National Day of Prayer

A while ago, we had the National Day of Prayer. As one would expect, the distinct population of atheists were dismayed that there even is such a thing. And the Christians were dismayed that President Obama didn't attend any national prayer (non-governmental) events.

To the first grouping (atheists): Get a clue. Regardless of what President Obama declared on his global apology tour, this is a Christian nation and a nation of Christians. Last time I checked, America is still a Democratic Republic in that numbers matter. The majority of folks in this great country are still Christian.

While the atheist group is searching the nooks and crannies of this governments history, they need to realize two things:
1) Regardless of what those that prefer legislation from the Judicial branch (patently illegal), the first amendment does not stipulate that there shall be a separation (or wall) between the church and state with respect to the church's' influence on the state. Rather, this amendment declared that the government shall not declare a state/federal religion or church. The atheists (and the supreme court) have based their decisions on a letter written by Thomas Jefferson to a Baptist congregation outlining the separation of the church from the state in that the government would not declare their sect (or any others, for that matter) as the official church of the state, which would be a clear violation of the first amendment. The fallacious argument that this country isn't deeply rooted in Judeo-Christian ethics, morals, and beliefs is simply ignorant.

2) They are the minority. This is a democracy. Majorities rule. Unless, of course, you have enough funding to push a decision into the Supreme Court for legislation, which (as previously noted) isn't what is stipulated in the Constitution.

To the second grouping, of which I'm a member (Christians), I feel we're perhaps dismayed for the wrong reason. We certainly cannot judge President Obama against any former presidents (up to and including George Bush) who have been around during this holiday. So far, in this first 100 or so days, President Obama has completely distanced himself from his predecessors as well as the people he theoretically governs. To that end, don't fret that he didn't have anything at the White House. I say this because I believe President Obama is being overly sensitive to the atheistic group by attempting to hold to the false notion that there a separative wall between the government and religion.

However, we as believers should be dismayed because he didn't attend any events off-site of the White House (government directed or otherwise). What does this say when a President self-declares himself as a believer and yet he doesn't demonstrate those beliefs? I realize that one could say that they want to keep their faith private; however, President Obama publicly declares his other, non-religious beliefs (abortion, gay marriage, etc), why should his religious beliefs remain in the dark? I'm not calling for President Obama to be overt about his beliefs. I do, however, believe that he should be willing to demonstrate his beliefs, such as attending the National Day of Prayer functions.

I think what I'm personally leaning towards is that whatever faith President Obama demonstrated or discussed heretofore is pure political rhetoric. In other words, used to garner votes and maintain an overall positive approval rating. Say enough religious sounding words, and one can win enough votes from the religious "crowd" to nullify (but not captivate) said Christian group (or groups) from having impact on ones election or staying elected. How sad is that?

I guess another great topic for another posting is this: Why is it so important to have a man (or woman) of faith in the office of President?