As a result of trump's 'prayer in schools' initiative, will Muslims, Hindus, Jews, Sikhs, Jains, Buddhists (and other non-Christians) be free to pray in U.S. schools?
(https://www.nationalreview.com/2018/07/judge-brett-kavanaughs-impeccable-record-of-constitutional-conservatism/)
". . . Judge Kavanaugh in 2010 wrote a lengthy concurrence drawing on American historical tradition and the original meaning of the Constitution to defend the invocation of God and the practice of prayer at official government ceremonies, such as the presidential inauguration and Supreme Court sittings. The Supreme Court adopted a similar approach several years later in upholding prayer before a town meeting in New York. . ."
(from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Separation_of_church_and_state_in_the_United_States)
"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof...". . . (and in a) letter by Thomas Jefferson, addressed to the Danbury Baptist Association in Connecticut, and published in a Massachusetts newspaper. Jefferson wrote, "I contemplate with sovereign reverence that act of the whole American people which declared that their legislature should 'make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof, thus building a wall of separation between Church & State. . . "
(. . . the prayer offered by Rev. Patrick Conroy on the House floor on Nov. 6, 2017, before tax legislation was passed and signed the into law by President Donald Trump. . .)
(https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/speaker-ryan-forces-out-house-chaplain-n869421)
". . . "As legislation on taxes continues to be debated this week and next, may all members be mindful that the institutions and structures of our great nation guarantee the opportunities that have allowed some to achieve great success, while others continue to struggle," Conroy said. . . "May their efforts these days guarantee that there are not winners and losers under new tax laws, but benefits balanced and shared by all Americans," he added. . . "
(https://www.nbcnews.com/think/opinion/why-i-boycotted-congress-moment-silence-after-texas-shooting-ncna819161)
". . . I did pray for the victims and their families that day. But as a federal legislator, I know our thoughts and prayers are simply not enough. . . When tragedy strikes, feeling helpless is understandable. There is little you can do to stop a tornado, a hurricane, or a cancer diagnosis from changing your life in an instant. But gun violence is not an unavoidable fact of life. . . We cannot treat Sunday’s events as a natural disaster — this tragedy is man-made. . . Offering thoughts and prayers are a valuable way to let loved ones know you care, but no one should offer them at the expense of action. . . That’s why when Speaker Paul Ryan asked for yet another moment of silence in the U.S. Capitol on Monday, I chose to leave. . . I respect my colleagues who participate in moments of silence. I have participated in all of them until now. But based on the increasing number of mass shootings and the inaction of Congress, I have concluded that the best way to honor victims of mass shootings is to try to prevent future mass shootings, not stand and be silent for 60 seconds. . . Since I became a member of Congress in 2015, there have been over 1,000 mass shootings in the United States according to the nonprofit Gun Violence Archive, including three of the most deadly in U.S. history. . . Since I became a member of Congress in 2015, more than 60,000 people have died from firearms-related deaths in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control. . . Since I became a member of Congress in 2015, Congress has not taken a single vote on gun safety legislation. . . But since 2015 we did hold a number of 60-second moments of silence — more than 20, actually. And what have those 60 second acts resulted in? Nothing. . . "
(from http://www.cnn.com/2017/07/12/politics/trump-prayer-photo/index.html)
". . . President Donald Trump, who has remained out of public view since returning from Europe late Saturday, welcomed evangelical leaders into the Oval Office on Monday for a prayer session. . .Photos posted by some of the invitees show the group surrounding Trump and laying their hands on his shoulders as his head is bent in prayer. . . The picture was posted by Johnnie Moore, a former senior vice president at Liberty University, a large evangelical university in Virginia. It also showed Vice President Mike Pence, with his eyes shut, participating in the Oval Office prayer session.
Others pictured in posts from the Oval Office included Jack Graham, the pastor of Prestonwood Baptist Church in Plano, Texas, and Michele Bachmann, the former Republican congresswoman from Minnesota. . . Moore, reached on Wednesday, said the meeting happened after a number of national faith leaders were invited to meet the President as they met with representatives from the Office of Public Liaison. . . Evangelicals, like Moore, believe deeply about praying for the President. And the faith leader said that the group -- after a "lighthearted visit among friends" -- ended the meeting in prayer. . ."
