The official Roman Catholic position is that this was a “divinely inspired mistake!” Other mainstream Christian churches have different views and don’t place much importance in it.

So, yeah, I get a chuckle, though my Jewish friends tell me “oh relax, ALL Jewish boys think that their moms are virgins.”.

Of course, IN THIS CASE (the Peoria one), Bill is right that these meetings might be getting people together, possibly to interact, talk, get to know each other, etc., and in that sense, it could be valuable.

I’d also like to point out that there are religious types who bust their buns to do good; I certainly admire that.

But I am not going to approve of public displays of superstition that could be construed as being done in my name (as a citizen of Peoria).

Now a completely different case was the Georgia governor going to courthouse to pray for rain; I had a good belly laugh over that one. At least they could have brought in some folks for a good old fashioned “rain dance”; that would have at least been more entertaining.

Nyah!

I’m not a dem or a repub. But one guy sticking to his views and posting it on his blog is exactly what a blog is for…if you dont like it…don’t read it.

Please for the love of GOD…go start drama elsewhere…especially at Christmas time.

And don’t bother replying to this…cause I have nothing more to say on the subject and refuse to bicker like you.

PEACE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

(Some people will complain about anything – they are called Democrats).

Ollie sez: “How am I a jerk? Would I have said that “40 days of tarot card reading”, or “40 days of chanting by Buddhist monks” or “40 days of drumming to the sun and moon gods” or “40 days of voodoo” isn’t going to work, would you have reacted the same way?”

I now sez: *I* wouldn’t have offended them in the first place. I endeavor to display a little tolerance. As Bill said, what harm can it do?

There are plenty of other ideas that might be worth 40 days of specific, focused attention, too. I propose:

40 days of litter pickup – make a special effort during 6 weeks in the spring

40 days of porch sitting – kind of like “Night out Against Crime.” If everyone sat on their front porch for 30-60 minutes a night during 6 weeks in the summer, crime would probably go down (too many eyes) and neighbors would more likely to speak to each other.

40 days of volunteering – for watever charity you choose

40 days of school – get more adults INTO the school and much deeper into the ways the shcools work (and don’t work).

40 days of family – activities around the city geared for families being together, learning together, and learning to communicate better.

40 days of white/black communication – can you imaging bus loads of folks from the projects descending on school. churches, and parks on the far north side of Peoria? For that matter, what would happen if large numbers of white folks attended an open house and open discussion @ Harrison Homes?

40-days of prayer, 40 days of Buddhist chanting aren’t bad ideas, either.

Billy:
Yes, getting together to pray has some social value, and it isn’t as if these folks are out clubbing baby seals or embezzling money from their treasuries.

But I do find superstition of all types amusing.

By the way, I was expressing my opinion on BJ’s blog; I was directly talking to him.

(disclosure: technically, I actually belong to a church, but I only go when the bicycling/running/hiking weather is bad. )

Have you met the people who are involved in this effort? This IS a way for blacks and whites to get together and establish good will.

I say this as an admitted agnostic: The very worst that can come out of this is no harm at all. And I think it will help, if for no other reason than it’s a way for people to of good will get organized to improve things.

And I assure you that the police are out there making arrests, on a daily basis, of drug dealers and other criminals.

Demeaning one religion does not make another one more (or less) legitimate. It just makes you a jerk.

Hey, let’s have a test, similar to that described in 1 Kings 18: verses 21-40.
We’ll see who is more effective.

Ollie, making fun of people who believe in God and praying to him is pretty juvenile.
Why be a hater?

You have described what “prayer” is quite succinctly, sir. Well said.

Have you read recent letters to the editor? Interesting; I am told that their deity always answers prayer (”yes”, “no”, and some permutation of “not now, later, I’ve got something better”). Well, one can obtain those results by praying to a jug of milk!

Prayer can be effective in the sense that it can calm and center the person doing the praying, but that is about it.