Imprecatory Psalms [are those prayers] … which invoke judgment, calamity, or curses, upon one's enemies or those perceived as the enemies of God. ... As a sample ... Psalm 139:9 which declares "Happy shall he be, that taketh and dasheth thy little ones against the stones…”
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imprecatory_Psalms
Christian apologetics websites allot thousands of words to the subject of imprecatory prayer. Mostly they are convoluted double talking contradictions that simultaneously claim such things to be both righteous and wrong; justifiable and ill advised; misinterpreted and clearly defined. Once again it seems their God hasn’t made his meaning clear enough for them to get their opinions and acts together.
But praying for the death of someone who is your perceived enemy or who you have decided is the enemy of God is as Christian as can be. Fundies have no problem, it seems, invoking God’s help to kill people who are deemed their enemy.
An ex Navy Christian Chaplain prays for the death of Rev. Barry Lynn of Americans United and Mikey Weinstein, the head of Military Religious Freedom Foundation. Why? What horrible things did these men do to justify calling upon God to smite them? Rev. Lynn is a leader in the effort to keep church and state separate. And Mikey Weinstein fights to give servicemen the right to not be discriminated against for being other than Christian. Evidently that’s a good reason to pray for their deaths.
Here’s the whole story:
http://blog.au.org/2009/04/27/spiritual-warfare-exchaplain-prays-for-death-of-aus-lynn/
More recently, a former president of the Southern Baptist Christian Convention prays for the death of President Obama, and says it was prayers for Dr. Tillman’s death that caused his murder. Further, he says that not using imprecatory prayer is to fail as a Christian, for it is the duty of Christians to pray for the death of people who are counter to Christian belief.
Read all about it: http://www.abpnews.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=4131&Itemid=53
Notice… they don’t pray for these men to change their minds…Oh no. Death prayers are the preferred appeal to God.
Praying for the death of law abiding activist defenders of the Constitution, the President of the United States, and doctors who support women’s right to choose: Examples of that famous “Christian love” which is more than skin deep … it goes right down to the bone.
Now, let’s see… to whom do atheists devoutly appeal on bended knee in order to invoke a supernatural wrath to befall our enemies?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imprecatory_Psalms
Christian apologetics websites allot thousands of words to the subject of imprecatory prayer. Mostly they are convoluted double talking contradictions that simultaneously claim such things to be both righteous and wrong; justifiable and ill advised; misinterpreted and clearly defined. Once again it seems their God hasn’t made his meaning clear enough for them to get their opinions and acts together.
But praying for the death of someone who is your perceived enemy or who you have decided is the enemy of God is as Christian as can be. Fundies have no problem, it seems, invoking God’s help to kill people who are deemed their enemy.
An ex Navy Christian Chaplain prays for the death of Rev. Barry Lynn of Americans United and Mikey Weinstein, the head of Military Religious Freedom Foundation. Why? What horrible things did these men do to justify calling upon God to smite them? Rev. Lynn is a leader in the effort to keep church and state separate. And Mikey Weinstein fights to give servicemen the right to not be discriminated against for being other than Christian. Evidently that’s a good reason to pray for their deaths.
Here’s the whole story:
http://blog.au.org/2009/04/27/spiritual-warfare-exchaplain-prays-for-death-of-aus-lynn/
More recently, a former president of the Southern Baptist Christian Convention prays for the death of President Obama, and says it was prayers for Dr. Tillman’s death that caused his murder. Further, he says that not using imprecatory prayer is to fail as a Christian, for it is the duty of Christians to pray for the death of people who are counter to Christian belief.
Read all about it: http://www.abpnews.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=4131&Itemid=53
Notice… they don’t pray for these men to change their minds…Oh no. Death prayers are the preferred appeal to God.
Praying for the death of law abiding activist defenders of the Constitution, the President of the United States, and doctors who support women’s right to choose: Examples of that famous “Christian love” which is more than skin deep … it goes right down to the bone.
Now, let’s see… to whom do atheists devoutly appeal on bended knee in order to invoke a supernatural wrath to befall our enemies?
Oops ...Oh yeah, I forgot… we don’t.
