Today is the time when Presidents since Truman have called on all Americans to turn to God in prayer and ask his direction and blessings for this great nation. Each of these Presidents have signed a proclamation and then held a National Prayer Luncheon, that is until today. President Obama is signing the Proclamation today but WILL NOT have a luncheon, he wants this day to be private for him. I really don't get this guy. Here's a little history on today....
The National Day of Prayer became law in 1952 under President Harry Truman following a six-week crusade in the nation’s capital led by Rev. Billy Graham. Members of the House and Senate introduced a joint resolution for an annual National Day of Prayer, "on which the people of the United States may turn to God in prayer and meditation at churches, in groups, and as individuals."
One senator called the resolution a measure against "the corrosive forces of communism which seek simultaneously to destroy our democratic way of life and the faith in an Almighty God on which it is based."
But the idea was not new. It had been proposed and rejected several times. In an 1808 letter to Rev. Samuel Miller, Thomas Jefferson wrote: "Fasting and prayer are religious exercises; the enjoining them an act of discipline. Every religious society has a right to determine for itself the time for these exercises, and the objects proper for them, according to their own particular tenets; and right can never be safer than in their hands, where the Constitution has deposited it."
YIL
Dave
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While I see this as a bad "public relations" move for President Obama, I really don't see a reason to get into an uproar about this. Maybe my Google-fu is weak today, but when I did a bit of research, I read that this is the first time the Luncheon has been skipped since 2000. It appears that this luncheon has been hosted by Presidents Reagan, G.H.W. Bush, and G.W. Bush. I don't think President Clinton hosted the luncheon. I couldn't find information about the luncheon prior to President Reagan.
ReplyDeleteAs you stated in your blog, President Obama DID sign the Proclamation. Also, in March he petitioned the federal court to dismiss the lawsuit that opposes the federal law designating the National Day of Prayer...to which he and his press secretary were then added to the lawsuit.
Hold this President to task on the issues. This march towards Socialism and Progressive agenda that he is fronting disturbs me MUCH more than whether or not he is having a lunch/photo op with the clergy.