(from http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/gop-candidates-call-prayers-calf-massacre-article-1.2453261)
". . . Prayers aren’t working. White House hopefuls on the Democratic side of the aisle called for stricter gun laws in the wake of the shooting in San Bernardino that left at least 14 dead. But after yet another mass shooting in America, GOP presidential contenders were conspicuously silent on the issue of gun control. Instead, the Republicans were preaching about prayer. . . “Our prayers are with the victims, their families, and the first responders in San Bernardino who willingly go into harm’s way to save others,” Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) tweeted. . .Democrats — even those not running for office — slammed the GOP presidential candidates for offering prayers instead of action. . . “Your ‘thoughts’ should be about steps to take to stop this carnage,” Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn) posted on Twitter. “Your ‘prayers’ should be for forgiveness if you do nothing — again. . . My heart aches for the people of San Bernardino,” he said. “I cannot express the profound sadness I feel each time a new community grieves and endures the same pain that brought Newtown to its knees three years ago this month.” . . . "
My latest solo offering, Just More Music by Ray Jozwiak, featuring original, instrumental piano music is now available at - Just More Music by Ray Jozwiak
(To Access all Ray Jozwiak - Gonzo Piano music you can copy-and-paste this URL directly to
your browser: http://http://www.cdbaby.com/Artist/RayJozwiak)
. . . conceived as a prayer, but remove 'God' and the wisdom remains. . .
(from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serenity_Prayer)
". . . Though clearly circulating in oral form earlier, the earliest established date for a written form of the prayer is various versions printed in newspaper articles in the early 1930s by or reporting on talks given by Winnifred Crane Wygal, a pupil and collaborator of Niebuhr's. Wygal included the following version of the prayer in her 1940 book, We Plan Our Own Worship Services, attributing it to Reinhold Niebuhr (1892-1971):
O God, give us the serenity to accept what cannot be changed,
The courage to change what can be changed,
and the wisdom to know the one from the other
Various other authors cited Niebuhr as the source of the prayer from 1937 on. Niebuhr included the prayer in a sermon at least as early as 1943, followed closely by its inclusion in a Federal Council of Churches (FCC) book for army chaplains and servicemen in 1944. Niebuhr himself did not publish the Serenity Prayer until 1951, in one of his magazine columns, although it had previously appeared under his name. The prayer is cited both by Niebuhr[4] and by Niebuhr's daughter, Elisabeth Sifton. Sifton thought that he had first written it in 1943, although Niebuhr's wife wrote in an unpublished memorandum that it had been written in 1941 or '42, adding that it may have been used in prayers as early as 1934. Niebuhr himself was quoted in the January 1950 Grapevine as saying the prayer "may have been spooking around for years, even centuries, but I don't think so. I honestly do believe that I wrote it myself." In his book Niebuhr recalls that his prayer was circulated by the FCC and later by the United States armed forces. Niebuhr's versions of the prayer were always printed as a single prose sentence; printings that set out the prayer as three lines of verse modify the author's original version. . .'
OHO's "Ocean City Ditty," the CD single is now available at http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/oho4
(and, if you're in town, at Trax On Wax on Frederick Rd. in Catonsville, MD) OHO is Jay Graboski, David Reeve & Ray Jozwiak. Please Visit http://www.ohomusic.com
My latest solo offering, Just More Music by Ray Jozwiak, featuring original, instrumental piano music will be released April 7, 2014 Just More Music by Ray Jozwiak
(To Access all Ray Jozwiak - Gonzo Piano music you can copy-and-paste this URL directly to
your browser: http://http://www.cdbaby.com/Artist/RayJozwiak)
Dear Global Economy, we thank thee for thy economies of scale, thy professional specialization, and thy international networks of trade under Ricardo's Law of Comparative Advantage, without which we would all starve to death while trying to assemble the ingredients for such a dinner as this. Amen. - Eliezer Yudkowsky
Let us take a moment to think about where the food we are about to enjoy has come from and to acknowledge those who worked to bring us this food. Let us appreciate the earth, the sun, the air, and the water needed to nourish the plants and animals. Let us thank the farmer who cared for the plants and animals and the migrant worker who toiled to harvest the crops. Let us thank the laborer who processed the food, the truck driver who brought the food, and the grocery store workers who displayed it. Finally, let us thank our friends who prepared this meal and have provided us with the opportunity to be together and share each other’s company. - Herb Silverman
We return thanks to our mother, the earth which sustains us. We return thanks to the rivers and streams, which supply us with water. We return thanks to all herbs which furnish medicines for the cure of our diseases. We return thanks to the moon and stars, which have given to us their light when the sun was gone. We return thanks to the sun, that has looked upon the earth with a beneficent eye. Lastly, we return thanks to the Great Spirit, in Whom is embodied all goodness, and Who directs all things for the good of Her children. - Iroquois Prayer
This food is the gift of the whole universe - the sky, and much hard work. May we eat it in mindfulness, so as to be worthy to receive it. We accept this food so that we may practice the path of understanding and love.