More like Predatory Prayer.
ReplyDeleteJust a little more evidence that skydaddy is love, huh?
ReplyDeleteHello Hump,
ReplyDeleteIt was a sad blatant admission of a statement that was the perfect Freudian aspect of what this man’s idea of what his religion is all about. Forgiveness, Love, and the Death of a President.
Good Posting.
Thanks, all.
ReplyDeleteThis whole "Christianity = love" bugaboo is largely bullshit.
Thats not to say that some Christians don't use it to compel them to do good deeds (we as atheists don't need scripture to compell us to do good, it's an inate instinct).
The problem lays with the contradictory aspects of the bible. It can be used to promote good or evil, and it has for over a millenium. Best it never existed at all and let man's innate and evolving sense of morality, ethics and good stand on its own.
Regards,
Hump
"Best it never existed at all and let man's innate and evolving sense of morality, ethics and good stand on its own."
ReplyDeleteBut that is what happened; along the way of evolving morality, ethics and goodness, we get religion and holy books as a byproduct of this process.
Now (as an analogy) it's time to leave the pacifier behind, and as with all kids, some throw fits and tantrums in the process. Again, as you have or others have posted, the move away from religiosity (especially from the young) is evident in poll after poll in non-third world nations - but it is in fits and starts.
- Fastthumbs
Fast,
ReplyDeleteYou're right of course. Morality and ethics have evolved IN SPITE of religion and religious intolerance and backwardness.
Scripture, whether the Bible or the Koran, has stunted free thinking, free practice of thought; encouraged slavery, the repression of women, and genocide; and was silent on pedophilia or in the case of the koran, encouraged it. These of course are just a few examples of the horrors of the Abrahamic religions' hold on morality.
But you'd never convince theists of that. To them, the Synogogue, Church and the Mosque were at the forefront of modern morality and ethics.
Not one in 100 Christians know that the "ethic of reciprocity" aka "the Golden Rule" predated Jebus by at least 500 years (Buddhism), and 1000 years (Hinduism).
Thanks,
Hump
as I close out this article I'm just surprised that Krutches, our occassional fundie contributor, hasn't declared these two men of the cloth "not TRUE Christians."
ReplyDeleteI guess that bullshit excuse is wearing thin on him to.
:)
Soooo typical, Christians claim they are so good and loving. Here is a Christian jackass praying for the death of someone. Let alone our President. Maybe this is one of those 40,000 versions of Christianity that is mixing voodoo, black magic and Christ. Which would seem to fit the theme of Jesus, man of the living dead. Voodoo and zombies go hand and hand. lol
ReplyDeleteWhen can we be done with religion? When is enough of stupid?
No guy,
ReplyDeletewell..the guy praying for onbama's ddeath is a Baptist...nothing mysterious there.
Based on that Pew poll from early spring, with christianity on the decline by 10% in the past 18 yrs, and atheism on the rise by some 40%, (from memory)by extrapolating that data I figure that in 80 years the US will be all but christian mindsickness free.
Sorry I wont be around to see it.
Thanks,
Hump
This is just sick and perverted. At least reincarnation religions allow you the chance to do better the next time around.
ReplyDeleteHump: "we as atheists don't need scripture to compel us to do good, it's an innate instinct."
Right on, Hump!! Humans are fully capable of KNOWING what the right thing to do is and there's no need of a Supposedly Good Book to tell them what that is.
And I would c/p the rest of your comments you've made here to say, "I agree with you wholeheartedly" but that'd defeat the point. I will comment in depth on this though: "These of course are just a few examples of the horrors of the Abrahamic religions' hold on morality."
I think that with your curiosity about gnosticism it may be prudent for me to draw your attention to the big A word in that sentence. Abrahamic. The Abrahamic deity is indeed a schizophrenic narcissist pig hater. But this is not the deity to whom gnostics claim is worthy of adoring or looking to for advice. For a person to adore Yahweh is the same as asking directions downtown from a person who'd never left their house. They can't help you so they bullshit their way through it.
This one made me laugh: "well..the guy praying for obama's death is a Baptist...nothing mysterious there." How true... how true...