Quite a bit of attention has been paid to the closing Democratic National Convention benediction made by evangelical pastor Dr. Joel C. Hunter of Northland Church in Florida. Specifically the closing instruction made by Hunter.

“Now I interrupt this prayer for a closing instruction. I want to personalize this. I want this to be a participatory prayer. And so therefore, because we are in a country that is still welcoming all faiths, I would like all of us to close this prayer in the way your faith tradition would close your prayer.”

This openness to all faith traditions greatly moved many people, including Pagan delegate Rita Moran, who had this to say about the benediction.

“At the end of a wonderful, joyful night, complete with fireworks and confetti (including a cascade of white stars), came an invocation. Until the last, there was no hint of how it would close, but then it came: the minister said he would pause before the end of the prayer and encouraged everyone in Invesco Field to finish it as they would in their own faith tradition. And so the Gods came to that venue, as I completed the invocation with ‘by the Gods of my people, so mote it be!’”

But apparently not everyone was ecstatic about Republican Hunter’s careful prayer for the Democrats. Religion reporter and columnist Terry Mattingly points out that Hunter has posted an “open letter” explaining his prayer to those confused or upset at his unique closing instruction.

“I did not ask people to pray to another god; I asked them to finish a prayer according to their faith tradition. This may be a small point linguistically, but it is a huge point theologically.”

In other words, he meant you should pray to the Abrahamic God in any manner you please, but that shouldn’t be misconstrued as encouraging polytheism (or prayers to any other non-Abrahamic power). So it looks like a truly interfaith prayer has been “clarified” to exclude anyone Hunter’s congregation and co-religionists might find too far outside the “norm” to be acceptable. After all, we wouldn’t want to be caught praying with Pagans would we?

Tags: Christianity, Democratic National Convention, interfaith, Joel Hunter, prayer