more than the Christians, so that was not meant as an insult or disrespect. Rather, it was a show of respect to Jesus Christ — just like our founders showed respect to Jesus Christ and the word of God when they built our Constitution.
Said Sen Ron Latz, DFL-St. Louis Park, who is Jewish:
It makes anyone who doesn’t pray through Jesus Christ, or believe in Jesus Christ — it makes them feel like they don’t belong. It makes me feel like I don’t belong on the Senate floor to which I was duly elected by my constituents. In a government chamber, I and others should not be made to feel that way.
The Hawaii State Senate in January ended opening prayers altogether out of concern over possible lawsuits on First Amendment grounds.
Meanwhile, we learn from this report that the Freedom From Religion Foundation and four of its Arizona members this week filed a lawsuit in federal court seeking to enjoin Arizona Governor Janice K Brewer from declaring a “National Day of Prayer”.
The lawsuit also seeks a declaratory judgment declaring that Brewer violated the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution when she declared May 6, 2010, the “Arizona Day of Prayer”.
Hat tip: BarrieJohn (Arizona report)
The Freethinker was founded in 1881 by GW Foote, an outspoken critic of religion. After the publication of 
March 18th, 2011 at 10:29 am
When will the Americans give it up…the “founding fathers” did not set up a Christian country. lets see…
“Lighthouses are more helpful then churches.” — Benjamin Franklin
“I do not find in orthodox Christianity one redeeming feature.” – Thomas Jefferson
“This would be the best of all possible worlds, if there were no religion in it.” – John Adams
Besides, religion and politics do not mix…Hitler was a Christian (catholic) for goodness sake, as was Tony Blair and George W Bush…nice one boys.
March 18th, 2011 at 11:05 am
So 2,000 years of treating the Jews as second-class citizens because they ‘murdered Jesus’ was a show of respect, then?
March 18th, 2011 at 12:15 pm
Papa Ratzi has only recently told the world the Jews can’t be blamed for the suicide of Jesus, a supreme being who allowed mere mortals to crucify him, so all the pogroms and the camps were just an unfortunate mistake. All we have to do is pretend it never happened, and search for the real culprit. Muslims are out, of course, but the Romans (Italians?) were in control at the time, let’s blame them for a change.
March 18th, 2011 at 12:49 pm
@Milz: Christians, and particularly those of a fundie stripe, love the myth of the Founding Fathers being god fearing christians. Yet another example of superstition so addling the brains of those infected by it that they can believe black is white; midnight is noon; Mary was a virgin when she produced Jesus. The belief appears before them regardless of truth, fact or evidence. And if you disagree then you must be morally flawed.
Their problem, one amongst many, is that their beliefs are based on sand and they have to keep changing. Few christians still believe that the earth is the centre of the universe. Many, of course, still believe that it was created around 6,000 years ago.
March 18th, 2011 at 12:58 pm
“It makes anyone who doesn’t pray through Jesus Christ, or believe in Jesus Christ — it makes them feel like they don’t belong. ”
Oh, how sad…
But did anyone think how atheists feel when this superstitious and silly tradition takes place?
March 18th, 2011 at 1:10 pm
“I’m a very religious woman and believe deeply in God. We honor God in public and our political discourse, and that’s proper.”
Erm, no it’s not!
March 18th, 2011 at 1:21 pm
It’s just that Christians know what’s best for Jews. Why can’t Jews understand that?
March 18th, 2011 at 1:51 pm
I love stuff like this – it’s a laughable and wonderfully surreal demonstration by religiots of just how bonkers religious belief in all its many forms really is. Can you imagine what a visitor from another world would make of it all?
Perhaps the NSS should roll its campaign against council prayers out to the US senate.
http://www.secularism.org.uk/council-prayers.html
March 18th, 2011 at 2:35 pm
‘There’s nobody that loves the Jews any more than the Christians’
And Mel Gibson, of course!
March 18th, 2011 at 4:25 pm
@
mikespeir
And if you know your history,
It’s enough to make your heart go whooaaaaah,
We don’t care what the Jewish people say,
What the hell do we care?
For we only know
that there’s gonna be a show,
and the evangelicals will be there!
Sorry, went into football song mode there for a minute.
March 18th, 2011 at 4:45 pm
This is the kind of crap that the Founding Fathers were trying to get away from when they framed the US constitution. Prayers have no place in public meetings and this incident demonstrates why. People will not always see eye to eye over things and will have difficulty getting along anyway without falling out over stuff that doesn’t even exist.
March 18th, 2011 at 5:19 pm
Solution: get the fucking Christians AND the fucking Jews out of politics, forever.
March 18th, 2011 at 6:53 pm
@ Pete H
Ha! Love it. But you missed out:
Oh it’s a grand old religion to pray for
And it’s a grand old religion to support…
March 18th, 2011 at 7:14 pm
Now, isn’t all this ruckus exactly why the establishment clause was … erm, established?
March 18th, 2011 at 8:57 pm
You’d think that the Americans, being so proud of their constitution, would get it straight, wouldn’t you? It’s not rocket science exactly!
March 18th, 2011 at 9:39 pm
Here we go. Christian ‘love’ for Jews. It might not be what most say but I bet it’s what many think.
March 18th, 2011 at 10:23 pm
Daz: I can assure you from personal experience that most evangelicals would agree with her. Evidently many Catholics would as well:
http://www.justforcatholics.org/a191.htm
March 18th, 2011 at 10:56 pm
barriejohn:
Yep, that’s about what I expected. As to the ‘not what they say, but what they think’ bit, Greta Christina said it better than I ever could.
March 18th, 2011 at 11:35 pm
Bduke said:
“Senate Majority Leader Amy Koch is having none of it.”
Uh, the Senate Majority Leader is Harry Reid, a Democrat from Nevada. http://www.senate.gov/pagelayo.....ership.htm
He also said:
“The GOP gained control of the Senate after November’s election.”
Also, untrue. The GOP gained the majority in the House of Representatives, but, only closed the gap in the Senate. But, it’s understandable. Sometimes it shocks the hell out of me what I didn’t know about other western civilizations. Britain and Australia especially.
On topic:
Truthfully, it offends me that they have prayers at all in public forums, but, the constitution was crafted by freemasons, and they believed in the free practice of religion, but, they also didn’t believe in religion in the workplace, or government. The line has become so smeared, that one cannot protest without appearing to be intolerant, or an outright bigot.
Talking to their imaginary friend doesn’t hurt anyone, what scares me is the delusions permeating their brains.
NeoWolfe
March 19th, 2011 at 12:25 am
Addendum,
BDuke said:
“A ROW has broken out in Minnesota after the Rev Dennis Campbell, of Granite City Baptist Church in St Cloud, invoked the name of Jesus Christ three times and made other overt references to Christianity while delivering a state Senate prayer this week.”
Yes, Amy Koch is the majority leader in the Senate of the State of Minnesota. I missed it when I read it the first time. I thought you were talking about the US Senate. Color me flushed. (Focus, Neo, Focus!!!!)
NeoWolfe
March 19th, 2011 at 5:13 am
The fools! Zeus will punish them all for their wicked inanity.
Repent congressional sinners and begin to pray:
Most glorious of immortals, Zeus
The many named, almighty evermore,
Nature’s great Sovereign, ruling all by law
Hail to thee! On thee ’tis meet and right
That mortals everywhere should call.
From thee was our begetting; ours alone
Of all that live and move upon the earth
The lot to bear God’s likeness.
Thee will I ever chant, thy power praise!….
Binky will sacrifice a glass of bourbon on the rocks for your souls.