Both Exodus 20:2-5 and Deuteronomy 5:6-7 present the first of the Ten Commandments, stating “You shall have no other gods before Me,” with the preface that “I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.”
Since 1953, the National Prayer Breakfast has been held annually on the first Thursday in February in Washington, D.C. Methodist minister Abraham Vereide [1886-1969] originated the event as to intersect between Christian faith and politics in the nation’s capital.
In 2016, President Barack Obama was featured at the event and told the story of a Muslim man in Chicago who was afraid to lay down his prayer rug and pray at a public park – this was following the 2015 murder of 14 innocent people by Muslim terrorists in San Bernardino, CA.
“I can’t imagine a clearer expression of Jesus’ teachings,” Obama sermonized. “I can’t imagine a better expression of the peaceful spirit of Islam than when a Muslim father filled with fear drew from the example of a Baptist preacher and a Jewish rabbi to teach his children what God demands.”
We commented at the time that President Obama had availed himself of the opportunity to serve as the High Priest of the religion of Syncretism to evangelize his faith to the theologically naïve at the yearly event.
Syncretism blends different religious beliefs, practices, and philosophies, resulting in a hybrid faith. The Bible condemns syncretism because it undermines exclusive worship and obedience to the one true God, Jehovah, and leads to spiritual compromise and idolatry, bringing judgment on a nation.
Christian disciples are called to worship God in purity and faithfulness, avoiding blending Biblical truth with incompatible ideas or religions.
By administering the Holy Sacraments of Syncretism to the predominantly Christian audience at the prayer breakfast, Obama falsely implied that all religions can be fused into one. It likewise brought to light the genius and foresight of the American Founders.
George Washington clearly emphasized that maintaining a clear and unwavering allegiance to Jesus Christ and His Word was essential for political prosperity, public happiness, and the sustaining of freedom.
President Trump and his family attended the National Prayer Service at The Washington National Cathedral last week, as did my wife Cindy and I. The service began with an American Indian prayer:
“Oh, great spirit who dwells in the sky. Lead us to the path of peace and understanding. Let all of us live together as brothers and sisters. Our lives are short here, walking upon Mother Earth’s surface; let our eyes be opened to all the blessings you have given us. Please hear our prayers. Oh, great spirit.”
Next came prayers by Muslims, Sikhs, Hindus, Buddhists, Christians, and “interfaith and ecumenical partners offering prayers of thanksgiving for our democracy and to seek God’s guidance in the years ahead.”
The Right Reverend Mariann Edgar Budde, Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Washington, a prominent advocate for social justice, LGTBQ inclusion, and progressive theology, pronounced The Blessing.1
Instead of presenting the Gospel of Jesus Christ, Son of God, and Lord of Life she hijacked the prayer service to advance her own ideological bias, neither related to nor derived from Scripture, creating division in the audience.
“In the Name of our God,” she proclaimed, “I ask you [looking toward President Trump] to have mercy upon the people in our country who are scared now. There are gay, lesbian, and transgender children in Democratic, Republican, and Independent families – some who fear for their lives.
“The people who pick our crops and clean our office buildings, who labor in poultry farms and meat-packing plants, who wash the dishes after we eat in restaurants and work the night shifts in hospitals. They may not be citizens or have the proper documentation, but the vast majority of immigrants are not criminals.”
www.youtube.com/watch?v=mI4h4zbkNMU&t=2s
From a ministry standpoint, Bishop Budde missed a lifetime’s opportunity to point the President, his children, and grandkids to Christ.
The Bishop was more interested in scoring political points for social justice, LGBTQ activism, and syncretistic religion than in standing as a Light in a city of spiritual darkness. Scripture warns that the company of the wicked has a strongly defiling effect.
It makes one wonder whether the Bishop ever speaks to those in need of mercy about what Scottish Presbyterian pastor John Morison [1791-1859] called “communion with God, the sense of pardon, the lively expectation of Heaven, the witness of the Spirit, or the struggles of the spiritual life.” Or are her religious leanings more slanted towards the ardent propensities of political activists?
What particularly has become apparent with the last two Democrat Administrations is that liberals preach tolerance while simultaneously acting as the nation’s most intolerant people. It’s their way or the highway.
Has Bishop Budde even bothered to plead for compassion for the pro-life prisoners unjustly targeted and jailed by the Biden Administration?
Did Bishop Budde ask for mercy upon Bevelyn Beatty Williams, the 33-year-old pro-life new mother sentenced to 41 months in prison on July 24, 2024, for violating the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances [FACE] Act, i.e., for praying outside an abortion clinic? After President Trump pardoned her last Thursday, she could be reunited with her 2-year-old.
x.com/MrsBevelynW/status/1882663531549688206
Since all men are created alike in the image of God, tolerance means respecting others. Matthew 22:36-40 calls believers as the second commandment to love their neighbors, including those with differing views, with the first commandment decreeing to not compromise His Word and Biblically based truth.2 This was the ideology and culture of the nation’s Founders, who established freedom for all throughout the 17th and 18th centuries.
Liberals, like the Right Reverend Budde, preach tolerance and inclusivity, as long as those with traditional moral beliefs on issues like marriage, gender, or abortion can be excluded.3
In a diagnosis of the deep-seated ill-disposition of the ‘religious’ Left, Megan Basham wrote “What you need to understand is that the left-wing infiltration into churches has for decades been organized & well-funded by secular foundations intent on hollowing out their spiritual doctrines & replacing them with political programs …” Bishop Budde is of likewise disposition.
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Thankfully, Gideons and Rahabs are beginning to stand.
David Lane
American Renewal Project
1. cathedral.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Service-of-Prayer-for-the-Nation-2025-Online.pdf
2. “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”
3. Rabbi Michael Barclay, Do We Want a ‘National Cathedral’ That Prays to the God of Leftism? pjmedia.com/rabbi-michael-barclay/2025/01/23/do-we-want-a-national-cathedral-that-prays-to-the-god-of-leftism-n4936313
