Skip to main content

My Take on the Pa State House Invocation

Hello All,
  
  I'm sure that most if not all of you have read about or heard about the situation that occurred in the Pa State Legislature. I've refrained from comment so far so as it enables me to fully comprehend the intricate nature of this situation.
   My objection to the invocation is a legal one. Although I am of the opinion that the invocation shouldn't have happened in the first place, as it proselytized the Christian faith to those who may not share said religious convictions, or to those who hold no religious convictions at all. However, the invocation happened… so it goes. Alex Luchenitser, associate legal director for Americans United for Separation of Church and State said, “Opening prayers should be inclusive and respectful to the whole community, They should never be divisive. They should not proselytize. ” I agree with Mr. Luchenitser’s assessment of what an invocation should be, if it even happens.
Here are a few quotes supporting may position:
"A federal judge last year found that the House’s policy barring non theists from delivering the opening prayer was unconstitutional. U.S. Middle District Judge Christopher Conner ordered the House to allow non theists, who do not believe in a supreme deity, the opportunity to offer the opening invocation." “This is Exhibit A for why invocations at public events are unwise,” said Reginald T. Shuford, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania. “Once you open that door, there is no way to define what is "appropriate" prayer to open a government proceeding and it is inevitable that some will use it as a platform for their own purposes.”
Shuford evoked a 1984 opinion by Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, who famously said that such invocations “sends a message to non adherents that they are outsiders, not full members of the political community, and an accompanying message to adherents that they are insiders, favored members of the political community.”  DeJesu, I. (2019.). Polarizing prayers in Pa. government: When do religious words cross the line?
As you can see all of the statements made above show that religion and government never mix favorably.
The worst part in this debacle that Borowicz referred to herself as “Jesus’s ‘ambassador,’ Borowicz declared that Jesus is the ‘King of kings and Lord of lords, the Great I Am,’ and the ‘One who is coming back again.’ In her prayer Borowicz asked God to forgive America for losing its spiritual bearings. ‘Jesus, we’ve lost sight of you,’Borowicz prayed, as Johnson-Harrell and the rest of her Democrat colleagues squirmed uneasily in their seats. ‘We’re asking you to forgive us.... Jesus, You are our only hope.’
Borowicz went on to pray for the state’s and nation’s leaders, and concluded her prayer ‘in the powerful, mighty Name of Jesus.’“ Borhan, D. (2019). Pennsylvania Lawmaker Blasted for Christian Prayer at Swearing-in of Muslim Colleague.


Now I hope that there is still sense in this distinguished state of Pennsylvania, and that Representative Borowicz is voted out in 2020.


Yours in Reality,
D
Moderate Conservative (Main Street Republican- the chill ones)
LGBT Ally (Because who you like or marry isn’t anyone’s business but yours)
Runner
Anti-theist Agnostic Atheist
Independent (Because Political Parties Suck)


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

5 Questions Atheists Cannot Answer (Answered)

Hello All,    Sorry I haven't posted in a while, between running and schoolwork I've been busier than normal, so here's a new post. So, SJ Thompson, a religious apologist, specifically Christian, has posted 5 questions for atheists, this post is from May of last year, but I just found it today perusing the black hole of doom, gloom, and depression that is the internet.  So her first question is, " So, why do even individualists know that we ought to help the weak, feed the poor, and be honest, humble, just, cooperative, empathetic, forgiving and loving? Why is it that all societies, regardless of their practices, know what we   ought   to do? Where did we get this moral compass?" My answer is a quote from the Greater Good Magazine run by UC Berkley, " We are so used to empathy that we take it for granted, yet it is essential to human society as we know it. Our morality depends on it: How could anyone be expected to follow the golden rule without the ca
1 comment
Read more

A Dissertation of Sorts on Homosexuality

Hello All,     Back in 2015, only four years ago in the historic Supreme Court case Obgerfell v. Hodges, where the Court legalized gay marriage, the Christian right went crazy. Some groups, such as the Westboro Baptist Church have begun protesting at military funerals, a deplorable act, as the families are grieving for the loss of a member they will never see again. In this essay, I will be stating the arguments for gay marriage, and then those against which I shall refute immediately thereafter. For. The arguments for gay marriage fall under equal rights, change in the concept of "traditional marriage",  law, both US and international, the fact that marriage is not simply for procreation, as infertile couples would then be barred from marriage as well. " Denying some people the option to marry is discriminatory and creates a second class of citizens.  On July 25, 2014 Miami-Dade County Circuit Court Judge Sarah Zabel ruled Florida's gay marriage ban unconstit
Post a Comment
Read more

Well, I Take Some Time Off to Focus on Running for My Team and Everything Goes to Sh*t

Hello All,    Sorry for the very extended hiatus, I had to take some time away from this blog to focus on running for my team, and I hope you will agree that it paid off, as two weeks ago I ran a 9:44 3200 as a freshman to win my league by 8 seconds (for all the non-runners, 1 second is an eternal hell in distance running) the district meet was okay, but not as successful as leagues.    So I take time off from my blogging for my team... and shit has really hit the fan.  Arkansas, Indiana, Alabama, Ohio, Kentucky, Mississippi, Georgia, Utah, Arkansas, Tennesee, and Missouri all passed acute bans on abortion, with Louisianna and many others on track to join the club. I'd like to add that Alabama has more restrictive than most Muslim Majority countries, in Isreal, it's legal and often free to boot. I hope many evangelical supporters of Isreal find this interesting. Source: https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/.premium.MAGAZINE-shhh-don-t-tell-evangelical-supporters-of-israe
Post a Comment
Read more