Yes, as in the Source of all Life.
I would like to get this guy in the same room with Justice Scalia and see who comes out standing.
Have you done this for other months? Years? Complete listing?
I would like to link from
Bad Religion
Praying for someone who doesn't want it is a form of disrespect of that person's individual space and personal sovereignty. It may be softer than a physical attack, being verbal, but it is nevertheless an attack, a form of violence. If done publicly, it can also incorporate elements of an attempt to embarrass, either by pressuring you to do their thing or by evoking a nasty response, which they regard as proof that you are wrong.
Besides, I believe that prayer "for something", whether for wealth for yourself or health for another, is a perversion of the power or prayer. These are really exercises in self-importance which reinforce one's allegiance to an ideology.
For me, prayer is about me connecting with my higher self (or god or all that is or whatever). Not something that others can do for me or even to me.
I have often thought that we should challenge creationists to start from scratch and develop any of the modern conveniences without knowledge of science or engineering. How better to prove that they can't. Or challenge them to do without all of the modern conveniences that came about through engineering which is based on science: cars, phones, computers, everything. Then see how they cope.
If such people manage to dumb down our educational system, how long before we become a third world country relying on others for handouts? How long before we can't fix our own machines?
How about this: allow them to opt out of paying taxes, in exchange for having no role in government and no access to benefits such as health care.
How about a "Wall of Shame" or "Hall of Shame".
It might be that the most extreme groups (Dominionists) want to start a holy war that they believe Jesus would help them win, but I think most right wing extremists are simply operating from a delusional point of view. If you study delusional thinking, you discover that delusional people 1) do not know they are delusional, 2) believe that they are right, regardless of any contradictory evidence, and want what they want, regardless of how it affects anyone else. So there are a bunch of people who would be OK with a conflict, especially the End Times believers, but they are not necessarily trying to deliberately provoke a civil war. They just don't care about what anyone else thinks, so if they feel sufficiently threatened, they will lash out.
The views of the christian right on homosexuals, liberals, pagans, and others -- are examples of hate crimes, IMHO. They won't get the message unless their behaviors are called for what they are, and perhaps not even then. Being consistently called "hateful" has a small chance of waking up some of them,
Personally, I would like to see the category of "hate crime" expanded. For example, when a six year old girl tells a classmate that she is going to burn in hell, that strikes me as a hate crime. When an adult attempts to put someone else down because they don't believe the same thing, that could be a hate crime. Any language or behavior that puts people down or belittles them or attempts to get over on them by seeking to convince them that they are bad -- is a hate crime.
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