My Response<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Today is \u201cThe Response\u201d \u2013 a fundamentalist Christian gathering in Houston that has called for a day of prayer and fasting in response to what they see is\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/2011\/08\/my-response.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"My Response\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Today is \u201cThe Response\u201d \u2013 a fundamentalist Christian gathering in Houston that has called for a day of prayer and fasting in response to what they see is\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/2011\/08\/my-response.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"John Beckett\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2011-08-06T10:27:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"John Beckett\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"John Beckett\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/2011\/08\/my-response.html\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/2011\/08\/my-response.html\",\"name\":\"My Response\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2011-08-06T10:27:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2011-08-06T10:27:00+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/#\/schema\/person\/b4c8980dc36f971434424c304ca429ad\"},\"description\":\"Today is \u201cThe Response\u201d \u2013 a fundamentalist Christian gathering in Houston that has called for a day of prayer and fasting in response to what they see is\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/2011\/08\/my-response.html#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/2011\/08\/my-response.html\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/2011\/08\/my-response.html#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"My Response\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/\",\"name\":\"John Beckett\",\"description\":\"Musings of a Druid, Pagan, and Unitarian Universalist.\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/#\/schema\/person\/b4c8980dc36f971434424c304ca429ad\",\"name\":\"John Beckett\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/0f50bfa2a79f70103847fe75540bb29c?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/0f50bfa2a79f70103847fe75540bb29c?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"John Beckett\"},\"description\":\"I grew up in Tennessee with the woods right outside my back door. Wandering through them gave me a sense of connection to Nature and to a certain Forest God. I\u2019m a Druid graduate of the Order of Bards, Ovates and Druids, the Coordinating Officer of the Denton Covenant of Unitarian Universalist Pagans and a former Vice President of CUUPS Continental. I\u2019ve been writing, speaking, teaching, and leading public rituals for the past eleven years. I live in the Dallas \u2013 Fort Worth area and I earn my keep as an engineer.\",\"sameAs\":[\"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/author\/johnbeckett\"}]}<\/script>\n","yoast_head_json":{"title":"My Response","description":"Today is \u201cThe Response\u201d \u2013 a fundamentalist Christian gathering in Houston that has called for a day of prayer and fasting in response to what they see is","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/2011\/08\/my-response.html","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"My Response","og_description":"Today is \u201cThe Response\u201d \u2013 a fundamentalist Christian gathering in Houston that has called for a day of prayer and fasting in response to what they see is","og_url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/2011\/08\/my-response.html","og_site_name":"John Beckett","article_published_time":"2011-08-06T10:27:00+00:00","author":"John Beckett","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"John Beckett","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/2011\/08\/my-response.html","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/2011\/08\/my-response.html","name":"My Response","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/#website"},"datePublished":"2011-08-06T10:27:00+00:00","dateModified":"2011-08-06T10:27:00+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/#\/schema\/person\/b4c8980dc36f971434424c304ca429ad"},"description":"Today is \u201cThe Response\u201d \u2013 a fundamentalist Christian gathering in Houston that has called for a day of prayer and fasting in response to what they see is","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/2011\/08\/my-response.html#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/2011\/08\/my-response.html"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/2011\/08\/my-response.html#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"My Response"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/","name":"John Beckett","description":"Musings of a Druid, Pagan, and Unitarian Universalist.","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/#\/schema\/person\/b4c8980dc36f971434424c304ca429ad","name":"John Beckett","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/0f50bfa2a79f70103847fe75540bb29c?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/0f50bfa2a79f70103847fe75540bb29c?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"John Beckett"},"description":"I grew up in Tennessee with the woods right outside my back door. Wandering through them gave me a sense of connection to Nature and to a certain Forest God. I\u2019m a Druid graduate of the Order of Bards, Ovates and Druids, the Coordinating Officer of the Denton Covenant of Unitarian Universalist Pagans and a former Vice President of CUUPS Continental. I\u2019ve been writing, speaking, teaching, and leading public rituals for the past eleven years. I live in the Dallas \u2013 Fort Worth area and I earn my keep as an engineer.","sameAs":["http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/"],"url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/author\/johnbeckett"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/232","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1129"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=232"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/232\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=232"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=232"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=232"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}

{"id":232,"date":"2011-08-06T10:27:00","date_gmt":"2011-08-06T10:27:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/2011\/08\/my-response\/"},"modified":"2011-08-06T10:27:00","modified_gmt":"2011-08-06T10:27:00","slug":"my-response","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/2011\/08\/my-response.html","title":{"rendered":"My Response"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

Today is \u201cThe Response<\/a>\u201d \u2013 a fundamentalist Christian gathering in Houston that has called for a day of prayer and fasting in response to what they see is a great moral crisis in the United States. It has attracted extra attention because Texas governor and likely US presidential candidate Rick Perry is the headliner. <\/p>\n

Given the publicity Perry has generated for this event, I assume you\u2019re already familiar with the problems of The Response<\/a>. I want to talk about my impressions and my own response. <\/p>\n

First, I agree with the organizers of The Response that the United States is in crisis. But the problems of our country aren\u2019t due to people not following the \u201cright\u201d religion \u2013 they\u2019re caused by a lack of compassion, a lack of rational analysis and thought, too much money in the political process, and a political leadership more interested in winning elections than in governing.<\/p>\n

Everyone has the right to express their opinions, even those whose opinions we find hateful. But they shouldn\u2019t be surprised or offended when hate speech is labeled as such.<\/p>\n

As a universalist, I respect those who act in the manner their religion prescribes. I even respect those who proselytize, so long as they do it politely. I don\u2019t respect those who would deny those same rights to others.<\/p>\n

Citizens who serve in government do not give up their First Amendment rights. Citizen Perry is free to attend all the exclusivist rallies he likes. But Governor Perry is wrong to use the power of his office to promote one religion over another. If he thinks the country needs a day of prayer, he should call for everyone to pray, not just those who pray like he does. And Presidential Candidate Perry should know that while endorsing this event may bring in millions of dollars from his far-right base, that base isn\u2019t as big in the rest of the country as it is in Texas. It may play well in South Carolina, but he can write off New Hampshire and maybe Iowa too.<\/p>\n

I find the \u201c Day of Debauchery and Gluttony<\/a>\u201d amusing. Ask the ancient Celts \u2013 there is great power in satire. But that\u2019s not really what I feel called to do. <\/p>\n

Today, I\u2019m going to work on my sermon for August 21 at Denton UU<\/a>. It\u2019s titled \u201cThe Sacred Earth\u201d and it\u2019s inspired by Bron Taylor\u2019s book Dark Green Religion<\/i><\/a>. The religion our society needs in the 21st century isn\u2019t fundamentalist Christianity, it\u2019s a religion that honors the Earth as sacred, either theistically or non-theistically.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m going to meditate and pray, as I do almost every day. As I do, I\u2019ll include special prayers for our country and our state \u2013 especially prayers for rain.<\/p>\n

Tomorrow I\u2019m going to services at Denton UU, where I\u2019ll meet with a bunch of friends, listen to Amy Martin <\/a>talk about what Pagans have in common with the spiritual-but-not-religious, and recommit myself to the values of justice, compassion, and the inherent worth and dignity of every person.<\/p>\n

And Monday I\u2019ll go back to work and continue doing what I\u2019m called to do while I do what I have to do<\/a>. <\/p>\n

\u201c Spiritual warfare<\/a>\u201d calls for a variety of responses. The best response to The Response is to live our religion openly and honestly, with integrity and generosity.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"