National Day of Prayer: Americans saying 'God,' 'Merry Christmas' again
President Donald Trump said that his administration was making religious freedom a priority, including helping to have people once again say “God” and “Merry Christmas.”
At a National Day of Prayer ceremony held Thursday morning at the White House Rose Garden, President Trump touted his efforts to advance religious liberty.
Noting that “we proudly come together as ‘One Nation, Under God,’” Trump went on to talk about a conversation he and Vice President Mike Pence had about the supposed increase in open faith expression since his campaign began.
“People are so proud to be using that beautiful word, ‘God,’ and they’re using the word ‘God’ again,” stated Trump....
Every day there is some "National Day of ABC" or something, and long before Trump there was this day. It would be interesting to see how other Presidents celebrated it. Moody Radio yesterday played a lot of the old speeches by US Chaplains, etc, and it all sounded very High Church to me. The big issue is the use of that Old Testament verse about 'my people who are called by my name' I think Orthodox Jews might be a little upset to hear any person in the US being referred to as 'my people' when many do not believe in God. How can they be 'my people' when they do not believe in Him, or have very strange ideas of what He is.
I've read that over 90 percent of prison inmates say they believe in God. I don't think that means they had a Jailhouse Conversion, but are adopting the idea of God within the Civic Religion practiced by the US Congress, etc.
For those who don't know better and claim to know the Truth and love Jesus- maybe it's time to consider the sources of these day of obligations,including the national day of prayer. Milk is fine but we can move on to meat in our walk. For those who are praying to a "god",your prayers are in vain unless they are for salvation. For those who do know God, we,of course, are doing what we do the other 364 days of the year. We have a God who never sleeps and hears us always, not just one designated day.
John Lee wrote: I personally never say, "Merry Christmas" to anyone. It is a form of oppression, trying to enforce merryness and christmass on everyone. And most people do it without thinking what they're doing. That is the power of tradition and lack of thought. Now if someone was to say to me, "May the joy of the Lord be your strength", wow, now you're talkin'. Or you could say, "May the Lord Jesus fill you with his Spirit today, and cause you to walk in his paths" and I would appreciate that.
I also try and not say Merry Christmas because it has no real spiritual significance. In public, where time is often a factor, sometimes it is better to simply tolerate the usage? But, if someone says it to me, it doesn’t bother me in the slightest. I understand the cultural significance of terms like that. In fact, there are tons of genuine Christians who use the term because they think they are glorifying our Lord and Savior. They don’t understand the history of the term. It is like saying “God bless you” when someone sneezes. I researched that once and the sources and even the original meaning certainly aren’t Christian.
2For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, 3Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, 4Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; 5Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.
I personally never say, "Merry Christmas" to anyone. It is a form of oppression, trying to enforce merryness and christmass on everyone. And most people do it without thinking what they're doing. That is the power of tradition and lack of thought.
Now if someone was to say to me, "May the joy of the Lord be your strength", wow, now you're talkin'. Or you could say, "May the Lord Jesus fill you with his Spirit today, and cause you to walk in his paths" and I would appreciate that.
Got Questions wrote: ....Sharing the death and resurrection of Christ brings glory to God and should motivate our interaction with the world.
Regarding ecumenical ventures, we need to ask whether or not these goals are being pursued. Often, sharing the gospel becomes an afterthought, if it is even thought of at all. In place of the gospel, ecumenism tends to focus on political and social messages. Rather than seek to transform hearts, ecumenical endeavors often seek to transform environments—political, social, or financial. The ultimate goal of our actions should be the salvation of lost sinners (Ephesians 2:1–3). The angels of heaven rejoice over one sinner who repents (Luke 15:10). There is nothing in the Bible that says the angels rejoice when a law is passed, when a well is dug, or when a street is paved. (Not that there is anything wrong with accomplishing those things, but they cannot be allowed to overshadow the gospel.) As we contemplate ecumenical ventures, we need to make sure God’s kingdom is being expanded through evangelism....
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