Obama Makes Republican Heads Explode As He Shatters Their Lies At Prayer Breakfast

[delrem]

58. The National Prayer Breakfasts are right-wing political events, Cha.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Prayer_Breakfast

"... The National Prayer Breakfast is hosted by members of the United States Congress and is organized on their behalf by The Fellowship Foundation, a conservative Christian organization more widely known as "The Family". Initially called the Presidential Prayer Breakfast, the name was changed in 1970 to the National Prayer Breakfast.
It is designed to be a forum for the political, social, and business elite to assemble and build relationships. Since the inception of the National Prayer Breakfast, several U.S. states and cities and other countries have established their own annual prayer breakfast events."

Being aware of this fact doesn't imply *anything* about Obama or any leader who happens to attend. After all, "Every U.S. president since Dwight D. Eisenhower has participated in the annual event." and it'd be totally wrong to say that all these presidents were the same. It's simply an annual event. Obama's speech was uplifting and hit good notes. It mightn't have painted a realistic picture of the USA, considering actual facts about how the USA has acted in the international arena over the past few decades (e.g. the US is a solid defender of the Saudi religious dictatorship, and they're simply awful in every way one can think of). But it did paint the the right picture of "if only it were so...".

Generally speaking "prayer breakfasts" (weekly, monthly,...) seem to be ubiquitous and promote an extreme religious right idea. I first heard of the things over 30 yrs ago when I found a brochure from one in a (very religious, Catholic) friend's car and read it as we traveled along. I was astounded! The event went under the name "full-gospel businessman's breakfast" and the featured sermon was by some dude who (paraphrasing from memory) explained how God informed his business decisions. In short, he explained how driving through the city one day he saw a for sale sign on a property and God spoke to him "buy that property", so he did, and almost overnight he made an enormous profit by flipping it. The upshot was: the fact that he made such an enormous profit was proof that he was blessed by God, that he was righteous - in contrast to the poor etc. who aren't recipients of God's abundance. Like I say, I was astounded! And that point of view is perpetuated to the present day by a certain kind of religious fundamentalist.

So all "Christians" aren't alike. Some have beliefs that run, in my opinion, in absolute and stark contrast and opposition to what *I* understand from my albeit shallow readings of the teachings of Christ. But I learned long ago not to bother trying to argue my case. I just say it and be done with it.