And the Mocking of Perry's Faith Begins

Philip Brimble of Los Angeles thought he was being so clever when he wrote in to the Los Angeles Times in reaction to Rick Perry's public prayer:

For Texas Gov. Rick Perry and his very public political pray-in: "But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you." (Matthew 6:6)

The problem for Brimble is that Jesus, the source of those words, prayed in public. Jesus was making a statement of those who loudly made personal prayers in public as a show; he clearly wasn't prohibiting all public prayer, such as corporate prayer. Context, context, context.

From GotQuestions.org:

In Matthew 6:5-7, Jesus gives two ways to ensure that our prayers are righteous. First, prayers should not be for the purpose of being seen by others as righteous or “spiritual.” Secondly, prayers should be authentic, as from the heart, and not just vain repetition or “empty phrases.” However, when compared with other Scriptures that show people praying in public, we know that this is not an exhortation to always pray alone. The issue is to avoid sin. Those who struggle with the desire to be seen as righteous and who notice that temptation creeping in during public prayer would do well to heed Jesus’ prescription to get alone and pray just to the Father who will reward in secret. Jesus knew that the Pharisees’ desire was to be seen by men as righteous, not really to talk to God. This statement about prayer was meant to convict, and is instructive for all Christians, but it does not mean that all prayer must be secret.

See the rest of what's at the link for some context.

Previously: Hit and Run Bible Mockers

From Stand to Reason: "Never Read a Bible Verse"

Based on recent history, it isn't the evangelical Christian politicians that should frighten people. It is the atheists. Atheistic rulers killed hundreds of millions of people in the previous century alone.