Al Mohler reports that when the President makes a public appearance, the prayers delivered by local clergymen all have to be vetted and approved before they are allowed. From This Prayer Approved by the White House?:
Is the Obama White House vetting prayers? Dan Gilgoff of U.S. News and World Report reports that this represents a “new tradition” established by the administration of President Barack Obama. As Gilgoff revealed, “In a departure from previous presidents, his public rallies are opening with invocations that have been commissioned and vetted by the White House.”
The issue of public prayer is increasingly controversial in an age of religious diversity and increasing secularization. Yet, prayers at government ceremonies and events have been common since the nation’s founding and, until recently, few prayers related to White House events have been controversial. Radical church/state separationists consider these prayers to be improper and perhaps unconstitutional, but this is a hard case to make given the nation’s historic practice.
On the other hand, sign me up as an opponent of any prayer that is vetted by any government official or agency. For reasons having less to do with the Constitution and more to do with the nature of prayer, I cannot imagine that a Christian minister could in good conscience allow the government to edit or approve a prayer.
Gilgoff’s report contains some shocking details:
During Obama’s recent visit to Fort Myers, Fla., to promote his economic stimulus plan, a black Baptist preacher delivered a prayer that carefully avoided mentioning Jesus, lest he offend anyone in the audience. And at Obama’s appearance last week near Phoenix to unveil his mortgage bailout plan, an administrator for the Tohono O’odham Nation delivered the prayer, taking the unusual step of writing it down so he could E-mail it to the White House for vetting. American Indian prayers are typically improvised.
Though invocations have long been commonplace at presidential inaugurations and certain events like graduations or religious services at which presidents are guests, the practice of commissioning and vetting prayers for presidential rallies is unprecedented in modern history, according to religion and politics experts. . . .
Gilgoff also reported the case of Pastor James Bing of Ft. Meyers, Florida. Earlier in his report, Gilgoff described the pastor as delivering “a prayer that carefully avoided mentioning Jesus, lest he offend anyone in the audience.” The pastor self-censored his prayer, explaining: “For some strange reason, the word Jesus is like pouring gasoline on fire for some people in this country . . . . You learn how to work around that.”
I do like that last quotation from the oh-so-timid, eager-to-please pastor: “the word Jesus is like pouring gasoline on fire.” Yes, it is. Yes, He is.
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