-Thich Nhat Hanh
In the spirit of humility we give thanks for all that is. We thank the great spiritual beings who have shared their wisdom. We thank our ancestors who brought us to where we are now. We are grateful for the opportunity to walk this planet, to breathe the air, to taste the food, to experience sensations of a human body/mind, to share in this wonder that is life. We are grateful for the natural world that supports us, for the community of humankind that enables us to do many wondrous things. We are grateful that we are conscious, that as intelligent beings we can reflect upon the many gifts we have been given. - Unknown
Got no checkbooks, got no banks. Still I'd like to express my thanks - I got the sun in the morning and the moon and night. _ Irving Berlin
(from http://www.nbcnews.com/business/coal-company-fires-150-workers-response-obama-re-election-1C6977698)
". . . Robert Murray, the chief executive of Ohio-based coal provider Murray Energy Corporation's "PRAYER" . . .
“The American people have made their choice. They have decided that America must change its course, away from the principals of our Founders. And, away from the idea of individual freedom and individual responsibility. Away from capitalism, economic responsibility, and personal acceptance.”
He concluded by asking God for forgiveness for the layoff decisions.
“Lord, please forgive me and anyone with me in Murray Energy Corporation for the decisions that we are now forced to make to preserve the very existence of any of the enterprises that you have helped us build. We ask for your guidance in this drastic time with the drastic decisions that will be made to have any hope of our survival as an American business enterprise.”
Several companies made headlines before the presidential election Tuesday for insinuating that they would fire workers if Romney was not elected. . . "
. . . and delivery us from our conscience, social responsibility, and any other worthwhile humanity-related attribute for thine is the boardroom, forever and ever HEYYYY MANNN!!!!!!
What
do YOU think?
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You can NOW download
your
very own copy of Ray Jozwiak's
newest release:
AMBIENCE & WINE
by John Shelby Spong from
http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=9036126688324230916#editor/target=post;postID=6807412664444233283
"The intervening God who answers
our
intercessory prayers is a comfortable
fiction that is no longer
worthy
of our worship. This kind of honesty
scares people who want
security
not truth. I still think intercessory prayer
has a place in the
Christian
life but it would take a book just to unload
the distortions of the
past and
then to chart new definitions for the
future. Suffice it now to
say
that the God who is the Source of Life, the
Source of Love and the
Ground of
Being can only work through the life, the
love and the being of
people
like you and me. So you and I must intervene
wherever we can as God
bearers.
Our lives become our prayers. Prayer is not
quite like saying, "Now I
lay me
down to sleep."
I am
amazed, for example, that Christian prayers seem to assume that God
enjoys being flattered. So
we
call God by a variety of titles: 'Almighty,'
'Most Gracious,' 'All
Loving,'
'Most Merciful,' 'Creator of all things,'
etc. We also tell God in
our
prayers what we hope is true about God! "You
are more ready to hear
than we
to pray," or "You are more eager to forgive
than we deserve." This, we
need
to be reminded, is our human language, it is
not God's language. It is
created out of our needs not out of God's needs.
The questions that we
never ask
are: "What does this language say about us?"
That is where our inquiry
ought
to focus. We are not describing God, even in
our prayers, we are
defining our
needs and giving voice to what we believe
are our
experiences.
Does
prayer do
any good? Once again, that assumes that you want your prayers
to accomplish your will.
Since
that is not the purpose of prayer, I don't
see how one can proceed to
answer such a question. I pray daily. I claim
nothing for it. I believe
it
opens me to God. There is nothing more than I
can say with confidence.
Those
who presume that they have answers are simply
delusional."
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do YOU think?
http://www.rayjozwiak.com/guestbook.html
Download
your
very own copy of
ANOTHER SHOT
by Ray
Jozwiak
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