Originally Posted by
MrSplitshot
Bug,
I find religion a very difficult subject to debate over, so generally steer clear of it entirely on message boards.
However, gotta share a couple of thoughts on this, respectfully of course...
In my opinion...
(1) I disagree with Obama's decision to cancel the National Day of Prayer Ceremony at The White House in fears that it would offend someone. However, I think there is a slight difference between a National Day of Prayer by the Government, and a gathering of 50,000 Islamic worshipers who get together on Capitol Hill to pray. While "allowing" it to happen could be considered quasi-sactioning it, it's really not. If an independent group of Catholics wanted to get 50,000 together in DC and have a prayer service, I don't see any reason why they couldn't...similar to a Million-Man-March or any other gathering of folks on the Capitol. It's a public place. That doesn't mean the Government is favoring Catholic religion.
(2) Obama, though I am NOT a fan, didn't declare that the United States is no longer a Christian nation. He said (although he fumbled the prepared remarks somewhat), that the US is no longer JUST a Christian nation. The "Just" is a big word in that sentence, and most of the emails circulating are leaving that part out. I would have to agree wholeheartedly that our country is no longer JUST a Christian nation. It has not been for some time. You know that freedom from religious persecution was what brought the Pilgrims here, and you know that we have a very diverse makeup of religious populations in this country. I have no problem with that - Our men and women in uniform who fight and die to defend this country and that freedom to worship whomever you choose come from all of those religious backgrounds. It is what this country is made of - Christians, Jews, Muslims, Athiests, Budhists, etc, etc, etc. That's okay. You and I are free to be a Christian, while our neighbor is free to be Islamic. If they are passionate enough about their religious beliefs to gather and pray at their nation's capitol, then so be it. As long as it's peaceful and pro-America, what's the problem with that? I'm not saying that I agree with all of the Islamic folks, but you can be Islamic and Pro-American. I looked at the website you linked and part of the day on Capitol Hill is for Islamic American youth to take tours of the capitol, Library of Congress, and Supreme Court and learn a bit. That sounds pretty Pro-American to me, just saying.
At face value it's shocking to say that 50K Islamic worshipers are gathering on the capitol, but in reality I really don't think it's that big a deal.
Just my opinion.
