Ever hear a christian say something so stupid.(Horror stories here)

[Angrboda]

http://www.religioustolerance.org/hinduism1.htm

HINDU INVOCATION IN CONGRESS

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The Hindu prayer:

On 2000-SEP-14, A Hindu priest, Venkatachalapathi Samuldrala of the Shiva Vishnu Hindu Temple in Parma, OH, opened a session of the U.S. House of Representatives with a prayer. He was the first Hindu to do so. Representative Sherrod Brown, (D- OH) had invited Mr. Samuldrala as a guest chaplain, said: "Today is a great day for Indian-American relations. India and the United States share the bonds of history and culture. I requested the House Chaplain invite Mr. Samuldrala to give today's prayer as a testimony to the religious diversity that is the hallmark of our nation. Mr. Salmuldrala's prayer reminds us that while we may differ in culture and traditions, we are alike in the basic aspiration for peace and righteousness."

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Initial response by the Family Research Council:

Robert E. Regier and Timothy J. Dailey wrote an essay about the prayer. It appeared on SEP-21 in the Culture Facts section of the Family Research Council's web site. It was also Emailed or mailed to the subscribers of Culture Facts, a weekly newsletter. The FRC is a Washington DC-based, Fundamentalist Christian agency. It was spun-off from the Colorado Springs CO-based Focus on the Family many years ago. According to a Fax received from the FRC Legal Studies section, this essay "failed to go though [sic] our full editing process, which would have removed any statements inconsistant [sic] with FRC's [official] position."

The essay was part of a "Q&A" section labeled "Religious Pluralism or Tolerance?" It included a question from a member of the public:

"A Hindu priest was recently invited to give the opening invocation it the House of Representative. What's wrong with this?"

Regier and Dailey's answer was, in part:

"What's wrong is that it is one more indication that our nation is drifting from its Judeo-Christian roots...Alas, in our day, when 'tolerance' and 'diversity' have replaced the 10 Commandments as the only remaining absolute dictums, it has become necessary to 'celebrate' non-Christian religions — even in the halls of Congress ... Our founders expected that Christianity — and no other religion — would receive support from the government as long as that support did not violate people's consciences and their right to worship. They would have found utterly incredible the idea that all religions, including paganism, be treated with equal deference.

Many people today confuse traditional Western religious tolerance with religious pluralism. The former embraces biblical truth while allowing for freedom of conscience, while the latter assumes all religions are equally valid, resulting in moral relativism and ethical chaos..."

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According to Maranatha Christian Journal, "media criticism" triggered a FRC clairification. According to a private Fax from the FRC, they "were aware of only one small Associate [sic] Press article, which was not particularly critical. The 'Q&A' article was removed and the correction issued because it incorrectly stated one of our fundamental policy positions."

FRC's Executive Vice President, Chuck Donovan, responded on SEP-22 with a press release containing a clarification. He said: "It is the position of the Family Research Council that governments must respect freedom of conscience for all people in religious matters ... We affirm the truth of Christianity, but it is not our position that American's Constitution forbids representatives of religions other than Christianity from praying before Congress...." He concluded with a concern about attempts to remove religion from public life. He pointed out FRC's support for U.S. religious freedom legislation. He deplored anti-Christian persecution around the world.