Chipping away at the wall of between church and state

[Modem Butterfly]

Has anyone else noticed the way that FEMA is being used to chip away at the wall between church and state? It was bad enough that they endorsed Pat Robertson's Operation Blessing as a charity, but now they are mandating prayer to be said over each corpse recovered from Katrina.

Original source here:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9379239/site/newsweek

DU thread here:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=104&topic_id=4814088&mesg_id=4814088


Amazingly, FEMA's justification for this is, "A prayer is not necessarily religious. Everybody prays."

Wow. Prayer's aren't religious. This just boggles the mind.

The wall between church and state has been under attack since the Reagan administration. Bush the elder continued this, even going so far as to claim that American atheists shouldn't be considered patriots or even citizens.

http://www.positiveatheism.org/writ/ghwbush.htm

Bush the younger has stepped up attacks on the wall. If this latest attack shows anything, it shows that mixing religion with politics poisons politics and trivializes religion.

[BlueEyedSon]

1. "A prayer is not necessarily religious. Everybody prays." WTF???

What a stinking load of BS!

[Modem Butterfly]

5. I don't understand how someone who considers prayer to be important...

...could tolerate this.

[trotsky]

2. Everybody prays!

Of course! Because as we all know from Poppy Bush, the atheists and non-religious among us don't really count as citizens or patriots.

I'm sick to my stomach right now. I guess we atheists just need to shut up about our rights, huh?

[Az]

3. Hands that help are far better than lips that pray

Robert Ingersol

[beam me up scottie]

4. "If you're dead, why would you care?"

What the fuck?

I cannot believe the incredibly religiously bigoted statements I have been reading on DU lately.

Are they going to fucking baptize them, too?

I mean, since they're dead, all of their rights and wishes don't matter, right?

[beam me up scottie]

6. Why do the FEMA sheep have to do this?

I mean, if you're a dead christian, the fact that the POTUS himself preyed for you on Friday should be enough for god, right?

[Modem Butterfly]

7. I think they're trying to fool the theists

I think they're trying to use the "power of prayer" to distract people from the shitty, shitty job they did. If I were a theist, I'd be pissed.

[beam me up scottie]

8. And look at how many on DU are going along with it.

How nice to see they aren't done throwing our rights to the repukes to placate them.

What a bunch of wimpy little suck asses.

Can you tell I'm mad?

[Modem Butterfly]

9. You know, I couldn't tell you were mad...

...until I used Taxloss' handy BMUS rage-o-meter.



Then I knew you were pissed.

[beam me up scottie]

13. First the Pledge threads,

then the Nat'l Day of Prey-er, and now this.

I seriously believe that many here on DU would have absolutely no problem with putting preyer back in public schools.

The fact that they are using the same arguments as freepers seems not to bother them at all.

[mcscajun]

10. Everybody prays? Really? I don't.

And I know many others who don't.

Morans.

[mmonk]

11. The wall is going to fall (among other things)

Suggested reading: "Contempt-How The Right is Wronging American Justice", by Catherine Crier.

[kenny blankenship]

12. If they can force you to be prayed over

they can also force you to pray.

[Modem Butterfly]

14. Kicking myself

:kick:

[beam me up scottie]

15. "Prayers aren't necessarily religious"

Nope.

Nothing wrong there.

Why it makes so much sense, Chimpy McJeebus could have said it.
:banghead:

[ComerPerro]

16. I don't pray. And, hell, even talibornigains who claim to pray

aren't really "praying". They are just reciting a mental list of things they want for selfish reasons.

"Dear God, pleae help me and my family, give me lots of money, and make my enemies pay".

That's not prayer. That's just arrogance.

[beam me up scottie]

17. "Oh Lord, won't you buy me

a Mercedes Benz
My friends all drive Porches
I must make a-mends"
:rofl:

[ComerPerro]

18. "Oh, and help those people in N.O, if you get a chance

But get me my damn car!"

[beam me up scottie]

20. Hey, Creflo Dollar ain't no slouch.

He knows how to fleece his flock.
His whole ministry is built on how to use god to get rich.

I wonder how much time they spent praying for the victims.

Come to think of it, I haven't heard much at all from good old Creflo about this disaster...

[DanCa]

19. This administration keeps me a cripple

Parkinsons suck they swallow, no appologies that's how I feel. No one's god, no one's government has the right to keep me in a fracking chair today. Arent I entitled to life liberty and the pursuit of happiness?
I have parkinsons and no ones religous beliefs should keep me from walking. Hell if the two leggers think god doesnt want stem cell research than let me them sit in my chair for one week. Cmon Cheney come stay at my house and live in my world - you fat pig couldnt last a week. This administration is just full of religious posers who are so afraid of thier own faults and morality they take it out an anyone who disagree with them.