A friend of mine once said of the actions of vociferous but misguided believers, "Sometimes things done in the name of Christianity make me want to become a druid."
And so it was today in the chambers of the United States Senate, where a trinity of Operation Save America members repeatedly disrupted an opening prayer that was delivered by a Hindu priest.
"'Lord Jesus, forgive us father for allowing a prayer of the wicked, which is an abomination in your sight,' the first protester began." (Source) The trio eventually were escorted from the chamber by the Senate's Sergeant-at-Arms.
For his part Rajan Zed invoked the transcendental glory of the deity supreme, calling upon that deity to "led us from darkness into light." Notice here, gentle reader, that there is nothing about this prayer that stands in opposition to the Judeo-Christian faith.
In fact, a reasonable member of the Christian faith might conclude that "deity supreme" is a pretty good description of the great I Am.
But the Rev. Flip Benham, the director of Operation Save America/Operation Rescue, saw it differently. In a press release issued hours after the confrontation he offered the following analysis:
"When you stand up and are arrested, and the Hindu is allowed to go free, this country has gone upside-down," Benham said. (The comment was later deleted from Operation Save America's website.)
Now, if the goal of these three zealots was to maintain the sanctified purity of the Senate chambers, they arrived at the party a little late. Way back in 1975, Frank Fools Crow, a Lakota Ceremonial Chief and Medicine Man, delivered an invocation before the Senate. In fact, the Senate has long had a policy allowing clergy of other faiths to offer blessings before its members. Once more, the faiths represented at these invocations have even included Islam. Islam is supposedly the faith of choice for members of Al-Qaeda.
It's sad to think that these three protestors could be so narrow-minded as to refuse to accept the idea that they could learn anything from religious practices that are not their own. They are no credit to their country or their faith.