But someone should go up to Mr. Reed, his boss Pat Robertson , and all of those religious and political leaders clamoring for public prayer and passage of the Religious Freedom Amendment, and inform them that if they wish to be true, consistent Christian, they should head for the nearest closet. This isn't some ad hominem cheap shot. See, the Bible doesn't say anything about the need for a law like the Religious Freedom Amendment. Prayer, if it is to obey the requirements of the good book, should not be taking place at the opening of the U.S. Congress, or the President's Prayer Breakfast, or in front of city hall buildings and state capitols during the National Day of Prayer. It should not be taking place when a bunch of Promise Keepers do a wave for Jesus in a stadium , or when the Pope holds some outdoor mass in Central Park.
Prayer belongs in the closet, and with the door shut, please.
It's right there, in dry ink. Some believed that it is the incontrovertible, literal, inspired and revealed word of a deity. Even more important, his is given the status of being the First Gospel. Matthew lived long before the era of television evangelism, political conventions and back-room lobbying though, but the early Christian movement was imbued with some of the enthusiasm and rhetorical fire that you witness in our era at a Promise Keepers rally, or a Benny Hinnn or Billy Graham salvation infomercial. It was also a bit of a problem.