Maybe I’ll stop by that door this weekend in DC and un-anoint it with sawdust and paint thinner.

…just seems mean-spirited by comparison. Don’t get me wrong; it’s no more silly. But they mean well, it’s kinda charming in a quaint way.

I might also add that if it had been Wiccans blessing the doorway, this story would have been reported quite differently, both by the mainstream media and by Friendly Atheist.

Greta:

And they say that it’s silly for atheists to criticize the “magical thinking” form of religion, because modern theology has moved past it and nobody takes it seriously anymore.

Yeah. Uhm. Sorry about that.

“They” (whoever “they” are) are sort of correct, but every time someone says that, you have to mentally replace “nobody” with “nobody but the US-style Religious Right”. Those outside the United States often forget that important qualification, because elsewhere fundamentalists are, in a sense, “nobody”.

An elected representative, on the science and technology Committee, takes part in a ceremony to anoint a doorway with holy oil?

This would be somewhat more understandable in Europe as we have all kinds of ancient rituals that we’ve had for centuries (e.g. Black Rod at the opening of Englands Parliament) but this wasn’t some ancient ritual observed for centuries, these kooks decided to do this off their own backs. Simply unbelievable.

Whats even more bizarre is that this didn’t destroy the mans reputation. This deserves mocking!

Oh, and EvilPoet, i love that story. I have a mental imagine of all these politicos wandering the halls of power with little oily crosses on their buttocks. Most comical.

The sad part is that, thanks to some gerrymandered districts, he’s my rep. Sigh.

Wait. What? Wait.

Anointing? Really?

And they say that it’s silly for atheists to criticize the “magical thinking” form of religion, because modern theology has moved past it and nobody takes it seriously anymore.

“…We recognize oh Lord that in thy sovereignty thou hast permitted Barack Obama to lead us at this momentous hour of our history…”

First the religious right straight out claims that God wants John McCain to win, and now they say that God wanted Obama all along. They should go use their magic oil on their magic pleasure sticks.

EvilPoet’s story is even funnier:

Schenck said he wanted to continue a ceremony to “consecrate” the room. He told reporters he and two others, the Rev. Patrick Mahoney and Grace Nwachukwu, had entered the room earlier and anointed all of the chairs with holy oil.
“We did adequately apply oil to all the seats,” Schenck told The Wall Street Journal.

So Schenck and Mahoney rubbed their magic oil onto the asses of senators, congressmen, justices, dignitaries, lawyers, reporters, and oh yes of course pages.

I wonder if the local dry cleaning service was extra busy shortly after those hearings.

Religious shenanigans aside, that’s some grade A hypocrisy there!

I wonder if someone could convince Obama to fake a seizure and complain of a burning sensation when he walks through that door.

Hemant, if you can, at least rub a Sam Harris book along the door frame.

(2006) Minister Says Group Blessed Chairs Before Alito Confirmation Hearings

A trio of Religious Right activists was so concerned about Judge Samuel A. Alito’s confirmation hearings that they slipped into the hearing room hours before the event got under way and blessed all of the chairs with holy oil.

The Rev. Rob Schenck, president of the National Clergy Council in Washington, D.C., tried to enter the Senate Judiciary Committee’s hearing room Jan. 5 but was blocked by Capitol Police Capitol police.

Schenck said he wanted to continue a ceremony to “consecrate” the room. He told reporters he and two others, the Rev. Patrick Mahoney and Grace Nwachukwu, had entered the room earlier and anointed all of the chairs with holy oil.

“We did adequately apply oil to all the seats,” Schenck told The Wall Street Journal.

Capitol Police said the room is not normally kept locked but promised to check the room for bombs and listening devices before the hearing.