This is GO GREAT, Doug! As a board member of the Chamber of Commerce years ago, the CEO of Holland Hospital was tasked with the opening invocation, and she said, "Let's begin with a moment of silent gratitude to the God of our understanding." She was skewered by members of our community, unfortunately.
A society supported by a shared religious understanding would be helpful. Wasn't it Tocqueville who noticed (in his Democracy in America) that what made our fragile experiment work was just that? "Shared civic engagement," I think he called it. He also warned about the "tyranny of the majority," and that might be what we're experiencing right now. I don't know what the answer is.
I do believe in the separation of church and state, and feel that religion probably does not have a place in non-sectarian meetings. It is a business meeting, and there are and should be people of many different faiths (or none) attending the meeting. The other choice would be to schedule various religions to have their day for the invocation, but then that opens the door to the Satanic Temple and any other 'religion' someone wants to create.
Thank you for sharing your usual thought provoking perspective. I chuckled a little at the fellow who bristled at your praying like a Christian! At the same time I kind of like the idea of a somewhat national religious conscience. I’m reminded of Paul speaking to the Athenians. We can start our civil conversation by agreeing that there is a greater power, even greater than the ruling government, who is watching and listening and present with us, so let’s be respectful of that power and of each other.
This is GO GREAT, Doug! As a board member of the Chamber of Commerce years ago, the CEO of Holland Hospital was tasked with the opening invocation, and she said, "Let's begin with a moment of silent gratitude to the God of our understanding." She was skewered by members of our community, unfortunately.
I don't have a good answer either.
A society supported by a shared religious understanding would be helpful. Wasn't it Tocqueville who noticed (in his Democracy in America) that what made our fragile experiment work was just that? "Shared civic engagement," I think he called it. He also warned about the "tyranny of the majority," and that might be what we're experiencing right now. I don't know what the answer is.
That would have been a good anecdote for my newsletter! These days there is no such thing as an invocation that makes everyone happy.
I do believe in the separation of church and state, and feel that religion probably does not have a place in non-sectarian meetings. It is a business meeting, and there are and should be people of many different faiths (or none) attending the meeting. The other choice would be to schedule various religions to have their day for the invocation, but then that opens the door to the Satanic Temple and any other 'religion' someone wants to create.
Thank you for sharing your usual thought provoking perspective. I chuckled a little at the fellow who bristled at your praying like a Christian! At the same time I kind of like the idea of a somewhat national religious conscience. I’m reminded of Paul speaking to the Athenians. We can start our civil conversation by agreeing that there is a greater power, even greater than the ruling government, who is watching and listening and present with us, so let’s be respectful of that power and of each other.
I prefer the votum to an invocation
At church on Sunday mornings? Okay, of course. But how does a votum sound at the Rotary Club or before a meeting of the county commission?