{"id":466,"date":"2011-07-25T19:00:00","date_gmt":"2011-07-25T19:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/theatheistrabbi\/2011\/07\/thank-you-god-for-sunoco.html"},"modified":"2011-07-25T19:00:00","modified_gmt":"2011-07-25T19:00:00","slug":"thank-you-god-for-sunoco","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/theatheistrabbi\/2011\/07\/thank-you-god-for-sunoco.html","title":{"rendered":"Thank You God For Sunoco"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

One of the sillier expressions of religious \u201cpiety\u201d is the grand old American tradition of the pre-event invocation.\u00a0 In government and school settings, it\u2019s undoubtedly unconstitutional.\u00a0 Private groups can do what they want, but that doesn\u2019t make the tradition any less laughable.<\/p>\n

Thanks to reader Geoffrey Newman, I have the great honor to bring you what is most certainly the most entertaining invocation in the history of that ridiculous custom.\u00a0 It illustrates both the commercialism of religion in the hands of our corporate overlords and the utter meaninglessness of the whole thing.<\/p>\n

Part of me thinks that this pastor might secretly be one of us.\u00a0 The prayer is just that ludicrous.\u00a0 If he is, and someone knows him, please encourage him to call me.\u00a0 We could use someone with that sense of humor among the emerging non-theistic clergy!<\/p>\n